FWC-authorized gopher tortoise services for Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Parrish, Palmetto, and Myakka City — extended service area of Mr. Tortoise LLC.
Manatee County is growing faster than almost anywhere in Florida — and much of that growth is landing directly on gopher tortoise habitat. The Parrish and North River corridor, the eastern Lakewood Ranch expansions, and the rural land out toward Myakka City are all former pasture, pine flatwoods, and scrub — the well-drained sandy uplands where tortoises dig.
Whether you're a builder opening lots in a new Parrish community, a homeowner adding a pool in Lakewood Ranch, or a buyer doing due diligence on acreage near Myakka City, the state rules are the same: no clearing, grading, or construction within 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow without resolving it under FWC permit first.
Mr. Tortoise LLC is based in Port Charlotte and serves Manatee County as an extended service area — same pricing, same 48-hour scheduling, same next-business-day written report.
From the Bradenton urban core to the Myakka City ranchlands.
The county's fastest-growing corridor. New communities, spec homes, and commercial pads on former pasture and flatwoods — survey demand here is constant.
Master-planned expansion pushing east into native uplands. Builders' lot-by-lot compliance plus homeowner pools, lanais, and additions in newer villages.
Rural acreage, ag land, and ranchettes with scrub oak ridges — classic high-density burrow country. Pre-purchase surveys strongly recommended.
Infill lots, teardown-rebuilds, and redevelopment sites. Even long-platted urban lots can hold burrows if they've sat vacant.
Gopher tortoises are protected statewide under Rule 68A-27, Florida Administrative Code — the rules in Manatee County are the same as everywhere in Florida. It is illegal to disturb a tortoise or its burrow, and FWC requires a 25-foot no-disturbance buffer around every burrow entrance. If your project can't honor that buffer, an FWC relocation permit (based on a survey no more than 90 days old) is required before any land clearing.
Manatee County's building and environmental review will expect wildlife compliance to be handled before clearing; our FWC-format report gives your permit package what it needs. For builders working multiple lots in Parrish or Lakewood Ranch, we batch surveys on one mobilization — which usually eliminates the travel fee entirely.
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.
Tell us the address — we'll quote any travel fee upfront and get you scheduled within 48 hours.