But residents are concerned much of the harm has already been done and their suggestions for improvement won't be heard. Cutting, for example, said she would have suggested they save more trees and move a construction trailer, situated 12 feet from her property line, to another place on the property. Nature takes a back seat, I guess, to development. The district has conserved trees where possible and will replace some of them, Rivas said. Those that were removed provided a refuge for two dozen gopher tortoises, which are on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's species of special concern list, because their habitats are declining.
Developers have two options when they encounter the tortoises.
They can relocate them or leave them. Both options are controversial. Leaving them on-site is dangerous, said Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It is also difficult to relocate them. Some have bacterial infections and can pass illnesses onto healthy tortoises.