For years, the state allowed developers to bury gopher tortoises alive, as long as they “mitigated” for killing the tortoises by paying into a fund which was set up specifically to buy and manage tortoise habitat. Now legislators are raiding that fund to use the money for — well, for whatever they want. They are 
Removing $5-million, or half the available dollars this fiscal year, from a fund dedicated to building new habitats for gopher tortoises.
That’s the gopher tortoise blood money fund. It’s not tax money.
I have a problem with taking fees that were paid into a fund dedicated to a certain purpose, and using that money for purposes other than what was promised — breaking the promises made to those who paid the money, and to the citizens who were supposed to be made whole by the payment.
We were told that people who killed gopher tortoises had to pay to save the lives of other gopher tortoises. Now it turns out that those tortoise-killers merely paid a bounty to our legislators to use for, um, whatever.
If you have a problem with this, tell Governor Crist and your legislators.
Anonymous
1 year ago
This is symptomatic of a right wing dominated State–first, bitch and moan about doing anything that doesn’t involve making money or creating more sprawl, then use that money to bail the state out of the hole that the Repubs created for themselves through their free-market and low tax idiocy.
Thanks for the keeping the duh in Florida idiots!
Kelly
1 year ago
The whole thing is sickening. First being able to pay to kill them and second stealing the funds for something else. Is there going to be enough room in hell for all of these people?
Tam
1 year ago
I have a problem with the whole killing thing…burying them alive? How sick is that? Why can’t they just be moved elsewhere? I say bury the developers alive.
Mariella
1 year ago
The Gopher Tortoise has recently been uplisted to “Threatened” status, and the FWC finally stopped issuing permits allowing them to be killed. However, those who got their permits before the deadline were grandfathered in and so are still allowed to “entomb” the animals.
Moving them is certainly more humane than burying them alive, but it’s not a great solution. The tortoises have a powerful homing instinct and keep trying to go home, often ending up as roadkill.
Clyde
1 year ago
Hey, it’s the free market system at work. I’m sure the developers feel they paid a fair price for our politicians. And it appears that most of them are willing to stay bought.
Vega
6 months ago
Actually, I run a mitigation bank in florida and if a developer identifies a gopher tortoise on property, they can transplant them onto our property, for a nominal price.