GreenNews

GOPHER TORTOISE GETS HELPING HAND FROM GEORGIA POWER

At Georgia Power, Green Energy means more than delivering clean, reliable electricity – being ‘green’ also means being an environmental steward in the communities where we live, work and serve. Towards that end, we’re always looking for better ways to generate electricity while minimizing environmental impact. So, when Georgia Power learned that gopher tortoises were being threatened due to predation and loss of habitat, the company acted quickly to help protect our state reptile.

One of the biggest threats to the gopher tortoise is the disappearance of its natural habitat, namely the longleaf pine forests that the tortoise has called home for more than 60 million years. Longleaf forests once covered 90 million acres of the southern United States, but have declined to less than 3 percent of the area. Working with the Longleaf Legacy Program and the Longleaf Stewardship Fund, Southern Company has helped enhance more than 738,000 acres, including more than 130,000 acres directly replanted with more than 60.1 million seedlings – rejuvenating longleaf pine ecosystems across the state.

In addition to increasing and enhancing the gopher tortoise’s natural habitat, Georgia Power has relocated more than 40 specimens in an effort to protect and study these ancient reptiles. As part of the study, 16 tortoises were relocated from areas around Brunswick, Valdosta and Savannah where their habitats were threatened, to the Yuchi Wildlife Management Area near the Plant Vogtle electric generating facility. Once the tortoises were on-site at their new home, Georgia Power volunteers helped dig starter holes for the tortoises new burrows, while wildlife biologists with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, performed a comprehensive health screening of each animal, which included taking numerous measurements to document size and weight, collecting samples for later lab analysis, and pit-tagging the tortoises for future data collection and research.

Georgia Power is proud to play a part in protecting the gopher tortoise, along with the more than 360 other animal species – including Eastern indigo snakes, gopher frogs, opossums, rabbits, skunks, foxes, lizards and toads – who share the extensive burrows with our majestic state reptile.

To learn more about our gopher tortoise relocation project, as well as our additional efforts to take care of the state we call home, visit our website.