A number of two-year-old gopher tortoises released
A number of two-year-old gopher tortoises released back to the wild Sept. 20, 2017, mill around an active tortoise burrow at Camp Shelby. Some entered to make it their home, some began digging their own burrows... More
A gopher tortoise creates a path through the tall prairie
A gopher tortoise creates a path through the tall prairie grass on his way to a new life Sept. 20, 2017, at Camp Shelby. Nearly 90 gopher tortoises were returned to the wild through the Head-Start Program, a jo... More
James Lee, a biologist with The Nature Conservancy,
James Lee, a biologist with The Nature Conservancy, is interviewed by the media in the gopher tortoise nursery before going to the release site. The goal of the Head-Start Program at Camp Shelby is to supplemen... More
Head-Start Program biologists carry 89 two-year-old
Head-Start Program biologists carry 89 two-year-old gopher tortoises to the release site at Camp Shelby Sept. 20, 2017. The young tortoises were released in three locations with active wild tortoise burrows. (U... More
Eighty-nine gopher tortoises were returned to the wild
Eighty-nine gopher tortoises were returned to the wild today at the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center as part of a joint multi-agency effort to restore the population of this endangered species. It was t... More
The Head-Start Program and the tortoise nursery was
The Head-Start Program and the tortoise nursery was created at Camp Shelby in 2014 as a joint effort by the Mississippi Military Department, The Nature Conservancy, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.... More
Chris Potin, a natural resource specialist at Camp
Chris Potin, a natural resource specialist at Camp Shelby, places gopher tortoises next to an active wild tortoise burrow at one of three release sites on the base. Gopher tortoises thrive in open canopied long... More