Finding a Place for Panthers: Mapping Conservation Issues Related to Florida Panthers

Restoring wildlife populations requires locating, protecting, and connecting areas where species can thrive under both ecological and anthropological conditions. Addressing these spatial needs may be difficult, as required habitats may have been lost, fragmented, or altered prior to restoration. Changes in land use may also lead to increased human-animal interactions that impact restoration outcomes. In this exercise, students consider these issues in a case study of Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi), a currently federally protected carnivore that has a growing population in the state of Florida, USA. Students will use Google Earth to view, manipulate, and create maps related to the growth of panther populations and related habitat needs and human interactions from the early 1990s to 2021. In doing so they will explore how stakeholders interact with each other and with panthers regarding both their hopes for species restoration and the areas they represent or occupy. Students will also consider various ways stakeholders may be engaged to provide panthers with increased protection and expanded ranges, including land acquisition, conservation easements and banking, and wildlife corridors.