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FS Karl Snapper
Posts: 285 Officer
Strong words for panthers...
FS Karl Snapper
Posts: 285 Officer
Here is interesting info about Florida panthers from Matt Schwartz of the South Florida Wildlife Assn:
Dear Friends,
After a year which saw a record 24 Florida panthers killed by auto collision, intraspecific aggression (panther on panther fights to the death), illegal shootings, wildfire, and “unknown causes”, 2012 has gotten off to a rough start for Florida’s state animal - and the only large cat which remains east of the Mississippi River. In just the first 2 weeks of the year, a total of 4 Florida panthers have died - two on highways, one in a territorial fight with another panther just outside a new housing development, and one by apparent infection. For a species which resides on just 5 percent of its former range (estimated to be shrinking by 1 percent per year) and has a maximum population of 160 individuals - this is not a good sign of things to come.
You can help. The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Dan Ashe, is currently touring south Florida along with Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. Positive announcements are being made on banning the import of invasive snake species, supporting Everglades restoration, and investing hundreds of millions of dollars to protect ranch lands in central Florida. With Director Ashe’s attention firmly on the Sunshine State, now is a perfect time to ask him to take the steps necessary to the recovery of Florida’s great cat. As always - individual emails will carry much more weight than a form letter.
Director Ashe’s email is: [email protected]
There is an underscore _ between dan and ashe.
Here are two suggestions from South Florida Wildlands Association for you to consider sending to Director Ashe.
1. Designate “critical habitat” for the panther immediately.
In February of 2010, in response to a petition by a coalition of environmental organizations, FWS chose to deny the Florida panther “critical habitat” protection under the Endangered Species Act - in spite of numerous documented benefits to species recovery. Thus, while the panther itself is currently protected, its habitat is not. In their denial, the service cited both the need to have “cooperative” relationships with area landowners as well as a “technicality” - the panther was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1973 before the requirement to provide critical habitat designation for any endangered animal was mandated by a 1978 amendment to the Act.
Just since the 2010 decision, ten new development projects have been approved by FWS in panther habitat (since 1984, FWS has approved 143 individual projects - a near perfect record). The ten recent projects include the typical mosaic of usages now common throughout south Florida: expanded agricultural operations; a waste to energy plant; a golf course community; a parking lot for off-road vehicles; a road widening project; and a limestone mine.
In each case, after acknowledging “adverse impacts to the Florida panther and Florida panther habitat”, the service has concluded, “Critical habitat has not been designated for the Florida panther, and therefore, will not be affected”.
For a look at what one of these projects actually looks like on the ground, this video was shot 2 weeks ago at mile marker 51 of Interstate 75. It shows the massive new parking lot being constructed in the heart of primary panther habitat in the Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands. A popular hiking trail now lies buried somewhere beneath it. When completed, the project will provide parking for some of the 650 recreational motor vehicles which FWS has also approved in this highly sensitive area.
http://m1e.net/c?87125580-UXaylgvRotHrQ%407155690-FCXHELT5mLwPU
2. Move immediately to expand the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.
As mentioned above, Director Ashe will be making an announcement today to protect 150,000 acres of ranch lands in central Florida through a combination of land purchases and conservation easements. He will be requesting a 700 million dollar authorization from congress to accomplish that.
While we appreciate the intent of the "Headwaters of the Everglades" project, South Florida Wildlands Association (SFWA) believes that, given the current plight of the panther, a re-prioritization is absolutely essential. At least a half dozen properties essential to the panther - and totaling approximately the same acreage as would be included in the Headwaters project - have been on the books for a decade as unfinished “Florida Forever” projects (the State of Florida’s conservation land acquisition program). These include a property to the north of the Big Cypress Addition Lands (bought up by Florida Power and Light just this past June and now slated to become the biggest fossil fuel power plant in the country - the Hendry County Clean Energy Center - if we and our allies are unsuccessful in stopping the project). Another piece of privately owned land borders the Caloosahatchee River and has been identified as the last piece of undeveloped property which panthers (so
far only males) use to leave the confines of south Florida. While SFWA and other environmental organizations are working hard to bring this key corridor under conservation protection, the “for sale” sign remains.
Time is of the essence. These lands and others adjacent to them are on the Florida Growth Machine’s chopping block now. Allowing them to be developed will likely deal a fatal blow to the panther’s chances of recovery. If protected they would form a completely contiguous corridor of conservation lands and habitat which would stretch from the Caloosahatchee River to the southern tip of Everglades National Park. They have been extensively studied for their conservation importance and, with the sole exception of the land recently purchased by Florida Power and Light, have owners willing to provide protection without added development (we are still hoping Florida Power and Light will come around on this as well). This is not an opportunity we want to miss.
Please send an email to Director Ashe now. Ask him to reconsider the decision of his agency and designate critical habitat for the panther immediately. And ask him to use the power of the federal government to acquire lands necessary to the survival of Florida’s great cat by expanding the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge with already identified, essential acquisitions. Once again, Director Ashe’s email address is: [email protected]
The National Park Service’s own comments on the construction of the parking lot and motorized recreational access point described above are well worth a read. Written in 1994, they are a fitting summary of what we (and the panther) stand to lose:
“The odds for the long-term survival of the Florida panther in the wild are not good. The-human population in the region continues to increase, resulting in urban growth and expansion of the regional highway network into former panther habitat. The demand and use of panther habitat for outdoor recreation has also increased and will continue to do so…Any action that decreases the wilderness qualities of the Everglades region impacts this species. The existing threats to the panther are interrelated and cannot be separated. The primary threat to the Florida panther has been human encroachment into panther habitat.”
Eloquent words. Now is the time to follow them and make true protection of Florida panther habitat - along with the hundreds of species of plants and animals which share it - a reality.
Best regards,
Matt Schwartz
Executive Director
South Florida Wildlands Association
P.O. Box 30211
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303
954-634-7173
P.S. Our Facebook page continues to be a good place to follow our work. “Like” us at:
Dear Friends,
After a year which saw a record 24 Florida panthers killed by auto collision, intraspecific aggression (panther on panther fights to the death), illegal shootings, wildfire, and “unknown causes”, 2012 has gotten off to a rough start for Florida’s state animal - and the only large cat which remains east of the Mississippi River. In just the first 2 weeks of the year, a total of 4 Florida panthers have died - two on highways, one in a territorial fight with another panther just outside a new housing development, and one by apparent infection. For a species which resides on just 5 percent of its former range (estimated to be shrinking by 1 percent per year) and has a maximum population of 160 individuals - this is not a good sign of things to come.
You can help. The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Dan Ashe, is currently touring south Florida along with Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. Positive announcements are being made on banning the import of invasive snake species, supporting Everglades restoration, and investing hundreds of millions of dollars to protect ranch lands in central Florida. With Director Ashe’s attention firmly on the Sunshine State, now is a perfect time to ask him to take the steps necessary to the recovery of Florida’s great cat. As always - individual emails will carry much more weight than a form letter.
Director Ashe’s email is: [email protected]
There is an underscore _ between dan and ashe.
Here are two suggestions from South Florida Wildlands Association for you to consider sending to Director Ashe.
1. Designate “critical habitat” for the panther immediately.
In February of 2010, in response to a petition by a coalition of environmental organizations, FWS chose to deny the Florida panther “critical habitat” protection under the Endangered Species Act - in spite of numerous documented benefits to species recovery. Thus, while the panther itself is currently protected, its habitat is not. In their denial, the service cited both the need to have “cooperative” relationships with area landowners as well as a “technicality” - the panther was protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1973 before the requirement to provide critical habitat designation for any endangered animal was mandated by a 1978 amendment to the Act.
Just since the 2010 decision, ten new development projects have been approved by FWS in panther habitat (since 1984, FWS has approved 143 individual projects - a near perfect record). The ten recent projects include the typical mosaic of usages now common throughout south Florida: expanded agricultural operations; a waste to energy plant; a golf course community; a parking lot for off-road vehicles; a road widening project; and a limestone mine.
In each case, after acknowledging “adverse impacts to the Florida panther and Florida panther habitat”, the service has concluded, “Critical habitat has not been designated for the Florida panther, and therefore, will not be affected”.
For a look at what one of these projects actually looks like on the ground, this video was shot 2 weeks ago at mile marker 51 of Interstate 75. It shows the massive new parking lot being constructed in the heart of primary panther habitat in the Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Lands. A popular hiking trail now lies buried somewhere beneath it. When completed, the project will provide parking for some of the 650 recreational motor vehicles which FWS has also approved in this highly sensitive area.
http://m1e.net/c?87125580-UXaylgvRotHrQ%407155690-FCXHELT5mLwPU
2. Move immediately to expand the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.
As mentioned above, Director Ashe will be making an announcement today to protect 150,000 acres of ranch lands in central Florida through a combination of land purchases and conservation easements. He will be requesting a 700 million dollar authorization from congress to accomplish that.
While we appreciate the intent of the "Headwaters of the Everglades" project, South Florida Wildlands Association (SFWA) believes that, given the current plight of the panther, a re-prioritization is absolutely essential. At least a half dozen properties essential to the panther - and totaling approximately the same acreage as would be included in the Headwaters project - have been on the books for a decade as unfinished “Florida Forever” projects (the State of Florida’s conservation land acquisition program). These include a property to the north of the Big Cypress Addition Lands (bought up by Florida Power and Light just this past June and now slated to become the biggest fossil fuel power plant in the country - the Hendry County Clean Energy Center - if we and our allies are unsuccessful in stopping the project). Another piece of privately owned land borders the Caloosahatchee River and has been identified as the last piece of undeveloped property which panthers (so
far only males) use to leave the confines of south Florida. While SFWA and other environmental organizations are working hard to bring this key corridor under conservation protection, the “for sale” sign remains.
Time is of the essence. These lands and others adjacent to them are on the Florida Growth Machine’s chopping block now. Allowing them to be developed will likely deal a fatal blow to the panther’s chances of recovery. If protected they would form a completely contiguous corridor of conservation lands and habitat which would stretch from the Caloosahatchee River to the southern tip of Everglades National Park. They have been extensively studied for their conservation importance and, with the sole exception of the land recently purchased by Florida Power and Light, have owners willing to provide protection without added development (we are still hoping Florida Power and Light will come around on this as well). This is not an opportunity we want to miss.
Please send an email to Director Ashe now. Ask him to reconsider the decision of his agency and designate critical habitat for the panther immediately. And ask him to use the power of the federal government to acquire lands necessary to the survival of Florida’s great cat by expanding the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge with already identified, essential acquisitions. Once again, Director Ashe’s email address is: [email protected]
The National Park Service’s own comments on the construction of the parking lot and motorized recreational access point described above are well worth a read. Written in 1994, they are a fitting summary of what we (and the panther) stand to lose:
“The odds for the long-term survival of the Florida panther in the wild are not good. The-human population in the region continues to increase, resulting in urban growth and expansion of the regional highway network into former panther habitat. The demand and use of panther habitat for outdoor recreation has also increased and will continue to do so…Any action that decreases the wilderness qualities of the Everglades region impacts this species. The existing threats to the panther are interrelated and cannot be separated. The primary threat to the Florida panther has been human encroachment into panther habitat.”
Eloquent words. Now is the time to follow them and make true protection of Florida panther habitat - along with the hundreds of species of plants and animals which share it - a reality.
Best regards,
Matt Schwartz
Executive Director
South Florida Wildlands Association
P.O. Box 30211
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303
954-634-7173
P.S. Our Facebook page continues to be a good place to follow our work. “Like” us at:
Replies
And that's fine if you want to pretend that they are real, actual Florida panthers if you need another endangered species to use as a weapon in the fight to prevent someone from doing something with their property or build a road.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
I was involved in the work which led to listing the sawfish under the ESA a few years back (I was hired by folks from Mote Marine Labs as a guide to help researchers learn a bit about the saws in the areas I'm familiar with out of Flamingo (where there's lots of sawfish if you know where to look). Since the sawfish has pretty much disappeared everywhere else in the world the effort was justified. Once the project was complete and the fish was listed as officially endangered, the various scientists involved moved on to other projects. A few years later I was notified of a hearing that was being held to consider "critical habitat" for the saws here in Florida. I drove 100 miles to attend and found that the folks running that hearing seemed to have already made up their minds about what they were going to do no matter what the facts were.... The whole experience left a bad taste. I pointed out that the entire breeding area for saws in inside Everglades National Park where they receive complete protection and that no building or commercial development will ever be allowed there.... I also pointed out that the real problem for these fish is inshore netting (any saw that runs into a net dies).... and worldwide that's been the major cause of their disappearance. I also pointed out that since the net ban in this state saws are beginning to expand into areas outside the Park and should continue to do so. The main focus of that meeting, though, was having the ability to control waterfront development from Naples all the way up to Tampa.... clearly sawfish were just the excuse needed to be able to tell landowners that they couldn't put up boat docks or other things similar without federal permission....
Needless to say the next time I'm asked to join any similar effort I'll probably decline. Marine conservation and care of the areas we love and use works well with reasonable regulation, carefully thought out, and enforced. Every time any outfit uses one concern to allow them to achieve an entirely different agenda it lessens the respect any of us have for that effort.
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
They cross bred before so its not such a big deal. Panthers traveled Gary, you knew that right?
Why do people think that we should develop the small percentage of non-developed land left? Talk about radical. Screw every inch of land so the yankees can feel at home with a strip mall every few miles.
I though this was a conservation forum??????
It is a conservation forum. It's not a preservation by denying access to public lands and people the reasonable use of their property by putting a glass dome over it forum.
You want to give the animals woods to frolic in, put your money where your mouth is and buy it yourself.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
Karl,
Do you hunt?
Scrubs
PS please view my response in this thread, comment 27.
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?34416-Third-Florida-panther-found-dead-in-2012
Trampling private property rights? NO!
I get really nervous when I see special interest groups using endangered species as a cover to further their own agenda.
This land grab on behalf of the so called Fl. panther is no different than the shenanigans SMC tries to force on waterfront property owners.
Or what Gary said..X2
As much as we all want FL to remain wild and wooly.... X3
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
cat's presence will help insure protecting hunt country against 'development' more effectively than my fellow hunters.....
perhaps it is time to swing down to my native South Florida Wildland habitats......tail gate down......' here!! Kitty kitty!
All due respect to Mr Belden.
Many years ago the state judged alligators to be overpopulated. The plan was to bring in sharpshooters to kill a bunch of them. Our editor Vic Dunaway and I talked to the DNR head, Dr. Elton Gissendaner, and said, hey, why not set up a system of controlled hunting by citizens. Good idea, said Elton, and that led to the lottery method of allowing limited gator hunting by the public.
Maybe they should do something like that for limited Goliath takes because certain persuasive biologists continue to warp the facts and block any regular opening for years to come.
Can you give me some examples where ESA measures have preserved hunting?
I know that not being ESA listed has helped hunting of sage grouse continue, but not the other way round.
You see nothing; however, more astute and educated people see ecosystems that support life.
You like concrete and strip malls and money that fills your pocket. We don't need people like you working for Florida conservation. You are clueless.
You act like development in Florida was and is not a problem. That is cause concrete makes you money, doesn't make you any more aware though.
The fact that you work for our carpetbagger crook of a governors DEP really is telling that he has no desire to do anything meaningful for our environment. Hire concrete junkies like you to run the ship into the ground.
I see you quite clearly, Peter.
Professional envy is a very unattractive thing.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
You want to give the animals woods to frolic in, put your money where your mouth is and buy it yourself.[/QUOTE]
Well,that is what we did,in response to needs,desires to 'save' places for animals,humans...... We bought it! beginning with CARL,Conservation and Recreation Lands Act ( Thank you Florida Wildlife Federation,John & Marianna Jones,Art Marshall,Jack Moller et al),right off the bat Holey Land,Rotenberger.......eventually up NE Florida Jennings Forest,Guana....to name but a few.
So here on one hand, we have the potential for land to be protected from development, whatever the reason might be. And we have anglers and hunters bickering against each other about it.
On the other hand, we have HB 1103, from Senator Hays, that is looking to redefine what the high water mark is around rivers, and as I read it possibly allowing the nearby swamps to be developed/used for agro so long as they are "not in highwater condition." And again we have no real concerted voice from anglers or hunters, so far as I can see.
I can see where someone might get riled up thinking that access rights could be denied on newly protected lands. Not the best case scenario, but on the other hand when the ecosystem is ripped up, the game is over. No need to go back later and try to earn your rights back once the land is ruined.
I can't help thinking about Fisheating Creek in both cases. That land was off limits to anglers for the purpose of camping on the banks not many years ago. Just going from memory here, but as I recall it someone found some evidence of that water being used as a trading route, and it became public again. Now I can and do enjoy a 2 or 3 day recharge paddle each year.
Allow the swamp lands that surround the creek to be altered right up to the water's edge during "non high water periods," and you can have it back. I don't need to push my boat through waters that have agro butted up against one side, or the sound of leaf blowers from somebody's yard on the other. I see "Canal Florida" in my own back yard. I'd like to be able to visit and experience "Real Florida" now and then too.
So for my money, I don't really care what the excuse is to protect sensitive lands. If I have to fight for sensible access down the road, that's a battle I'm willing to join.
-John Gierach
I have to learn about "environmental ethics" ? :rotflmao
I am honest to a fault and I never lie. You on the other hand take great pride in your audacity to employ any animal or plant or bug , in need of "protection" as you define the term to be true, as a weapon to achieve your personal view of the world and to co-opt the right of people to reasonably use their land. Which is both obviously intellectually and scientifically dishonest and a bold faced deception.
Please don't presume to lecture me on honesty or ethics or morality in governing ,regulation and treating people fairly. Its you , Peter who have a long walk ahead of you just to arrive at where I've been.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
Gary, what we have is differing opinions about natural lands and Florida. You really don't care about natural lands or protecting resources. You need a reason that benefits man directly, preferably the pocket book. You do not consider a previous posters discussion about Fish Eating Creek as valid. You consider nature for natures sake a waste.
You say that you see a lot of "nothing" in our landscape. I assume you mean undeveloped land. Don't be fooled by what you do not understand Gary. Green is not always pristine (but it is better than concrete). You see "pines in lines", bahiagrass pastures, land timbered 2-3 times over the past 100 years and regrown into trash oaks, or land where fire suppression has changed the ecosystem. Those places have a fraction of the plant and animal diversity that they once had, you see them as "nothing". You are correct in the sense that they have been almost irrecoverably damaged by man, but still better than concrete.
I don't think you are dishonest or anything, you follow the laws, advocate for man and you just don't care about natural Florida and you consider those that do bunny huggers. If land is protected for endangered species, mean high water, etc what is the problem? Is it illegal to use the laws on the books to protect the small remnant of natural resources that we have left? The problem is you do not believe in the science as it does not benefit mans pocket book (it does positively, but you don't believe ecotourism is valid I presume).
THE FACT IS, very little in Florida has not been either developed or highly altered by man. Very little. A fraction of what existed 100 years ago still exists as undeveloped and a fraction of that is unaltered. Half of our wetlands are gone. Less than 5% of our central Florida ridge scrub and our long leaf pine sandhills remain.
WHAT IS RADICAL, is people like you wanting to take what is left and further the destruction with concrete and other alterations by man. That is very sad and very radical. Yet you try and paint the sensible conservatives who advocate less development as radicals. Well Gary, you are the carpetbagger on the issue and we don't need that kind of thinking in Florida anymore.
Thanks to Gary's boss, the money for land acquisition is gone. When Floridians are polled, over 70% advocate for a state wide land conservation program. That is not radical.
Your entire arsenal consists of pejoratives and personal opinion and is exceeded in scale only by your hypocrisy.
I not only care about natural lands and resources, but as the chief environmental law enforcement official for the largest district in the state, I am charged with applying sound, defensible science and rule of law to regulate its wise and sustainable use as prescribed by that science as intended by people representing those who own it, both privately and publicly. It is a charge I take very very seriously in execution.
I only wish I could execute that weighty responsibility and operate armed only with your fantastic view of an alternate reality where you reside, dining happily on your diet consisting solely of your wishful thinking.
"Well Gary, the easiest way to look tall is to stand in a room full of short people." - Curtis Bostick
"All these forums, with barely any activity, are like a neglected old cemetery that no one visits anymore."- anonymouse
Not the bit you saw to leave out of your quote.
As for the second bit, your are the status-quo (except worse under ricky) and Florida will continue to cater to the wealthy out of state land owners and the remaining natural lands will continue to be at jeopardy.
Gary the system has not worked and is not working and you are an advocate for the system. Your resume is proof. Same ole same ole and Florida will be harmed.