Conservation groups are taking their fight for the endangered Florida panther to federal court. They formally told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and developer Tarpon Blue Silver King I, LLC, that they plan to sue to stop a huge new project in the heart of panther breeding territory in southwest Florida.
At the center of this legal battle is the Rural Lands West project, a sprawling 10,264-acre development in Collier County, right in what experts call the “primary zone” for Florida panthers. Conservationists say federal agencies broke the law by approving it. They argue the agencies ignored their own rules under the Endangered Species Act, putting panthers at even greater risk as their habitat shrinks.
“Relentless development keeps eating away at the last bits of panther habitat we have left,” said Jason Totoiu, Florida policy director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Fish and Wildlife Service shouldn’t have given this project the green light without seriously looking at what it means for panther recovery. We’ve already lost so much ground. We’re not just going to sit back and watch the panther vanish from Florida.”
The groups say the government’s biological opinion, the official review of the project’s impact, missed the mark. It didn’t examine how the new construction would affect the panther’s chances of survival or measure whether panthers are already teetering on the brink. “This isn’t just any project,” Totoiu said. “It covers over 10,000 acres, and it’s alarming how the government handled its review. They ignored what it means for the panther’s future.”
Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association, put it bluntly: “This development sits right in primary panther habitat, practically next door to the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. There’s barely anything left. If development keeps racing ahead, there won’t be a future for these animals. We hope this lawsuit forces the agency to set real limits on how much more habitat we can lose.”
The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the Service since 1989, wasn’t even mentioned in the government’s biological opinion. Yet panthers living there face the same threats.
Federal officials set out a recovery plan for panthers almost twenty years ago, but since then, over 30,000 acres of habitat have disappeared. Cars kill as many as one out of every five panthers in a single year. Fewer than 200 adult panthers likely survive in the wild, and the trend is headed in the wrong direction. According to the recovery plan, the species can only be considered safe if three separate populations of at least 240 panthers each can thrive in stable, high-quality habitat. Right now, that’s a distant goal.
Totoiu points out that, even with positive steps like the state’s Wildlife Corridor, panthers are running out of time. “It’s a race against the clock. The Wildlife Corridor is important, but it’s not new habitat—it’s just changing hands or getting some protection. We’re not making more land for panthers. What’s left is it.”
Today, the Center, South Florida Wildlands Association, and Sierra Club let the agencies know they plan to sue under the Endangered Species Act if the Service and the Corps don’t restart consultation within 60 days and come up with a new, legally sound biological opinion.
Before anyone files a lawsuit against the federal government, they must formally notify the responsible agency by filing an administrative claim.
