Protecting Florida Panthers Lawmakers' Aim

SARASOTA, FL – The past year hasn’t been a banner one for the Florida panther population.

That’s according to U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan and several other members of Florida’s congressional delegation who are pushing for better protections for the endangered species. With less than an estimated 180 big cats left alive, the death of 30 panthers in automobile-related accidents in 2015 is way too many, the lawmakers say.

“Each year, the Florida panther population continues to shrink in size as more big cats are hit and killed by cars because they lack a safe habitat,” Buchanan said in a statement Monday. “Although these panthers are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, they face extinction because they have no protected area to live and repopulate.”

Buchanan and a bipartisan group of Florida congressmen sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Dec. 9 requesting the designation of “critical habitat” areas for Florida Panthers. A critical habitat is a defined geographical area that is deemed essential for promoting the conservation of threatened or endangered species.

When a critical habitat is designated by the federal government, “federal agencies are required to consult with (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) on actions they carry out, fund, or authorize to ensure that their actions will not destroy or adversely modify critical habitat,” FWS explains on its website.

“The best available science suggests that current lands in conservation do not provide enough suitable habitat area to support even the limited number of existing panthers,” the Florida delegation’s letter stated. “It is of great importance to designate a critical habitat not only because it would preserve and encourage the growth of the current population of Florida panthers, but also because it would help to protect other valuable environmental resources, such as wetlands, aquifer-recharge areas, drinking water supplies and the habitat of other endangered species.”

Congressional members who joined Buchanan in sending the plea included Alcee Hastings, Kathy Castor, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel, among others.

Shortly after that letter was sent, another Florida panther was reportedly killed in an automobile-related accident. That death has since prompted Buchanan to call on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get involved in designating critical habitat areas to support the endangered panther population.

“We should not stand by and do nothing as yet another endangered species is wiped off the earth,” Buchanan said. “We don’t get a second chance once a species becomes extinct.”

It is unclear what, if any, action the federal government will take on the request.

To learn more about Florida panthers, visit FWC online.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission