From San Carlos Estates acreage to the east-of-75 boom — FWC-authorized tortoise compliance at the Lee/Collier line.
Bonita Springs runs from barrier-island coast to deep inland flatwoods in about eight miles, and tortoise likelihood climbs with every mile east. The sweet spot is the middle: San Carlos Estates and the older acreage neighborhoods, where 1+ acre sandy lots with mature scrub hold some of the healthiest urban-adjacent tortoise populations in Lee County.
East of I-75, newer master-planned communities keep expanding into native uplands, generating both development-scale surveys and a steady flow of homeowner projects along preserve edges. Even the coastal side produces work — overgrown upland lots near Bonita Beach Road occasionally surprise a builder, and waterfront parcels carry the off-site relocation rule.
Acreage owners get the best cost news: larger Bonita lots frequently qualify for on-site relocation, keeping tortoises on the property and the $5,000-per-tortoise recipient fee off the invoice.
Coast to corridor, the work varies block by block.
Custom homes, guest houses, and barns on 1–2.5 acre lots with established burrows — the area's highest hit rate.
Development parcels and preserve-edge homeowner projects in the newer master plans.
Thinner habitat, but overgrown upland lots still produce burrows — and waterfront means off-site relocation by rule.
Remnant upland outparcels along the main corridors.
The City of Bonita Springs handles local permitting and expects state wildlife compliance resolved before clearing; the tortoise rules themselves are FWC's statewide framework (Rule 68A-27, F.A.C.) — 25-foot buffer, permit for conflicts, 90-day survey validity. Our report drops into the city permit package as-is.
Working near the Collier line? We cover both counties, so a Bonita job and a Naples job can share a mobilization — useful for builders running projects on both sides.
The same four steps everywhere we work — most clients only ever make one phone call.
Give us the property address and your timeline. We confirm whether a survey is needed and schedule within 48 hours.
We walk 100% of the parcel, GPS-map every burrow, and deliver an FWC-format written report the next business day.
If tortoises are present, we prepare and submit the FWC relocation permit application for you. Typical review: 2–6 weeks.
Once permitted, we capture and relocate the tortoises to an approved recipient area. You're legal to clear and build.
Same transparent pricing across our whole service area — no location markups.
| Gopher tortoise survey | $350 / quarter acre |
| Relocation (up to 2 tortoises, permit included) | $1,400 |
| Each additional tortoise | +$400 |
| Off-site recipient site fee (waterfront/canal lots — paid to the conservation site) | $5,000 / tortoise |
Full details, examples by lot size, and what's never included: see the pricing page.
Estates acreage or east-corridor build — we'll tell you what the lot needs and have it surveyed within 48 hours.