LANDMARK PANTHER PROTECTION PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

A coalition of leading conservation organizations and landowners in Eastern Collier County announced a Florida Panther Protection Program they have jointly developed to better protect and manage the Florida panther in Southwest Florida and to assist the recovery of this endangered species.

(Click the image at left to be taken to a video featuring Nancy Payton speaking about the program)

Through this Florida Panther Protection Program, a significant, contiguous range of panther habitat will be identified for protection, and a fund for conservation measures such as acquiring, restoring, buffering and enhancing habitat and installing panther crossings and fencing will be created. The Program suggests adjustments to the innovative Collier County Rural Land Stewardship (RLS) Program and additional components. It is hoped that the Program will lead to the execution of a conservation agreement or its equivalent between the landowners and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and align County panther conservation and recovery goals with State and Federal programs.

In addition, the Collier County’s RLSA Five-year Review Committee, the public, the Environmental Advisory Council, the Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners will be asked to review and consider adoption of appropriate portions of the Program.

Partnering conservation organizations are Audubon of Florida, Collier County Audubon Society, Inc., Defenders of Wildlife, and Florida Wildlife Federation. Cooperating landowners are Alico Land Development Corporation, Barron Collier Partnership, Collier Enterprises, Consolidated Citrus LP, English Brothers, Half Circle L Ranch Partnership, Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd., and Sunniland Family Limited Partnership.

Nancy Payton, area representative for the Florida Wildlife Federation, sees this partnership as a breakthrough in panther protection. “Our Florida Panther Protection Program builds on Collier County’s precedent setting Rural Lands Stewardship Area plan and also adds a federal protection component,” she says. “Our planning sessions spanned 14 months and represent a great deal of hard work. But together, we have created a strategy that will help secure the panther’s future in Collier County.”

Adds Tom Jones, vice president of the Barron Collier Companies and spokesman for the landowners, “This Program proves the potential of landowners and conservation leaders working together to promote community interests. Like the Rural Land Stewardship Program that preceded it, and was also a result of strong collaboration, the Florida Panther Protection Program is an environmentally and economically balanced solution.”

“We hope this effort to protect the panther through a scientifically sound program that meets diverse interests will inspire initiatives throughout the region,” said Laurie Macdonald, Director of Florida Programs for Defenders of Wildlife. “We have worked hard together for an innovative plan that could set this rare and extraordinary cat, Florida’s state animal, on a path toward recovery.”

Next Steps

As an important next step, a Scientific Technical Review will be conducted by an independent committee of prominent biologists and scientists with expertise in the Florida panther. This group is expected to include Chris Belden (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Darrell Land (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), Dan Smith (University of Central Florida), Randy Kautz and Tom Logan (Breedlove, Dennis and Associates), and David Shindle (The Conservancy of Southwest Florida). Over the coming months, working independent of their respective affiliations, this group will evaluate whether the Florida Panther Protection Program contributes to the overall protection, management and recovery of the Florida Panther.

Following the Scientific Technical Review, if there is consensus to move forward, application will be made to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop the Conservation Agreement or its equivalent that will enable implementation of the program. This process is expected to take a minimum of 18-24 months.

Program Components

North and South Corridors
The Florida Panther Protection Program calls for the creation of a North Corridor and the maintenance and enhancement of a South Corridor for the Panther through the 200,000-acre Rural Land Stewardship Area in Eastern Collier County. It seeks to enable protection of contiguous panther habitat from the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Cypress National Preserve on the south, to the Caloosahatchee River on the north, to Corkscrew Marsh and beyond Camp Keais Strand on the west, and beyond the Okaloacoochee Slough on the east -- potentially providing habitat connectivity within approximately 2,500,000 acres of public and private land.

Funding
The Program will create a privately funded Florida Panther Protection Fund, which will be used for protective measures such as panther habitat restoration, buffering against human-panther interaction, construction of panther crossings, and acquisition of important panther habitat. Participating landowners will contribute to this fund according to a pre-agreed formula that is generally tied to the generation and utilization of “Panther Habitat Units” (PHUs); it is estimated that this Fund could receive in excess of $150 million in contributions over the next 40 years.

The Fund will be administered by a non-profit, tax-exempt entity, the Wildlife Foundation of Florida, and governed by a Board comprised of representatives of Audubon of Florida, Collier County Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Florida Wildlife Federation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a representative of rural landowners.

Additional Mitigation
Implementation of the Program will be enhanced by an incentive-based land use program that will require additional mitigation and appropriate restoration for development impacts to primary panther habitat within the Rural Land Stewardship Area.

Agricultural Mitigation
Finally, the Program proposes the creation of an Agricultural Preservation Credit through Collier’s Rural Land Stewardship Area plan. The goals are to assure that agricultural lands can be protected for future generations and to reduce development pressures within the Big Cypress Area of Critical State Concern.

Concludes Eric Draper, deputy director of policy for Audubon of Florida, “This shows that through listening and trust we can create solutions for both the environment and the economy. Cooperation and trust are the Florida panther's best hope.”