Florida Panther Management and Policy

The Florida Panther was federally listed as an endangered species in 1967. In addition to the federal Endangered Species Act, panthers are protected under other legal measures including CITES and Florida and Georgia Endangered and Threatened Species Acts. Defenders is working to ensure adequate enforcement and correct science are used to ensure the survival of panthers.

Discredited Science Allowing Destruction of Panther Habitat

The Endangered Species Act requires mitigation for development projects that will affect panther habitat. Under this process, the US Army Corps of Engineers issues a permit only if the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) makes a "no jeopardy" finding that the project has mitigated (compensated for) the harmful effects to panther survival.

Unfortunately USFWS has been relying on discredited science in their evaluation process. This has led to the loss of thousands of acres of panther habitat. Defenders is fighting for the use of sound science.

Florida Panther Recovery Plan

As active members of the Florida Panther Recovery Team and the Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council (appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush), Defenders is helping to develop and implement the Florida Panther Recovery Plan.

Defenders sought assurance that the greatest threat to the panther -- habitat loss and fragmentation -- would be firmly addressed by FWS with decisions and long- term solutions based on sound scientific analysis, full attention to tracking potential cumulative impacts and a realistic assessment of human population growth and associated development.

Over thirty-five thousand letters requesting that protections remain strong were sent to FWS by subscribers to the Defenders electronic Wildlife eAlert system.

Identifying Panther Habitat for Protection

Priority Panther habitat was identified for protection by the USFWS in their 1993 Panther Habitat Preservation Plan. It was identified again in 2002 by the panther sub-team of the USFWS Multi-species Ecosystem Recovery Implementation Recovery Team (MERIT) with the completion of a draft Habitat Conservation Strategy (Strategy).

The MERIT Strategy was ordered to be corrected as part of a Data Quality Act Challenge field by PEER/Eller, including addition of peer review comments from Dr. Beier, a member of the Scientific Review Team commissioned by the Florida Panther Recovery Team. The MERIT document has since been revised and published: How much is enough? Landscape-scale conservation for the Florida panther (Kautz et al, 2006). The goal of this document was to identify specific regions of the south Florida landscape that are of high conservation value to support a self-sustaining panther population.

Agencies Responsible for Panther Recovery

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the main agency responsible for panther protection and recovery. The USFWS guides the recovery program and is also responsible for ensuring mitigation of adverse development effects on panthers and their habitat.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) carries out most of the hands-on work with panthers in the field and NPS conducts field work at Big Cypress National Preserve. The agencies collect important research data through an ongoing monitoring and management program that is essential to protecting panthers from disease, environmental toxins, and genetic depression, and to assessing population performance (e.g., percent of breeding females).

Other agencies working on panther recovery include: US Forest Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and South Florida Water Management District.

The ESA also requires that the actions of Federal agencies do not adversely affect panthers and their habitat. This includes development and transportation projects approved by agencies such as the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Transportation.

The Endangered Species Act

The Florida panther was federally listed as an endangered species in 1967. In addition to the federal Endangered Species Act, panthers are protected under other legal measures including:

  • International: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix 1.
  • Florida: Florida Endangered and Threatened Species Act; and Florida Administrative Code.
  • Georgia: Protection of Endangered, Threatened, Rare of Unusual Species; and Georgia Code.

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for wildlife, plants, and fish that are on the brink of extinction. It includes one of the most effective ways to protect species, which is to protect the places where they live.

Fighting for Panther Crossings

Defenders has a long history with wildlife crossings, going back to the 1998 transportation billin which we successfully lobbied for the inclusion of wildlife crossings in thefederaltransportation enhancements program. Since then, millions of highway dollars have been spent on making roads less treacherous for wildlife. Defenders is now recognized asaleader in shaping conservation/transportation policy.

As a result of a proposal submitted by Defenders the Florida Department of Transportation is allocating $425,000 to the initialphase of a project to construct a panther crossing on U.S. 41 at Turner River in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Since 1979, 7 panthers have been hit at this project site alone (one female panther was seriously injured at this location, rehabilitated in captivity, released back into the wild,and then subsequently killed at the same site). Thanks toourproposal for this crossing, the Florida Department of Transportation will reconnect panther habitat andkeep panthersand other wildlife from injury and death in this area.

With this project,we come full circle, witnessing our government relations work result in a federal policy, having that policy resultingin state practice, and that state practice resulting inon-the-ground conservation.

Comments on Guidelines and Response Plans

Defenders submitted comments on the draft “Guidelines for Living with Florida Panthers and the “Interagency Florida Panther Response Plan”. In detailed recommendations we expressed support for ensuring human safety and addressing the needs of the critically endangered panther by establishing clear protocols for responding to encounters between people and panthers (link to comments, if we want).

Suing US Army Corps of Engineers

In February 2006, Defenders filed a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over their panther biological opinion on a large project in panther habitat. We are advocating for additional mitigation measures to be required to ensure that important wildlife travel corridors are conserved, that road impacts are adequately offset, and that the potential for human-panther interactions is addressed and minimized.