Gulf Power Company is taking steps to protect gopher tortoises near a substation construction project in Crestview. When conducting a wildlife assessment, the Gulf Power Environmental Affairs team found four of the large tortoises nearby. A permit was secured from the Florida Wildlife Commission and environmental consultants installed barriers to prevent them from venturing into the construction area.

The gopher tortoise, considered a threatened species in Florida, lives in burrows that can extend 30 feet. It’s considered a “keystone” species because its burrow can house more than 300 different species, including rattlesnakes.

“I refer to them as nature’s builders and architects,” said Matt Dimitriff, with 4D Environmental Consultants. “The fact that other species live in the burrow makes it one big, happy family. It really is fascinating.”

While the substation is under construction, barriers are checked at least once a week by the environmental consultants. Once the construction work is completed, fences will be removed.

“We encounter wildlife just about every time we begin a project,” said Jeff Rogers, Corporate Communications manager. “Wildlife conservation is extremely important to us — every construction project begins with an assessment to evaluate wildlife in the area.”

The substation overhaul is part of the largest power grid construction program in Gulf Power’s history. New equipment is replacing infrastructure that is almost 60 years old and will increase capacity and improve reliability.

“Equipment in the substation was reaching end-of-life,” Rogers said. “The sub will be completely rebuilt and operational by the end of the year, and improvements will help ensure we can reliably serve our customers under peak conditions now and into the future.”