A Florida panther. PROVIDED BY FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

What: An immersive field trip to witness the community and ecological impacts, including the risks to Florida panther habitat and other vulnerable ecosystems, posed by large-scale development projects to provide journalists firsthand details of the escalating threats posed by large-scale developments in the Western Everglades. Participants will explore vital public lands and sprawling developments, meet with affected residents, and hear from conservationists about the urgent need to preserve the habitat of the Florida panther and other endangered species.

Who: Sierra Club Florida, invited wildlife experts, and invited representatives of impacted neighborhoods, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Center for Biological Diversity, and others.

When: Jan. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Please RSVP and fill out the following forms no later than Jan. 7:

• Google form RSVP.

• Online Sierra Club participant liability waiver

Where: Locations in Lee and Collier counties key to the struggle to save the Florida Panther from extinction including public lands within the Florida Wildlife Corridor at risk of losing conservation value due to sprawling mega-developments like Kingston, Bellmar, and Rural Lands West. We have tentative plans to meet (and park) at the Naples Zoo where we will board a charter bus that will make a big loop exploring the roads and landscapes that make up the vital habitat of the Florida panther. As part of our panther country tour de sprawl, we will disembark from the bus for short hikes at some of the public lands that the panther utilizes making stops and visits at key geographic locations for the aforementioned developments such as the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) lands.

Affected residents and conservation experts will be there for the ride to share their insights and answer questions during our bus tour and during our stops at public conservation lands.

Why: Understanding of the ecological, social, and economic impacts that the proposed developments of Kingston, Bellmar, and Rural Lands West pose to Southwest Florida’s landscapes, communities, and wildlife is critical to ensuring the critically endangered Florida panther’s survival.

Background: A landmark victory for environmental conservation was achieved in February of 2024 when a federal court ruled that the EPA and U.S. Fish & Wildlife violated the Endangered Species Act by transferring Florida’s wetland permitting authority under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This decision reversed a move made in December 2020, which had allowed Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection to oversee development permits in ecologically sensitive areas without adequate protections for endangered species like the Florida panther. The reapplication for permits to develop Kingston, Bellmar, and Rural Lands West, and the reelection of President Donald Trump brings concern that these hard-won protections for critical habitats and vulnerable wildlife are again at risk.

As of Dec. 16, 2024, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has reported 33 Florida panther deaths, marking the highest mortality rate since 2016.The leading cause of these fatalities is vehicle collisions, accounting for approximately 80% of the deaths.