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Florida Panthers Need Help
  1. Signatures
    373 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. Department of the Interior (Secretary Salazar)
  2. Created By
    Leila Merosands
    Lacey, WA
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

There are only 80-100 Florida panthers left - the only big cat remaining in the eastern U.S.  They were voted Florida's state animal by Florida's schoolchildren, and now are being killed on the highways; designated habitat is what they need, and all they need, to be brought back to sustainable numbers.  They're a keystone or umbrella species of inestimable value to the environment; cougars in Western states were brought back from the brink of extinction, now we must do the same for the panthers; Secretary Salazar has the ability to designate protected habitat, and has done it in other cases, but he's very tough to get through to - please call and spread this easy click letter as far as you can.  Phone #:202-208-3100

Recent Signatures

Habitat for Florida Panthers

Dear Secretary Salazar,

Dear Secretary Salazar,

I’m writing because of my profound concern for the critically endangered Florida panthers; there are only 100 or less Florida panthers in the eastern United States, and they’re the only big cats left there at all. Top predators, like Florida panthers, are incredibly crucial for ecologies as a whole, and many other species depend on them for their well being, as does the health of related ecosystems; their role is so integral that they’re also called a keystone or umbrella species.

Cougars are naturally the most widely ranging non-human land mammals in the western hemisphere, but now, although they’ve been brought back from the brink of extinction in western states, our nation’s ecology as a whole, and particularly the lives of future generations, are incomparably impoverished by the high risk of extinction our Florida panthers are facing.

The answer for Florida panthers lies in designated critical habitat, as was amended to the ESA after they were declared endangered; habitat is usually a tremendous concern for endangered species, but is much more directly related to the Florida panthers’ situation. A 2000-2005 boom in local development, thankfully now in a slump, is the cause of their dire need now, with many killed while crossing highways.

Cougars are considered by wildlife scientists to be one of the species most likely to cohabit well with humans, because of their extremely elusive and peaceful nature (nearly all reported cougar “sightings” are false). Certainly this doesn’t change the need for habitat, and as beloved as the Florida panther is, the danger is very serious unless habitat is designated for them.

Current decisions about opening protected public lands, can provide an opportunity, to protect enough land for the Florida panthers to be allowed to come back to sustainable numbers. Clearly, with only enough population to range on five percent of their original habitat, this need is urgent; I ask that you please give doing so your best consideration, and provide the habitat the panthers need.

Our nation, and its children, couldn’t be more greatly blessed, than by the protection of our remaining, and historically revered, big cats. The habitat Florida panthers have now, is the bare minimum needed for survival, yet declining numbers due to highway deaths show that it’s really not enough; please, I urge you in the strongest possible terms, make sure the Florida panthers have the habitat they need to restore their population and stay with us.

[Your name]