As the human population of Southwest Florida continues to grow, so do the perils that face the endangered Florida panther.

After 2024, when 29 panthers were killed by vehicles, environmental organizations including the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity are sounding alarms as several large-scale developments continue to make their way through federal and state permitting processes that could eventually lead to more than 33,400 new homes — in areas of Lee and Collier counties that include prime habitat of the panther and other endangered species.

The Conservancy estimates the projected cumulative growth from five pending developments and a mine — Bellmar, Rural Lands West and Immokalee Road Rural Village in Collier County, and Florida Farm Development Corkscrew Road, Kingston and the Troyer Bros. Mine in Lee County — would mean 80,845 residents in the proposed housing developments and more than 260,000 vehicle trips daily through areas where panthers are already increasingly vulnerable.

To date in 2025, four panthers have been killed by vehicles, which are the leading cause of death for the animals, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Experts estimate the current Florida panther population at 120 to 230 total.

Permitting process brings sense of urgency

Sierra Club, the Conservancy and the Center for Biological Diversity, with Earth Justice serving as legal counsel, scored a victory in 2024 when a federal court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency 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 to the state, according to Sierra Club materials.

The 2024 decision reversed a move made in 2020 which had allowed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to “oversee development permits in ecologically sensitive areas without adequate protections for endangered species like the Florida panther.”

For environmental advocates, the ongoing sense of urgency stems from the fact that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which in 2024 took over the 404 wetland permitting process from the state — is now in the process of reviewing these permitting applications, all of which are at different phases and could be decided at any time.

Amber Crooks, senior environmental policy adviser with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, said that protecting the panther from the effects of development in sensitive areas means protecting other species also, along with interests important to humans.

“We talk about the other endangered animals that use the same habitat, but for us human-centric folks, we also want to have clean and abundant drinking water,” Crooks said. “We want to have fresh and clean water resources, our wetlands protected, our public lands preserved, and all those things overlap with panther habitat. So, the goal is one and the same in terms of protecting the areas that are important for the panther: They also have importance for those kinds of things, as well as agriculture.”

Elise Bennett serves as the Florida and Caribbean director and senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity in St. Petersburg, and she said that research indicates an increase in panther deaths by car crashes with exponentially more traffic on the roads if these projects are approved.

“The real problem that we’ve seen across time with these projects is that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which is responsible for ensuring their (panther) conservation, has not been accounting for the overall impact to the species’ health and well-being because of these car crashes and because of this loss of habitat,” Bennett said.

“And so, yet again, as these projects move through the Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting process, we’re seeing, in those analyses, significant concerns that the agency is not considering the cumulative impact of all these threats. It’s that idea of a ‘death by a thousand cuts.’ No [single] project may be the one you can point to and say that this is going to drive a species to extinction, but if you look at them all in their entirety, that’s the undeniable outcome.”

Permit process moving forward

Crooks of the Conservancy cited the importance of the permitting program being back under the auspices of the Army Corps of Engineers, since she said the state’s program was “flawed” and not consistent with the Endangered Species Act.

“Not only did we get that framework back, including more stringent Clean Water Act requirements, they do have to be compliant with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act,” Crooks said. “The projects should all be getting a formal biological opinion with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These are all important foundational environmental laws and important protections now that framework has been restored back with the federal entity.”

She noted, however, that the state appealed the 2024 ruling and that case is now pending before the courts.

Asked what the Conservancy is doing as the permit process is pending, she said the organization has asked that public hearings be held before decisions are made.

“We’ve been asking for those meetings and also for an Environmental Impact Statement during their review,” Crooks said. “And the Conservancy, just like before, has been commenting, providing our scientific, legal and technical information to the agencies by way of letter, by way of expert reports and by way of meetings with these agencies.”

Sierra Club, too, is pushing for public hearings before any final approvals are given that would see any or all of these projects move forward, according to Michael McGrath, lead organizer.

“The hope is that the Army Corps of Engineers would hold a public hearing with sufficient notice — ideally more than 60 days — to give stakeholders within the region the opportunity to express concerns around these various developments,” McGrath said. “The likelihood of that is uncertain, but it’s something that groups of environmentalists and conservationists have been advocating for, and we’re hopeful that they will want to make sure that the voices of various stakeholders and not just developers are heard in that forum.”

A spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers responded in writing to questions from The Naples Press regarding permit status and timing for each of the six projects, and whether there would be public hearings for any or all of them.

Regarding Troyer Mine, Bellmar, Rural Lands West and Kingston, Public Affairs Specialist Peggy Bebb with the Corps’ Jacksonville District office said, “At this time, the Corps is not planning a public hearing for any of the project.” Regarding the FFD Corkscrew Road project, she said, “A public hearing was requested, and a final decision has not been made on this request. The Corps is not currently planning a public hearing.”

In terms of status and timing, Bebb said the 404 permit application process for Troyer Mine is “currently in review status, with the public notice having been posted and Endangered Species Act consultation in process.” She said next steps would include conducting an “approved jurisdictional determination and responding to any issues addressed during the ESA consultation.” The final decision timeline is unknown, according to Bebb.

Bellmar, Rural Lands West and Kingston are all currently still under review, she said. “Kingston is approaching issuance of the [404] permit, while the others are still working through the process (internal coordinations and Endangered Species Act).”

As for next steps and timing, “Kingston is set to be issued within a month, pending any major corrections from the supervisory chain or Office of Counsel. Bellmar and Rural Lands West have longer timelines, as consultation needs [to be] finalized and the decision documents will need to be carefully reviewed,” Bebb said in the written response.

For the FFD Corkscrew Road project, Bebb said formal consultation with the USFWS was initiated on Feb. 25.

“The project is currently going through the rest of the process, including requesting information from the applicant on alternatives and proposed compensatory mitigation, and determining next steps for compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and tribal coordination,” Bebb said.

Regarding next steps and timing for FFD, she said, “Once all information is received and we have ensured compliance with all applicable laws, the decision document will be finalized and a permit decision will be made.” She said the Corps estimates “the decision would be completed within 30 days following receipt of all information, including completion of all consultations.”

For Immokalee Road Rural Village, Bebb said the Jacksonville District is currently waiting for Section 7 formal consultation from U.S. Fish and Wildlife to be complete.

According to USFWS, it is finishing up a request for additional information for the applicant and is anticipating having that to the district soon.

“Once consultation is complete, the district will finish the decision document and draft the proffered permit,” Bebb said in the response. “Once the proffered permit is signed by the applicant, it will be sent back to the district for signature, which will complete the permit.”

Bebb said there was not a request for a public hearing during the public notice process for the Immokalee Road Rural Village permit.

A future in the wild — or in captivity?

In January, representatives from Sierra Club, the Conservancy and the Center for Biological Diversity hosted a group of conservationists, community members and media for what they billed as a “Panther Country Tour de Sprawl” through areas of potential development and through 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,” according to the organizers.

The tour also included stops at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.

And in what could serve as a possible foreshadowing of the future for the species, the tour of panther country concluded at Naples Zoo, which is known for its involvement in conservation efforts around the globe.

It serves as home to Athena, an eight-year-old Florida panther who has lived at the zoo since she was rescued in Big Cypress National Preserve by biologists in 2017 after being left behind by her mother. After unsuccessful attempts to reunite the kitten with her family, the decision was made to remove her from the wild, according to information on Naples Zoo’s website. Athena is a quiet, reserved animal who gradually made herself visible as visitors waited to observe her in the spacious, shady enclosure she inhabits.

Environmental organizations working for the species’ survival are hopeful that the Florida panther will thrive again in its natural habitat, not just in captivity, and that future generations of Floridians will know that the big cats still make their home among the state’s remaining wild lands.

“I think what people need to realize is that the panther really is on the edge of extinction, and if we continue on the path we’re going right now, there’s not going to be a future where the panther survives in Florida,” McGrath said. “If we continue to bulldoze over their habitat, we’re just going to continue to see them imperiled.

“It’s really a sad scenario, but I’m hopeful that considering the legal victories we’ve had over the years related to re-federalizing the 404 wetland program — and also having the full power of the Endangered Species Act — that state agencies will come to their senses and be able to deny these big developments, for the future of Florida and for the future of the Florida panther.”

This story was published in The Naples Press on March 7.