Scubaism

Florida last week issued the last permits for its controversial “pave-and-pay” program, which has so far killed tens of thousands of rare gopher tortoises. Under the program, land developers have been allowed to pave over tortoise burrows if they pay into a fund for state land conservation. But that means the tortoises die from suffocation even as large chunks of their habitat are destroyed. In response to public outcry, Florida wildlife officials recently announced that they will phase out the program.

Gopher tortoises, found in six southeastern states, live in sandy areas at higher elevations. The reptiles spend much of their time in 15- to 48-foot-long (5- to 15-meter-long) burrows, which are 6 feet (2 meters) or more underground.

Under Florida’s pave-and-pay program, developers obtained “take” permits from the state to build on top of tortoise burrows—essentially entombing them alive. About 94,000 tortoises may have been buried since pave-and-pay began in 1991. Some suffered slow deaths due to dehydration or starvation, while others were crushed by heavy machinery. Some survived the construction, but face an uncertain future without a habitat, Berish said.

The commission estimates that though 26,000 acres (10,500 hectares) of land were preserved under pave-and-pay’s conservation provision, about 100,000 acres (40,500 hectares) of tortoise habitat were lost to development.