Instead, officials plan to draft a new policy paper to analyze criteria set by federal officials about what will be necessary to remove the panthers from the list and what the state agency is responsible for, CBS 10 News reported. The species was listed as endangered in 1967 when there were just 30 animals in the wild.
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Chief among those is loosening a requirement for Florida officials to establish panther populations outside of southwest Florida, where they are concentrated now, according to a revision of a draft policy paper that will be voted on by commissioners in September.
During an interview with local reporters on Friday, FWC executive director Nick Wiley said that the recovery of the Florida panther is heading toward a different chapter.
Four conservation programs in San Diego County were awarded more than $5 million combined Wednesday by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The original form of the draft policy was presented to the commissioners in June, but it was set aside until September to allow staffers from the FWC to provide sufficient input.
The draft recommends the commission seek more federal assistance as the panther population has reached its “carrying capacity” and is expanding to other parts of the state.
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“Maintaining broad public support for panther conservation is very important”, said Kipp Frohlich, a deputy director of the Florida wildlife agency. He explained that part of keeping the people’s support for the program is to recognize when there are conflicts concerning wildlife. The new version removes language that said today’s panther populations were a strain on landowners and residents in the area due to accidents on roadways and the killing of livestock. According to him even though the program for increasing the panther population is popular it has also led to a large number of conflicts in the past few years.
