|
|
The number of alligators declined in the early years of the twentieth century owing to habitat loss and unregulated hunting for the animal's meat and skin. It was one of the first animals listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Efforts to restore healthy populations of alligators in the wild included prohibitions on hunting and the establishment of alligator farms from which meat and skins could be sustainably obtained. These efforts resulted in an increase in alligator numbers in the wild and to the animal being declared recovered in 1985. Today the American alligator persists in the wild in healthy numbers under regulated hunting and farming programs.
Declines in the number of eagles were first noticed in the late 1800s following sharp drops in the numbers of waterfowl and other eagle prey. The direct killing of eagles and the cutting of trees required by eagles for nest building also played a part. To arrest these activities, Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940. Unfortunately, the Bald Eagle Protection Act was unable to defend the bird against the effects of harmful pesticides, especially DDT, which poisoned eagles and made it difficult for them to reproduce. By the time the bald eagle was listed under the Endangered Species Act, there were only 500 breeding pairs in the wild in the lower 48 states. The banning of DDT, coupled with the habitat-protection standards of the Endangered Species Act, has delivered a remarkable comeback in bald eagle numbers since then. In 1995 the bald eagle was downlisted from "endangered" to "threatened" after some 5,700 breeding pairs were counted in the wild. Today, with approximately 9,100 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently considering a proposal to declare the bald eagle recovered and to delist the eagle.
The Florida panther was one of the first animals listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. By the time the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the first recovery plan for the panther in 1981, no more than 50 panthers remained in the wild. The rapid pace of development in Florida has made the restoration of healthy panther populations a challenge. Approximately 43 percent of Florida's native habitats have been lost to urban or agricultural uses. Roughly 21 percent of the state's primary forest cover has similarly been lost, as have about 60 percent of its natural wetlands. With Florida one of the fastest-growing states, the conservation measures of the Endangered Species Act are the only thing standing between the Florida panther and extinction.
Efforts to manage the Florida black bear under the Endangered Species Act began in 1990. In 2001, conservationists won a court order overturning a 1998 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision in which the agency denied listing under the Act. The agency's subsequent decision to again deny federal protections is the subject of current litigation by the Sierra Club. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claims that regulatory mechanisms and habitat protection afforded by other agencies are sufficient to conserve the bear. Florida, however, has since reduced the amount of money for the state's land-acquisition program and adopted a state Endangered and Threatened Species Act that puts bears at risk of diminished legal protection. At the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers has fast-tracked thousands of development projects in recent years, many of them within black bear habitat. It is crucial that the Fish and Wildlife Service reconsider its listing decision based upon current regulatory mechanisms that affect the bear. The primary threat to the Florida black bear is habitat loss caused by urbanization and sprawling development. Nearly 20 acres of wildlife habitat are lost to development every hour in Florida, which is one of the most rapidly urbanizing states in the nation. With destruction of the black bear's forested habitat expected to accelerate in coming years, management under the Endangered Species Act will help the people of Florida recover a valuable part of their outdoor heritage. Conserving the Florida black bear under the Endangered Species Act would bring more money and resources to Florida to protect the bear, as well as providing a new range of private landowner conservation options. The listing would allow for the leverage of additional money and manpower to help landowners, state and federal agencies, and Floridians restore healthy populations of this important part of the state's natural heritage so that they can be enjoyed by present and future generations. Photos courtesy USFWS. Up to Top |
Among the southeast's most readily identifiable wildlife is the American alligator. Inhabiting the regions vast swampland, alligators can grow to more than 14-feet long and weigh as much as 500 pounds. 
When European settlers first arrived in North America, as many as one million bald eagles flew in the skies. The bird's prowess led it to be declared the National Emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. Despite its association with the new nation's identity, it was more than a century before the safeguarding of eagles became a national concern.
Panthers, or mountain lions, are the widest-ranging wild cats in the Americas. The Florida panther, a medium-sized subspecies, historically ranged from Arkansas to the Carolinas and south to the Florida Everglades. Unfortunately, centuries of shooting, the loss of habitat to agricultural and urban development and 
The Florida black bear historically inhabited all of Florida and parts of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, but today it occupies just one-quarter of its former range. More than 11,000 bears once inhabited Florida alone, a number that had shrunk to 1,200 by the late 1990s.