More acreage for the Florida Panther to spread it's genes?

Could the Florida Panther refuge land triple in size?

By Craig Pittman, Times staff writer
Posted: Aug 23, 2010 07:41 PM

 

 

click below on link to watch an informative video on the Florida Panther

 

 

http://www.tampabay.com/components/video/the-future-of-the-florida-panther/78374778001/2652468001

 

 

           Several South Florida landowners are willing to sell enough land to the federal government to triple the size of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, according to four environmental groups pushing the purchase as a way to provide Florida's state animal with more protected habitat.

However, the environmental groups don't know how much such a purchase would cost. And they would not identify all the landowners involved.

Meanwhile another environmental group is already raising questions about whether the purchase of up to 50,000 acres would constitute double-dipping. The reason: some landowners have already agreed to give up development rights on their land in exchange for permission to develop elsewhere.

The refuge now covers 26,400 acres in the heart of the Big Cypress swamp, part of the western headwaters of the Everglades. It's 20 miles east of Naples.

The land is entirely set aside for nature. On average, five to 11 panthers utilize the refuge each month, out of the 100 or so now prowling what's left of the South Florida wilderness.

Outside the refuge, life is a little tougher for the panthers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not stopped a single development in panther habitat since 1993

"We find this a tremendous opportunity," said St. Petersburg resident Laurie Macdonald of Defenders of Wildlife.

When reporters asked how much that land might cost the taxpayers, Brad Cornell of the Collier County Audubon Society said, "A lot of money." But he shied away from setting a dollar figure.