Proceedings of the Ninth Mountain Lion Workshop - Carnivore ...

natural resources value. Each acre of land has layers of potential uses ranging from
conservation to residential; the most environmentally sensitive lands were mapped as
Stewardship Areas and less environmentally sensitive properties were mapped as
Receiving Areas. “Credit values” associated with these land-use layers are the currency
of the RLS program. Receiving Areas can “receive” new development but only when
appropriate credits have been secured to offset the development footprint. Large
development footprints or developments that seek to convert lands with high natural
resource values will require a greater number of credits. Credits are generated by
stripping layers of potential uses off of land within the Stewardship Areas and these
credit transactions are formalized through permanent easements.
One of the first counties to adopt a RLS program was Collier County in southwest
Florida. Collier County’s RLS 196,000 acre boundary overlaps extensively with occupied
panther range. This program has been successful at creating permanent conservation
easements on >20,000 acres of panther habitat since 2003. As an example, to create the
Town of Ave Maria (4,995 acres), the developer needed to permanently protect areas that
were approximately 3.5 times greater than the size of the town. These lands (17,400
acres) are permanently protected from further development, but existing uses can
continue (agriculture, cattle). Expansion of this or similar programs at a regional level,
more conservation land purchases, and continued panther and habitat management may
create opportunities to expand the panther population northward from its current breeding
range. Collier’s RLS plan is being closely watched by other counties and large
landowners north and south of the Caloosahatchee River to see if that process may work
for them.
Panther habitat south of the river may be at carrying capacity, so to foster further
increases in population size, we need to look to the north. Thatcher et al. (2006)
examined areas north of the Caloosahatchee River and factored in road densities, human
populations, habitat types, and other variables to delineate large areas of potential habitat.
Potential panther habitat to the north is not as contiguous as that found to the south and
the landscape has been altered to a greater degree as well. There is a greater network of
highways within and between the potential habitat patches and no wildlife crossings
currently exist on these roads. Significant acreages have been cleared of forest habitats to
improve conditions for cattle ranching.
Panthers may adapt to these different habitat conditions as long as there are some areas
with enough cover for den sites, rest sites and stalking prey. Restoration will be needed
to provide for these cover elements where they are lacking, and where these features
currently exist, management practices should be encouraged to maintain this cover.
Although we know that a few young male panthers disperse north of the Caloosahatchee
River, these cats tend to wander widely. If females were present in this area, panthers
would establish permanent home ranges and these home ranges would overlap or adjoin
areas with people. Education and outreach will be a critical component of any
management actions that lead to more panthers. Success will not be achieved without
public support; management actions to enhance the panther population north of the
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