Gopher Tortoises in Sebastian, Florida

Yes: in Sebastian and the rest of Indian River County the gopher tortoise is a state Threatened species, and both the tortoise and its burrow are protected under Florida law.

Gopher tortoises and their burrows are protected by state law, and a relocation permit must be obtained from FWC before burrows are disturbed or construction begins in Sebastian, under Chapter 68A-27.003 of the Florida Administrative Code (FWC gopher tortoise permits). FWC's species page adds that tortoises must be relocated before any land clearing or development takes place, and that property owners must obtain FWC permits before capturing and relocating tortoises (FWC). The rule is the same for a single lot in the Sebastian Highlands as for a large tract elsewhere in the county.

No federal listing applies in Sebastian. On October 12, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that listing the Eastern DPS of the gopher tortoise is not warranted, covering tortoises east of the Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers, while confirming that the western segment meets the definition of a threatened species (USFWS). For Florida, including Indian River County, FWC states that the tortoise will continue to be state-listed as Threatened in Florida and existing state protections will remain in place (FWC).

The reason for the protection is the burrow. FWC calls the tortoise a keystone species because its burrows are shared with more than 350 other species (FWC). The Sebastian Inlet District puts the figure at more than 365, naming indigo snakes, Florida mice, gopher frogs, burrowing owls and Florida scrub-jays, and notes that burrows can be 8 to 12 feet deep and more than 40 feet long (Sebastian Inlet District).

Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the FWC website.

A Sebastian homeowner needs an FWC permit when work comes within 25 feet of a burrow or will damage a potentially occupied burrow; routine mowing and landscaping that leave burrows intact need no permit.

FWC states that a disturbance includes any type of work within 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow (FWC). The work it lists is planned vegetation clearing, grading or ground leveling, construction, and heavy equipment staging areas such as bulldozers. If all development activity on a Sebastian lot will avoid burrows and tortoises by at least 25 feet, FWC says a permit may not be needed even when burrows are present.

Yard work is treated differently. FWC states that routine yard maintenance and landscaping activities that do not harm tortoises or collapse burrows do not require permits (FWC). FWC classifies burrows as either potentially occupied or abandoned, and a permit is required when a potentially occupied burrow will be disturbed or otherwise damaged. For a pool, an addition or a new home in the Sebastian Highlands, the 25-foot circle around each burrow is the first measurement to take.

Whether or not a permit is required, FWC says temporary exclusion fencing (the black fabric silt fencing used on construction projects) should be installed so tortoises cannot wander into the area where construction is occurring (FWC). On larger acreage in western Indian River County, agricultural, silvicultural and wildlife management activities, including mowing, disking, roller chopping, prescribed burning and tree cutting, do not require a permit when conducted under FWC's Gopher Tortoise Enforcement Policy (FWC permitting guidelines).

A single home in Sebastian usually falls under FWC's 10 or Fewer Burrows permit, and a project with more than 10 burrows needs a Conservation permit that moves tortoises to an off-site recipient site.

The 10 or Fewer Burrows Relocation permit is for projects, usually single residential construction, which require the relocation of five or fewer tortoises (10 burrows or less) (FWC permitting guidelines). If the tortoises stay on the same Sebastian property, the person moving them must first complete FWC online training; if they leave the property, a permitted authorized agent must capture and relocate them. The Conservation permit covers development projects with more than 10 burrows and allows relocation off-site to an FWC-permitted recipient site.

Costs are changing in 2026. FWC implemented revisions to its Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines in 2023, and its guidelines page states that the current mitigation contribution table is effective for complete applications submitted on or after August 1, 2026 (FWC). Mitigation figures gathered before August 2026 are out of date for a new Sebastian application. FWC directs permitting questions to the gopher tortoise conservation biologist assigned to Indian River County.

Tortoises moved off a Sebastian site go to an FWC-permitted recipient site, a property of 25 acres or more approved to take tortoises displaced by development.

FWC defines recipient sites as privately or publicly owned lands of 25 acres or more permitted to accept gopher tortoises needing relocation out of harm's way from development (FWC recipient sites). Recipient site tiers were added in the 2023 permitting guidelines revision to steer relocations toward land with higher conservation value. Recipient site permittees set the price for accepting tortoises from donor site landowners, and FWC reports a high demand for recipient space because of ongoing development across Florida, a cost that lands on the owner of a donor lot in Indian River County.

The best documented local relocation comes from the Sebastian Inlet District. In a post dated January 2, 2019, the district reported that a team from Ecological Science Associates spent two days finding, tagging and relocating eight gopher tortoises from its sand storage area, or DMMA, to a protective sanctuary in Osceola County (Sebastian Inlet District). The tortoises occupied burrows in the berm around the DMMA and were moved ahead of a channel maintenance dredging and beach renourishment project that would store 30,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand there for future emergency beach restoration.

The scientists examined 26 burrows at the Sebastian Inlet site, not all of them active, and found eight tortoises, including two estimated to be less than a year old (Sebastian Inlet District). The district gave the average adult as 10 inches long and up to 10 to 12 pounds. Because the post dates to early 2019, it describes the inlet sand storage site as it stood before later dredging cycles and is not a current tortoise count for Sebastian Inlet.

The two Indian River County preserves inside Sebastian with a documented tortoise record are the Sebastian Harbor Preserve on Englar Drive and the North Sebastian Conservation Area on Main Street, both listed as open from 7:30 a.m. to sunset.

The Sebastian Harbor Preserve is a 163-acre tract located within the Sebastian Highlands development, and Indian River County states that it provides refuge to several protected species, including the Florida gopher tortoise (Indian River County). It shares its southern boundary with the 166-acre Sebastian Stormwater Park, which connects to the southeast to the county's Sebastian Scrub Conservation Area. The county lists no parking spaces and bans pets, alcohol, glass containers, camping and feeding wildlife.

Indian River County bought the North Sebastian Conservation Area between 1996 and 1999 under three Florida Communities Trust cost-share grants, and calls it a key property under the Sebastian Area-Wide Florida Scrub-Jay Habitat Conservation Plan finalized in March 2000 (Indian River County). The county lists 15 parking spaces, about 10 miles of walking trails and restrooms at Friendship Park.

For tortoises, the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail points to the Jays Walk, an easy hike on abandoned subdivision roads reached from the equestrian entrance off Main Street just west of Gibson Street, where a family of Florida scrub-jays and gopher tortoises can be observed (Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail). The same page says entry is free and suggests picking up the park brochure and trail map at Sebastian City Hall first.

The two official listings for the North Sebastian Conservation Area do not agree. The county gives about 407 acres and hours of 7:30 a.m. to sunset, while the birding trail lists 553 acres and sunrise to sunset. Indian River County manages the land, so its 7:30 a.m. opening is the time to plan an early Sebastian walk.