Florida wildlife managers agree to rework panther policy

A controversial proposal to scale back conservation plans for the endangered Florida panther is back on the drawing table. On Tuesday, following five hours of public comments, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation commissioners agreed to rework the plan after Commissioner Ron Bergeron raised objections. Saying the agency needs to be “better stewards,” the two-term commissioner said he could not vote for the plan. “We have to keep the same level of protection of the panther until … we are very, very comfortable,” Bergeron said. The policy, drafted by Commissioner Liesa Priddy, a rancher, and Executive Director Nick Wiley, alarmed conservationists by suggesting that state efforts need to shift from expanding the population to maintaining one that could “co-exist” in fast-growing Southwest Florida. Once numbering just 20 to 30, panthers have rebounded to a population estimated at between 100 and 180. The increase has led to a record number of road kills. Ranchers and hunters complain that panthers also are preying on more livestock and deer, a sign they are outgrowing their territory...more