Gopher Tortoise Habitat Conservation Campaign I

THIS FUNDRAISER WAS COMPLETED ON 5/10/2023 - THE FULL AMOUNT SOUGHT WAS RECEIVED BY DONATIONS BOTH ON AND OFF OF GOFUNDME. THE PARCEL WAS PURCHASED SUCCESSFULLY AND IS NOW A PROTECTED CONSERVATION PARCEL. DONATIONS ARE STILL WELCOME AT ANY TIME AS WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE OUR MISSION OF PROTECTING AS MANY PARCELS IN NEIGHBORHOODS OF SARASOTA AND CHARLOTTE COUNTIES AS POSSIBLE. DONATE AT WWW.ECNORTHPORT.COM.

YOU’RE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN NATURE BINGO and help The Environmental Conservancy of North Port And Surrounding Areas purchase and protect a land parcel in the Cranberry Fields neighborhood of North Port!

HOW: FUNDRAISING GOAL Purchase Price: $13,500

Each Nature Bingo Square represents a $100 donation but ANY increment is welcome!

WHO/WHAT: With this purchase we would permanently protect an active Gopher Tortoise burrow (represented by the heart below), 10 oak trees, 1 slash pine tree, 7 sabal palms and multiple native plants.

North Port hosts a population of the Gopher Tortoise, a threatened species rapidly losing habitat as our area's human population continues to grow. When a residential lot is targeted for development, in the majority of cases tortoises must be relocated off-site, are bucket trapped or dug out of their burrows with machinery and then taken many miles from home to a relocation site before complete clear-cutting and scraping of all trees and plants on that lot takes place. Many fail to thrive upon relocation and do not survive.

Upon completion of a home, few to no local native plants that once grew on the lot are replanted, and even if a local native tree is replanted (live oak, slash pine, sabal palm) it is common that those trees will not survive and grow to maturity.

The deadline to raise the purchase funds is April 28th. We'll be keeping track of donations received via the Nature Bingo card shown here and will share periodic updates to it here, in our newsletter and on our social media.

Once we fill the card with donations NATURE WINS and we will purchase and protect the parcel.

TORTOISE EVICTION - DID YOU KNOW?

Sadly, when a residential lot is targeted for development, in the majority of cases tortoises are relocated off-site. They are bucket trapped or dug out of their burrows with machinery and then taken many miles from home to a relocation site before complete clear-cutting and scraping of all trees and plants on that lot takes place. Many fail to thrive upon relocation and do not survive.

This is the aftermath of two different burrows excavated with machinery. A long pole is used to probe the burrow to see if the tortoise is at home during the machine-digging process. Imagine how the tortoise must be feeling while this is going on. And, imagine if someone did this to your home for the purpose of evicting you . . .

Further, upon completion of a home, few to no local native plants or trees that once grew on the lot are replanted. All the more reason to protect greenspace in our neighborhoods.

Greenspace in our neighborhoods benefits nature and humans alike!

QUESTIONS? Contact us at [phone redacted] or [email redacted] or visit www.ecnorthport.com.