Florida Office

The staff in the Florida office of Defenders of Wildlife works to protect the state’s diverse wildlife and wildlife habitat, with special focus on saving and recovering endangered species. Efforts range from advocating for a statewide ecological network, to transportation and land use planning, public education campaigns and litigation.

Defenders works with fellow conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, partnership and stakeholder work groups, scientists, land managers, educators, the media, elected officials and concerned citizens.

Key Projects and Programs:

Federal and State Endangered Species Acts:  Florida has one of the highest numbers of federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed species of any state in the country - 57 federally listed threatened and endangered animals, 118 on the state list. Defenders works to safeguard and maintain the integrity of the ESA and Florida’s Endangered Species Rule to help save species from extinction and promote recovery efforts.

Focal Species:  Defenders works to protect wide ranging and keystone species benefits myriad other animals, plants and their natural communities. These species include the Florida panther, Florida manatee, Florida black bear and gopher tortoise.

Statewide Ecological Network and Selected Regional Projects: Defenders Florida works to protect a statewide network of wildlife habitat and important natural resources in mainland and marine systems. Defenders is active in regional projects in southwest Florida/Everglades and northeast Florida/Panhandle.

Habitat Acquisition, Restoration and Management:  Defenders advocates for upholding and funding the Florida Forever Act, which was established by the state of Florida as the largest public land buying initiative in the nation. The Florida Forever Act (FFA) conserves environmentally sensitive land, protects and restores water resources and preserves important cultural and historical sites.

Transportation Issues:  Defenders is a leader in the state with respect to conservation-minded transportation planning, and works closely with the national Habitat and Highways campaign.

Land Use and Growth Management:  Defenders advocates in the state legislature to defend and improve provisions of the Growth Management Act. Defenders is involved in county and regional planning and permitting, as well as selected specific key development and road projects, in order to improve land use decision making and protect natural areas.

State Comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan:  Defenders is very active in helping to shape and promote Florida's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Action Plan, a long-range strategy for preventing species endangerment and managing for healthy wildlife populations.

Conservation Economics:  Defenders works with economists, universities, agencies and conservation groups to assess fiscal impacts of conservation and to apply socio-economic science and principles to the protection of species and ecosystems.

Key Accomplishments:

• Secured $425,000 for state officials to begin retrofitting a bridge crossing in Big Cypress National Preserve where many endangered Florida panthers have been killed (2006).
• Founded and continues to coordinate the Florida Endangered Species Network (2004 - present).
• Helped secure nearly 1 billion in state funding including for the Florida Forever program, the Everglades, and 73,000-acre of the Babcock Ranch completing a wildlife corridor between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico during the 2006 legislative session.
• Led actions to change Florida’s state endangered species rule, primarily working to adjust an exceedingly stringent process of ranking species status (2004).
• Served as environmental representative on the Strategic Intermodal Transportation Systems Commission (2003) and on the Florida Transportation Plan 2025 Steering Committee (2005) planning state transportation policy.
• Transportation planning publications - Out of Control: the Impacts of Off Road Vehicles and Road Density on Wildlife and Habitat in Florida's National Forests (2002)and The Conservation Minded Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Planning (2005).
• Successfully advocated for a “Conserve Wildlife” vehicle license plate that now raises up to $500,000 annually for programs of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that protect non game wildlife (1998).
• Helped to develop the Florida Panther Recovery Plan. Defenders chairs the state’s Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council.
• Successfully advocated for improvements in manatee protection plans, boat speed zones and establishment of preserves.
• The Habitat for Bears Campaign has brought attention and resources to the threatened Florida black bear, helping make it one of the state’s focal species in conservation land planning
• The publication “Investing in Nature: The Economic Benefits of Conserving Natural Areas in Northeast Florida”and accompanying video was selected best publication in the 2005 Natural Resources Council of America’s Achievement Awards.