Analysis: Panther program criticized


By Les Kjos
United Press International

Miami, FL, Jun. 22 (UPI) -- Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has sent a second blistering letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about efforts to restore the Florida panther, an endangered species.

"The substantial federal investment in efforts to protect the Florida panther is placed at risk by failures in scientific analysis of the habitat needs of the panther, as well as failures to implement the requirements of federal law effectively," Lieberman wrote.

In the letter to Wildlife Service Director Steven Williams, Lieberman raised a number of concerns about how the agency ensures that the policies are based on the best available science.

Wildlife Service officials in Washington said there probably would not be a response to the letter for weeks because it is detailed and will take some study.

"We have received the information and we're in the process, but it could be weeks," said Mitch Snow, an FWS spokesman.

The letter said an estimated 30 to 70 panthers are left, although state and federal conservationists who work in the field say the number is more likely between 80 and 90. That compares with 30 during the species' crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

"We think it's fewer than 100 and closer to 80 than to 100," said Darrell Land, panther section leader for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"There's no way we can provide an absolute census. We spend a lot of time in the field," Land said. "We can count the ones wearing radio collars, and fresh signs that can't be explained by a cat with a collar. But the numbers are changing all the time. A cat that we saw a fresh sign of yesterday may die today."

Federal Wildlife Service officials agree with Land's figures and concede he personally is responsible for most of them.

"The number we're most comfortable with is 87. A human being has touched most of them in some way," said Bert Byers, a spokesman for the federal agency's office in Vero Beach, Fla.

"When we say somebody's out there touching panthers, many times it's Darrell Land doing that," Byers said.

Land said the increase from 30 to 40-60 in the early '90s and then to the current numbers is probably the result of a number of things.

"There's been a change of attitude. People want to have panthers now. And there was the genetic restoration program," he said.

That program brought in a number of cats from Texas to refresh the gene pool and prevent too much inbreeding. He said it took a while to produce more panther births than the rate at which the panthers were dying.

Now the population growth appears to be stalled over the last few years, and that's because of the lack of habitat.

"The block will only hold so many panthers. We might see some small increase, but we're not going to be able to double it again with the room we have," he said.

Panthers need plenty of room. The range for a male panther is about 100 square miles, and for a female it's about 40 to 60 square miles. Although females will tolerate other cats in their territory, a male is more aggressive about it.

"Males like to control their home range pretty exclusively. There is overlap, but that's pretty much the way they prefer it to be," Land said.

The habitat problem is the focus of Lieberman's letter.

It said errors in science and management policies led to various kinds of development that hinders the cats' comeback.

He cited a report that found errors in scientific reports related to the management of the endangered cat.

"A report from an independent Science Review Team, which was convened by the FWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to conduct a critical review of literature related to management of the Florida panther, raises troubling questions about the quality of science being relied upon by the FWS and the Corps of Engineers in making such decisions," the letter said.

Lieberman, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, said the review cited errors by a scientist involved in the panther-recovery program. The unidentified scientist is also an adviser to applicants for dredge and fill permits, which are often required for development in the western Everglades, part of the state's panther territory.

The letter said the Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for ensuring that dredge and fill permits do not jeopardize endangered species.

The first letter, sent in August, criticized the government's apparent disregard for the cumulative environmental impact of development in the area.

Hundreds of acres of wetlands are lost each year due to development in southwest Florida, the first letter said.

The second letter said the Wildlife Service was not responsive to requests for more information on future developments requested in the initial complaint.

It said the key is "whether permits issued by the federal government are allowing development, which is destroying its (the panther's) habitat."

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