The Post Volume 7, Issue 17

DEP Secretary Sole Joins Wakulla Wildlife Festival to Celebrate Park's Natural Beauty

Secretary Michael W. Sole joined representatives from the St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge, Wakulla County Tourist Development Council, Apalachee Audubon Society, Master Wildlife Conservationists, Friends of Wakulla Springs and St. Mark’s Refuge Association to celebrate the 11th annual Wakulla Wildlife Festival at Wakulla Springs State Park. ...more

Wildlife Returns to Picayune Strand

Completed portion of Acceler8 restoration project has two new residents

panther kittens

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) recently documented the birth of two female panther kittens in Southwest Florida. Born on April 1, 2007, the mother and babies have made a den in the restored portion of Picayune Strand. Weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds, the kittens are just beginning to open their blue eyes. Just over two years old and weighing in at 68 pounds, the mother will leave the kittens to hunt, eat as much as she can and then return to the den to nurse her kittens.

“This is proof positive that restoration efforts are working and wildlife is beginning to flourish in this region of the South Florida ecosystem,” said Greg Knecht, Department of Environmental Protection Acting Ecosystems Projects Director. “Completing the Picayune Strand Restoration Project, a component of the state-initiated Acceler8 Everglades Restoration plan, will greatly improve panther habitat.”

Since 1981, scientists have fitted many Florida panthers with radio collars, a common remote sensing tool, to help keep track of their movements, habitats and land use patterns. The collars release radio waves that can be sensed by a special receiver. Currently, 30 panthers, including the kittens’ mother, have radio collars. FWCC has documented over 20 panther kitten births just this year.

Completion of land acquisition, road removal and implementation of ecosystem management principles in Picayune Strand will further aide in the panther's ability to feed, reproduce and find shelter. Restoration will also improve habitat conditions for the panthers' prey, and a more restricted human presence will produce larger areas for the panthers to roam. With a completion date of 2010, the project will return of natural water flow across 85 square miles in western Collier County, drained in the early 1960s for residential development.

DEP Secretary Sole Joins Wakulla Wildlife Festival to Celebrate Park's Natural Beauty

DEP Participates in ‘Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work’ Day

GTMNERR and 4-H Club Partner in Dune Restoration Project

New Green Lodging Partner Helps Florida Hotels Conserve Natural Resources

DEP Presents Recycling Award to Tavares High School

State Park Recounts History with Community

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park Volunteers Nominated for Volunteer of the Year

DEP Florida Park Service Celebrates 30 Years of Conservation

DEP Florida Park Service Hosts Nature-Based Tourism Seminars

DEP Agents Investigate Illegal Dumping

Wildlife Returns to Picayune Strand