Historic wins for wildlife

By Amber Crooks, Senior Environmental Policy Specialist

Florida is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.

• The gopher tortoise, a little army tank, powers through our sandy soil to create a whole new habitat features for hundreds of other underground dwellers, including the pint-sized Florida burrowing owl.
• On any given sunset, hundreds of plumed egrets and herons, interspersed with striking pink roseate spoonbills, take to the sky toward their nightly roosting spot.
• Deep in the Fakahatchee swamp, a tiny Everglades mink remains hidden amongst the cypress stands.

These are Florida’s protected wildlife species. These are the species that tell the story of Florida, of our thriving wetlands, strong pine uplands, rare scrub habitats — and, in some cases, of the wildlife that are found no other place on the planet.

Our connection to clean water and to wild lands are sometimes more self-apparent — we know we depend on them for our health and quality of life. However, retaining the abundance and diversity of species is the ultimate test of our stewardship of this planet, and each species has a role in the ecosystem. Retaining our wildlife is a central aspect of our natural heritage.

Scientists acknowledge that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of our wildlife species, largely from human-related causes. Habitat loss, vehicle mortality, human-caused injury, and other factors have unfortunately resulted in 42 species on the state list and 129 on the federal list, some closer to the brink of extinction than others.

Recently, the Conservancy was able to secure a firm foothold in recovering our state-listed species. With the help of our members and partners, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida fortified two historic wins for our wildlife at the November 2016 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting: the adoption an Imperiled Species Management Plan (ISMP) and the protection of 18 Critical Wildlife Areas (CWA). These two instruments will help stem the tide for species that are currently at risk for extinction.

The ISMP will update the protective status of our state species and will reflect the available science about the actual health of their populations. Thus, species like the Florida burrowing owl and 22 others, will no longer be “Species of Special Concern” as they incorrectly have been for years — but now recognized as “Threatened” species. This reclassification more accurately reflects the challenges this species faces and gives them fuller protection under the law.

The ISMP also creates a framework to fill gaps in scientific research, as well as outlines the management actions needed to improve these species’ status to hopefully one day be able to remove them from the list as fully recovered. And finally, the ISMP will also provide much-needed standards for development permitting to ensure that the impacts of the project on that species is considered, and the proper avoidance measures takes place.

The FWC also approved 18 CWAs, all across the state. Lee County received new CWAs in the Pine Island Sound and Estero Bay, and Collier County received an updated designation in Rookery Bay.

CWAs are discrete areas that have a special importance to wildlife — in this case our coastal birds. The CWAs that will now be protected from human disturbance have been shown to be most essential areas for bird nesting and roosting. Some of the bird species that use these areas include those whose populations are in trouble. Others, like the brown pelican, are more common but still at risk from red tide or fishing line injury. Thus, CWAs will provide a refuge for these species.

While we wish these plans would have gone even further, these two actions will provide a base of conservation that we hope will continue into the future with FWC. For southwest Florida wildlife -in the continued pressure of poor water quality, growth, and an ever increasing roadways- these two legacy votes will have a lasting positive effect in the rush to save Florida’s endangered wildlife.

Your continued support of the Conservancy will allow us to keep advocating to conserve our wildlife. For more information about our work, visit: https://www.conservancy.org/our-work/policy/wildlife-and-habitat-protection.