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Promoting And Establishing The Recovery Of Endangered Species On Private Lands: A Case Study Of The Gopher Tortoise, Blake Hudson

Journal Articles

Important species are increasingly threatened on private lands and remain largely unregulated by federal and state laws. The gopher tortoise, present within six south-eastern states, is one such species. The tortoise is a keystone species, meaning that upon its existence numerous other species depend. Despite its ecological importance, tortoise populations have declined by 80%, partly due to development pressures, but primarily due to forest management practices which reduced the longleaf pine ecosystem upon which it depends by 96%. This article focuses on legal and policy issues associated with both urban development and forest management of lands containing the gopher tortoise. …