The Everglades Law Center submitted comments on the 5-year  review of the Florida panther’s endangered species status to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) on in collaboration with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, the Humane Society of the United States, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the National Parks Conservation Association, Big Cat Rescue, and Animal Defenders International. 

In our comments, we asserted that the current population estimates of the Florida panther are too low to constitute a viable population. Furthermore, we argue that the Florida panther should maintain its classification as a subspecies of Puma concolor, and that it warrants the highest level of protection as endangered under the ESA due to a variety of habitat threats.

ELC was one of more than 20,000 individuals and organizations that submitted comments to FWS on the panther’s status review. Thank you to all those that spoke out to protect our state’s endangered species!