Gopher tortoise entombment policy reversed

Finally! The last day of this month is the last day the state will allow developers to submit permits for the "incidental take" (aka death) of gopher tortoises when building on and paving over gopher tortoise burrows, according to this Sun Herald article. Many people have been concerned about such permits since the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started offering them in 1991. Now, the FWC will require the tortoises to be relocated so they aren't buried alive in their burrows.

The article points out that tortoises' burrows are used by other wildlife species, however -- but stopping tortoise entombment is a start.