Loope, K.J., Akcakaya, H.R., Shoemaker, K.T. 2024, Inflated predictions from a flawed model influenced the decision to deny federal protection for the gopher tortoise, Global Ecology and Conservation

To the editors,
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently withdrew the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) as a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) across the vast majority of the species range (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2022). The scientific grounds for this decision, documented in a Species Status Assessment (SSA) commissioned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2021), were derived in part from a rangewide demographic simulation model which was published in Global Ecology and Conservation (Folt et al., 2022). We have identified serious flaws in this analysis that call into question the results and conclusions derived from the gopher tortoise SSA model, including the recent USFWS listing decision. 

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