Media Tycoon Ted Turner Becomes Turtle Rescuer

Ted Turner might be best known as the founder of CNN, the former owner of the Atlanta Braves and Jane Fonda’s ex-husband, but it seems he also brakes for turtles.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Thursday that it had released 19 gopher tortoises on Turner’s sprawling property in north Florida’s Jefferson County. Dubbed Avalon, the property is considered an ideal gopher tortoise habitat because it has a well-established longleaf pine ecosystem in place, the commission wrote in a media release.

Turner has pledged more than 500 acres of the property to create a managed habitat for tortoises rescued from other parts of the state. The 19 turtles brought to Avalon on Thursday were relocated from Clay County to make way for land development.

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Avalon is slated to receive more than 1,000 tortoises in the coming months and years. So far, the state says, it has released 37 threatened gopher tortoises on the land.

“I am honored that my land will be a secure home for imperiled gopher tortoises,” Turner was quoted as saying. “The species has been an important part of Florida’s past and should be an important part of our great state’s future.”

Gopher tortoises are considered a threatened species in the state. Since 2007, developers have been required to relocate these critters before they can clear land to build.

The Turner Endangered Species Fund is responsible for helping restore the Avalon property for use as a gopher tortoise habitat, the state said. The fund was created as a nonprofit in 1997 to help preserve endangered species and their habitats with an emphasis on private land conservation.

“I have such great respect and admiration for my good friend Ted Turner as he continues to show exemplary leadership for highly effective fish and wildlife conservation on private lands at the national and international level.” FWC’s chairman Dick Corbett said.

To find out more about gopher tortoises, visit the state’s website. To learn more about Turner’s efforts on behalf of endangered species, visit Turner Enterprises.

Photo Credit: This little critter was one of 19 gopher tortoises released on Ted Turner’s Florida property Thursday. Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission