The Gopher Tortoise Focal Area represents an area of interest pertaining to the gopher tortoise under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP).Working Lands for Wildlife is a partnership between NRCS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to use agency technical expertise and financial assistance from the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program to combat the decline of seven specific wildlife species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other species with similar habitat needs. The WLFW project will target species whose decline can be reversed and will benefit other species with similar habitat needs. The seven species identified include the Lesser Prairie Chicken, New England Cottontail, Southwestern Willow flycatcher, Greater Sage-Grouse, Gopher Tortoise, Bog Turtleand Golden-Winged Warbler.Historically, more than 90 million acres of what is now the southeastern United States were covered by longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savanna; today, only 3.4 million acres remain and most are fragmented and in poor condition. Scattered from Virginia in the north to the Florida peninsula in the south and Texas in the west, longleaf pine forests are some of the world's most biologically diverse ecosystems, and provide critical habitat for 29 threatened and endangered species, including the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).The gopher tortoise is considered a keystone species, and an indicator of longleaf pine ecosystem health. Gopher tortoise requires deep, well drained soils and an open understory that provides open sunny sites for nesting. Its burrows provide vital habitat and shelter for many endangered species. In addition, gopher tortoise serves as vector for seed dispersal, helping to maintain biological diversity. The effects of habitat destruction, degradation, and human predation have greatly reduced the gopher tortoise population to the point where gopher tortoise is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act throughout the western part of its range.More than eighty percent of gopher tortoise habitat is in private or corporate ownership. In 2011, NRCS launched the Longleaf Pine Initiative(LLPI) to focus technical and financial resources on increasing longleaf pine habitat. Under the initiative, NRCS and its conservation partners are helping private landowners enhance, restore and protect longleaf pine forests. Many of the conservation practices that support longleaf pine forest health also benefit the gopher tortoise, including: forest stand improvement, prescribed burning, restoration and management of rare or declining habitats, and tree/shrub establishment. Working Lands for Wildlife will provide additional resources to support gopher tortoise recovery, and incorporate a species-based indicator of the success of the Longleaf Pine Initiative.Working Lands for Wildlife will assist landowners voluntarily create, restore or enhance gopher tortoise habitat, increasing habitat connectivity, and support potential down-listing of the species.See also http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/programs/financial/whip/?&cid=STELPRDB1046975Contact the WLFW program leadership regarding any usage questions, concerns or constraints pertaining to this boundary layer.