FGCU students decry new road plans on behalf of tortoises

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Plans to build an additional road on campus has upset some Florida Gulf Coast University students who say the school is not living up to its reputation.

The issue is one about balance between growth and environmental concerns. FGCU plans to construct a road that will serve as a second entrance to freshman dorms. The proposed road would extend from the campus’ South Village to Ben Hill Griffin Parkway.

University officials said with more than 2,500 freshman in that area, a second road is a must as it would provide increased access for first responders and alleviate traffic at the school’s front entrance.

But students said Tuesday that the school would endanger the livelihood of a gopher tortoise habitat in the area.

The proposal of a new road comes after a change to FGCU’s mission statement. Students said the mission statement used to read that the school “practices and promotes environmental sustainability.”

The word “practices” was dropped last year.

“They’re definitely caring more about growth now than what’s right and what they said they’re going to do,” Tyler Perkins, an FGCU student, said.

Students said they believe the school has an obligation to the environment and to the gopher tortoises, which are listed as a threatened species.

“I don’t think that we should be tearing down anything where there’s living animals in it because we’re an environmentally friendly school,” said FGCU student Bianca Enriquez. “So, that kind of goes against everything that we stand for.”

Enriquez said plans to disrupt the tortoise habitat are a departure from the school’s character.

“They make it seem like animals are very important here, so I’m very surprised that they would do that,” she said.

But Tyler Perkins said, with the adjustments to the mission statement, FGCU’s road plans are not surprising at all. He said the school no longer has to be bound by the pledge to practice “environmental sustainability.”

“It’s an excuse so if someone brings up – says ‘Hey, this is what you stand for!’ They can tell them ‘Well, we don’t practice anymore. We promote it. That’s it,'” Perkins said.

FGCU officials said they cannot be sure how many tortoises live in the area until the land is surveyed. They also said plans are preliminary and that gopher tortoises can be relocated by Florida Fish and Wildlife.