Page 81 - 2023 Sustainability Report

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Time and Dedication Help Martin Marietta Team Care for Under Georgia law, the gopher tortoise is considered a
Important Tortoise Species threatened species. Working with the state’s Department
of Natural Resources, Goudy and the consultants devised a
schedule and process to transfer the newly found shelled
residents carefully.
To ensure the tortoises were as shielded as possible, the
team spent 24 hours using the least invasive method
possible to make sure the tortoises were moved safely and
comfortably.

Gopher tortoises naturally dig into the ground in a
corkscrew manner, and the deepest burrow the team
encountered was approximately 20 feet down. So, a clear
plan was set to remove them from their complex homes.
An adult tortoise is found at St. Mary’s Sand. The lifespan of a
gopher tortoise is 40 to 60 years in the wild, and up to 90 in
captivity. While one crew member used a small excavator, Goudy
and another team member guided a PVC pole into the
As one of the oldest living species on the planet, gopher caves to help guide the operator as they slowly excavated
tortoises are a significant element of the United States’ down the burrow, scraping it carefully to mitigate the
southern ecosystem. potential of any harm to any tortoise during the process.

Because the gopher tortoise lives in self-made, extensive The team then repeated this process over the multiple
burrows that can go up to 40 feet long and 10 feet wide, burrows found on the property. “The amount of care and
they provide shelter for at least 300 other native species, effort Martin Marietta and its employees dedicate to the
including the endangered Eastern indigo snake, gopher environment is inspiring. We take pride in operating our
frog, Florida mouse, and hundreds of rodents and facilities above environmental regulatory requirements. The
invertebrates. site has provided a safe habitat for wildlife during the
mining process and will improve the habitat even further in
These tortoises and other animals use the burrows to
reclamation,” said Ellen Price, regional manager of
shelter from various threats, including drastic weather,
environmental engineering who worked with Goudy on
widespread wildfires and other natural challenges. Simply
this project. “Working for a company that sets a high
put, many species can only survive because of the help
standard for sustainability and makes it a priority from the
they get from gopher tortoises.
top down has been a privilege.”
So, when Connor Goudy, an environmental engineer from
At the end of the day, a total of five adult and one juvenile
the East Division, said a consultant found tortoises on the
gopher tortoise were extracted and tested for upper
premises of St. Mary Sand in Georgia, he knew proper care
respiratory diseases.
and protection procedures were necessary.
Once the Department of Natural Resources deemed the
“These tortoises are something we have to take care of; tortoises happy and healthy, the team safely relocated the
they provide so much for our natural world and the animals to an eight-acre sanctuary owned by the Alligator
hundreds of different animals around us,” Goudy said. Creek Wildlife Management Association in Lumber City,
“We just have to protect them and ensure we care for Georgia.
them any way we can.”

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