23 Panthers died in 2008
NAPLES – The Conservancy of Southwest Florida Jan. 21, 2009 filed a petition with Secretary Salazar of the United States Department of the Interior to provide additional legal protection for the endangered Florida panther.
Only an estimated 90 to 100 Florida panthers remain today, almost all within South Florida. The Conservancy petition seeks to designate those lands needed to preserve the panther by asking the Interior Department to utilize best available science and designate the Florida panther’s critical habitat.
In 2006 the primary zone, which covers a portion of eastern Collier, Lee and Hendry counties, was defined by scientists as the minimum area essential to support the existing panthers. The Conservancy also seeks designation of lands currently defined as “secondary” and “dispersal zones,” which scientists have determined to be necessary for establishment of expanded populations for the long-term recovery of the panther.
“This designation is long overdue,” said Conservancy President Andrew McElwaine.
“Designation of critical habitat should form the basis for management decisions that affect the panther,” said Jennifer Hecker, natural resource policy manager.
Twenty-three panthers died in 2009 and three have been killed in the past three weeks.
The Conservancy advocates for protection of the panther’s primary zone and has opposed projects such as the proposed 3,700-acre Town of Big Cypress, which would destroy more than 3,400 acres of primary panther habitat.
About the conservancy
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and Conservancy Nature Center are located in Naples, Florida at 1450 Merrihue Drive, off Goodlette-Frank Road at 14th Avenue North. For information about the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, call 239-262-0304 or www.conservancy.org.
