Comment on FR Doc # E9-21481

As a wildlife biologist in South Florida, I have worked with the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) professionally since 1988. I grew up in close vicinity to the Ocala National Forest and there were tortoises on our property. Basically, I have been involved with the tortoises all my life. In 1990, I assisted Joan Diemer Barrish (FFWCC) in surveying all the public lands in South Florida for gopher tortoises, and at that time Ms. Barrish published a paper stating in her findings that the gopher tortoises were threatened in South Florida. Their potential for long term survival is in more jeopardy today. I have worked over the years establishing large preserves in our area where the tortoise has a chance to persist. The gopher tortoise is in dire need of federal protection, and I fully support the proposed listing of the gopher tortoise as a Threatened Species.