SPRING HILL, Fla. — Efforts are underway to better protect a species that is listed as ‘threatened’ in the Sunshine State and in Pasco County.

That species is the gopher tortoise.

The vast space of Jumping Gully Preserve is acting as a sanctuary for them.

With an ever-developing county such as Pasco, many gopher tortoises have found a new home in its green environment.

“We have an estimated 212 burrows out here and we only surveyed about 20% of the property. So there could be, substantially, more,” said Biologist Taylor Hays with Pasco County’s Environmental Lands and Acquisition Management Program.

Hays stays on top of pinpointing burrows from one side of the preserve to the other.

“You can see that’s flat on the bottom and rounded on the top,” said Hays, while pointing out a gopher tortoise burrow. “That’s obviously because of the shape of the tortoise.”

Hays has been studying the tortoises for years, becoming an authorized gopher tortoise agent.

“We were permitted for 144 tortoises ... and the site is actually full now,” Hays said. “We’re not allowed to accept any more ... but we monitor and manage to ensure the population continues to grow.”

The tortoises, as she says, are also helping other species thrive.

Being a ‘keystone species’ — they help provide shelter for countless other animals.

“With gopher tortoises, they build these burrows and up to 350 species actually use them,” she said. “With it being a fire dependent habitat, they need somewhere to go, right? In a gopher tortoise burrow, you’re not going to find just a tortoise, but you could find other protected species. Like the gopher frog, the Florida mouse, eastern indigo snake and some fun ones like the rattlesnake, too.”

Hays hopes to ensure the area’s natural habitants can live long and healthy lives.

“The ultimate goal is to conserve and preserve these lands and restore them to their natural communities,” she said.