Panther killed in southwest Florida

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a draft position paper released Thursday that federal officials should rethink the criteria they’ve set for Florida officials about what it will take to get the panther off the federal Endangered Species list.

One of the most important concerns is the fact that state officials should not be required to decide the panther populations which exist outside of southwest Florida.

Florida wildlife officials are pushing for new efforts to preserve the state’s panther population.

“Panther recovery is moving into a different chapter”, said Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, during a telephone call Friday with reporters to discuss changes to the policy paper.

The new draft emphasizes the need to restore and protect panther habitats in southwest Florida, rather than establish new populations outside the area.

Kipp Frohlich, deputy director of FWC explained that it is of utter importance to maintain the public’s support for efforts that address the conservation of Florida panthers.

The revision on the draft removes statements that pertain to the current populations of panther as causing strain on local landowners, recreationists and residents in the area. “Part of maintaining broad public support is recognizing when you have wildlife conflicts”. This plan has the support of some environmental groups but some groups are against it. If this plan is approved by federal officials then the plan would be allowed what’s known as “incidental take” of the threatened species in that area.

Officials from the agency, however, said that they do believe that the criteria set by federal representatives should be reviewed regarding the removal of the endemic panther from the endangered list as well as the responsibilities of the FWC on such matters.