Thursday, April 10, is National Gopher Tortoise Day – a time to celebrate this amiable creature that makes its home in open, sandy areas. The gopher tortoise is found in Alabama and other parts of the Southeast.

Alabama’s only native tortoise species is remarkably long-lived, surviving up to 70 years, said Jeff Baker, Environmental Affairs specialist at Alabama Power. Because its presence benefits other species, the gopher tortoise is known as a “keystone species.”

“The gopher tortoise likes open, sandy habitats,” Baker said. “They have these really complex social interactions. Each tortoise can have multiple burrows that it will visit, and you can tell by burrow size when there are multiple age classes in a population. These healthy populations are important to those social interactions.”

Alabama Power abides by the Endangered Species Act in protecting and preserving the gopher tortoise in lands west of the Mobile River, which are federally protected. While the gopher tortoise is not protected by federal law east of the Mobile River, the animal does receive state protections. The company works with several conservation partners to help protect and manage the species where it occurs. That includes efforts to avoid disrupting the species when it finds a home around company transmission line rights of way.

Baker noted that more than 350 species have been found living in gopher tortoise burrows. The gopher tortoise seeks out open, grassy, sandy habitat that is found in southern parts of the state.

A highly social animal, the gopher tortoise shares its burrow with more than 150 species of animals. The gopher tortoise plays an integral role in the environment. (Alabama Power)

Alabama Power Environmental Affairs employees install signs that protect gopher tortoises’ burrows. (Alabama Power)

The gopher tortoise prefers wide open, grassy and sandy habitats. (Alabama Power)

Jeff Baker, Environmental Affairs specialist at Alabama Power, installs a sign that denotes a protected area for the gopher tortoise population. (Alabama Power)

“Traditionally, the species evolved in open longleaf pine forests and thrived there, where there were natural fire cycles in the ecosystem,” Baker said. Because of fire suppression, however, such areas occur less often now; the company actively manages the landscape to avoid disrupting the animal.

Alabama Power has a long history of managing longleaf pine forests, which often serve as a home to the gopher tortoise. Alabama Power, along with the Southern Company and other subsidiaries, is committed to managing these lands through conservation programs that support the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund.

These efforts to manage and preserve longleaf pine and the gopher tortoise yield numerous benefits, Baker said, benefiting those species while also providing an “umbrella effect” in protecting other species.