{"id":758,"date":"2021-05-04T15:49:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T15:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8009\/stories\/?p=758"},"modified":"2025-07-01T19:44:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T19:44:18","slug":"foresters-build-plans-around-protecting-gopher-tortoises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forestrycareers.com\/stories\/foresters-build-plans-around-protecting-gopher-tortoises\/","title":{"rendered":"Foresters Build Plans Around Protecting Gopher Tortoises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Foresters take their responsibility to guard protected species seriously. When it comes to the gopher tortoise, a keystone species whose burrow provides shelter to more than 300 other types of forest creatures, we build our planting and harvesting plan around ensuring their safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

LONG COUNTY, Georgia\u2014Blake McMichael stands on the boundary line between two Rayonier forests. He points out the differences between the one on his left, a forest with wet, clay soils, and his right, a dry, sandy forest that has been managed differently in order to protect gopher tortoises and their burrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"foresters
Foresters base decisions on the conditions in each stand of trees. The dry, sandy ground Blake is standing on in the foreground was specially-managed to protect gopher tortoises, with trees planted by hand amidst. In the distance behind him, the grassy-looking area is a wet forest with clay soils that gopher tortoises don’t like.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Preferring dry soils, gopher tortoises are what\u2019s called a keystone species, so named because their burrows provide shelter to as many as 300 other types of creatures in the forest<\/strong>. Rabbits, mice, insects, birds, foxes and even snakes seek shelter in their burrows, including the federally-threatened Eastern Indigo Snake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy protecting burrows, we\u2019re not only helping the gopher tortoise, but also the many other species that use its shelter,\u201d Blake says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protecting
The federally-threatened Eastern Indigo Snake, a large, nonvenomous snake native to the Eastern United States, uses gopher tortoise burrows as a winter denning habitat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Blake, a Resource Land Manager in charge of replanting forests, has the drier, sandy forests that are inhabited by gopher tortoises planted by hand. Minimizing the use of heavy equipment helps protect gopher tortoises and their burrows. The young trees will grow among vegetation like palmetto bushes and other undergrowth gophers like to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On wetter soils nearby, where gopher tortoises don\u2019t go, he had rows plowed and mechanically planted, encouraging much faster growth rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Low-lying, wet ground is prepared into mounds and machine-planted to ensure baby trees don’t drown in the wet soil. In drier soils where gopher tortoises are found, planting is done by hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Found in the Southeastern U.S., gopher tortoises are vegetarians who eat berries, grasses, mushrooms and prickly pear cacti. They\u2019re prolific diggers, with burrows reaching depths of 9 to 23 feet deep and 3 to 52 feet long!<\/strong> When they reach adulthood, they\u2019re typically 15 inches long and weigh 8-15 lbs. Their average lifespan is 80 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting Gopher Tortoises While Planting Trees<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Rayonier has its own spatial mapping system, not unlike the GPS systems consumers use when they travel. Our system has many layers of information, including a property\u2019s soil type, topography, what has been planted there previously, notes about any protected species on the property, and much more. All that information is available on a tablet foresters can take with them into the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Underground
Gopher Tortoise burrows provide shelter to more than 300 species in the forest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Blake looks at a stand of trees in the system, he can quickly find out if it has the dry, sandy soils and higher ground that gopher tortoises prefer. If active burrows have been identified on the property previously, foresters leave \u201cpins\u201d on the map. These indicate the presence of gopher tortoises in that particular stand of trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blake also walks through the forest to visually survey the site, checking for active burrows in the process. He looks for the characteristic oval-shaped hole in the ground with a wide, sandy collar (or apron) in front. An active burrow will have clean, smooth sand in front of it, while abandoned burrows may be overgrown. The average male tortoise may dig as many as 35 burrows in his lifetime<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Active
A clean entrance and a sandy apron indicate this gopher tortoise burrow in a Rayonier forest is “active.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protecting Gopher Tortoises During a Timber Harvest<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

On the other side of our business, when forests are full grown and ready for harvest, we work with our logging contractors to protect gopher tortoises and their burrows. This may include site visits, pre-harvest meetings, flagging, and showing pictures to help them know what to look for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a burrow is in a location where it could be overlooked, our foresters find creative ways to ensure it\u2019s safe. In one instance, when an active burrow was found right next to a forest road, a Georgia forester had a logger place a barrier of logs beside the burrow to ensure no one drove on top of it. In another instance, our forester directed a logging crew to cut a series of trees about 4 feet high to visually cordon off an area around a burrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protecting
These high tree stumps were cut before a logging operation to ensure no one drove too close to the fragile ground above the active gopher tortoise burrow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most important things that we can do as foresters is to ensure that whoever is working on our properties can play a role in protecting the burrows while they\u2019re on site,\u201d Blake says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Species Protected in Our Forests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gopher tortoises are just one of a myriad of wildlife Rayonier protects on its land. For example, throughout the U.S., we protect the American Bald Eagle and its nest. In the Pacific Northwest, we protect Northern Spotted Owls and Marbled Murrelets. We have invested tens of millions of dollars into restoring salmon habitat<\/a> in Washington State alone. We protect the habitat of the Red Hills Salamander in Alabama, and the Leopard Darter Fish in Oklahoma. In New Zealand*, we worked with conservation agencies to protect kiwi<\/a>, New Zealand Falcons<\/a>, and New Zealand Sea Lions<\/a>. You can learn more about the many species we protect here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"gopher
A gopher tortoise enjoys a snack in a Rayonier forest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And while we\u2019re taking special care to protect vulnerable species, our forests are providing clean air, habitats for many other creatures, and clean water<\/a> while they grow. Once grown, our trees will become the raw material needed for 1000s of everyday products, and we\u2019ll replant the site for the next generation of trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re providing a renewable, sustainable resource that people need,\u201d Blake says. \u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re leaving areas where future generations have the animals that live on the property as well as the resources provided by the property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Rayonier sold all of its interests in New Zealand June 30, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foresters take their responsibility to guard protected species seriously. When it comes to the gopher tortoise, a keystone species whose burrow provides shelter to more than 300 other types of forest creatures, we build our planting and harvesting plan around ensuring their safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ryn_post_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7R8zvp17oO4"},"categories":[56,1,6],"tags":[73,46,21],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nForesters Build Plans Around Protecting Gopher Tortoises | Rayonier Stories<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Foresters take their responsibility to guard protected species seriously. 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