The Florida Forever Program has added another 16 square miles of land in Collier and Hendry counties for endangered species like the Florida panther to wander.
Most of the land in Caloosahatchee-Big Cypress Corridor was acquired in September. Taxpayers bought the rest in March.
The land is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a protected, connected landscape that allows animals to move safely between larger conservation areas.
“These two projects help to fill in some pieces in the corridor connecting the Big Cypress Preserve with a complex of wildlife management areas,” Jason Lauritsen, a conservationist with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, said. “This is an area that is just really big valuable piece of conservation land.”
The Caloosahatchee - Big Cypress land is aimed at connecting the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve, to the Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area and Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest. It’s in eastern Collier and Hendry counties, and considered a vital wildlife corridor for the Florida panther, black bear, and other endangered species.
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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