Click here to read a great article by Jimmy Tobias: Money and Politics Could Doom the Florida Panther
A Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) sounds like a positive thing, but the devil is in the details because it goes hand-in-hand with an incidental take permit. Such a permit would be needed because construction of these new towns and mines would incidentally harm these protected species by significantly impacting or degrading their habitat.
What is proposed by the HCP?
Here are the Conservcancy's concerns regarding what will occur of the HCP is approved as it is proposed:
The HCP proposes conversion of natural and rural lands to an urban area equivalent to that of Washington DC. There will be many impacts beyond that those to wildlife, including to water resources, sensitive public lands, and loss of prime agricultural lands.
The decisions made regarding lands within Collier County’s designated Rural Lands Stewardship Area will shape the future of Southwest Florida and determine the fate of the Florida panther.
With only about 100-180 Florida panthers remaining, the Conservancy advocates that development projects avoid impacting any panther habitat, or that officials take steps to minimize any impact.
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The Conservancy of Southwest Florida urges decisionmakers to increase the habitat available for bear subpopulations, especially habitat that connects subpopulations to each other.
The manatee population in Southwest Florida is very vulnerable. The Conservancy advocates against attempts to downlist the Florida manatee under the Endangered Species Act.