Florida Panther Breeding Area Expands in Partnership with Citrus Producer

Published on June 20, 2024

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Florida (NRCS-FL) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Florida have partnered to purchase a conservation easement at G Road Grove, an active citrus grove and tree nursery in Florida panther habitat. 

This expands the protected area within the Florida Panther Dispersal Zone. It’s a 30,000-acre corridor in Hendry and Glades counties that helps connect the panthers’ current breeding population in areas south of the Caloosahatchee River to suitable habitat north of the river. G Road Grove is also part of the designated 18-million-acre Florida Wildlife Corridor, a network of connected lands and waters that span the state. 

With this conservation easement, NRCS-FL and TNC are creating and supporting large areas for wildlife to feed, breed and roam. G Road Grove joins nearby conserved lands in this corridor, including the Spirit of the Wild Wildlife Management Area, Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest and several conservation easement lands, such as Black Boar Ranch, Lone Ranger Forge and Chaparral Slough. 

Florida panthers rely on a network of protected, connected public and private lands to hunt and breed. They use this mosaic of lands, including ranch lands and other agricultural lands such as the citrus groves and tree nursery found on G Road Grove, as safe movement pathways and sources of food and water. 

Read the full article at Florida Panther Breeding Area Expands in Partnership with Citrus Producer (southeastagnet.com)

Other news

To conserve large landscapes like the Florida Wildlife Corridor, payments for ecosystem services could be key (commentary)

June 20, 2024
In Florida, one stunningly ambitious habitat conservation program is creating a model for a future in which people coexist with nature. Spanning the length of the state—from Alabama to the Everglades—the Florida Wildlife Corridor is a vision for a continuous, 18-million-acre tract of land that aims to keep nearly 50% of the state undeveloped. The challenges are great: Florida has among the fastest

Fire, flood, storms and heat: New collaboration communicates impact of changing climate on county

June 24, 2024
Changing climate patterns and more frequent and intense extreme weather challenge Highlands County and its residents every day. Landlocked in the center of the state, it can be easy to assume climate variability like sea level rise and hurricane threats don’t impact the interior of Florida as coastal communities, but science, and the experiences of those in these areas, says otherwise.To share the