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South Florida Wildlands Association (SFWA) was founded in March of 2010 to protect the unparalleled beauty and biodiversity of the Greater Everglades. Please help us carry out this important work. SFWA is recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service and all gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Donations can be made via our secure server by clicking the button below:
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Checks or money orders can also be mailed to:
South Florida Wildlands Association
1314 East Las Olas Blvd., #2297
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301
Your donation in any amount supports these key conservation initiatives:
The Florida Panther
Florida’s beloved state animal, the Florida panther, remains on the brink of extinction. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the total adult and sub-adult population is between 120 and 230 animals. Once found throughout the southeast United States, the panther was aggressively hunted as a threat to livestock while much of its habitat was converted to farms and housing. A member of "freshmen class" of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, the Florida panther was made Florida's official state animal by a vote of Florida school children in 1982. Leading causes of mortality today include vehicle collisions, "intraspecific aggression" (panther on panther fights over territory), and a smaller number of shootings and poisonings. SFWA works aggressively to protect the quality of the panther’s remaining habitat—almost all of it now in Southwest Florida. Our strategies include expansion and protection of public lands, the creation of conservation easements on private lands, limitations on roads and development in areas occupied by the panther, and vigorous enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. In addition to being classified an “apex predator”, the panther is also considered an “umbrella species” and a “keystone species.” Protecting habitat for the Florida panther benefits all of the numerous native plants and animals which share the ecosystem.
Florida’s beloved state animal, the Florida panther, remains on the brink of extinction. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the total adult and sub-adult population is between 120 and 230 animals. Once found throughout the southeast United States, the panther was aggressively hunted as a threat to livestock while much of its habitat was converted to farms and housing. A member of "freshmen class" of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, the Florida panther was made Florida's official state animal by a vote of Florida school children in 1982. Leading causes of mortality today include vehicle collisions, "intraspecific aggression" (panther on panther fights over territory), and a smaller number of shootings and poisonings. SFWA works aggressively to protect the quality of the panther’s remaining habitat—almost all of it now in Southwest Florida. Our strategies include expansion and protection of public lands, the creation of conservation easements on private lands, limitations on roads and development in areas occupied by the panther, and vigorous enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. In addition to being classified an “apex predator”, the panther is also considered an “umbrella species” and a “keystone species.” Protecting habitat for the Florida panther benefits all of the numerous native plants and animals which share the ecosystem.
National Parks and Other Public Lands
Covering approximately 2.5 million acres, South Florida’s four National Park Units—Biscayne, Everglades, and Dry Tortugas National Parks and the Big Cypress National Preserve—provide unique habitat for a significant number of threatened and endangered species. Other important public lands in our region include numerous National Wildlife Refuges, State Parks, and State Wildlife Management Areas. Unfortunately, diversion of surface waters for drainage, agriculture, and the public water supply have left many of these special places starved for freshwater even as pollution from outside public lands washes in. These twin assaults have seriously degraded the natural ecosystems these areas were established to protect. In addition, excessive motorized recreation, which can damage sensitive seagrass beds and marshes, along with over-development on adjacent private lands has also diminished the ability of South Florida's public lands to sustain healthy wildlife populations. Consistent with the Organic Act which established the National Park Service in 1916 along with other state and federal legislation, SFWA advocates for management policies which put protection of natural habitats first - and before development, recreation and other interests.
Covering approximately 2.5 million acres, South Florida’s four National Park Units—Biscayne, Everglades, and Dry Tortugas National Parks and the Big Cypress National Preserve—provide unique habitat for a significant number of threatened and endangered species. Other important public lands in our region include numerous National Wildlife Refuges, State Parks, and State Wildlife Management Areas. Unfortunately, diversion of surface waters for drainage, agriculture, and the public water supply have left many of these special places starved for freshwater even as pollution from outside public lands washes in. These twin assaults have seriously degraded the natural ecosystems these areas were established to protect. In addition, excessive motorized recreation, which can damage sensitive seagrass beds and marshes, along with over-development on adjacent private lands has also diminished the ability of South Florida's public lands to sustain healthy wildlife populations. Consistent with the Organic Act which established the National Park Service in 1916 along with other state and federal legislation, SFWA advocates for management policies which put protection of natural habitats first - and before development, recreation and other interests.
The River of Grass
The life blood of the historic Everglades was the free flow of enormous quantities of freshwater from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes just south of Orlando to the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and downstream to the estuaries of Biscayne and Florida Bays. However, years of canal building and diversion of water to drain land for agriculture, cattle grazing, and development, as well as to supply the daily needs of millions of South Floridians and tourists, have left the Everglades on life support. Pollution in the form of agricultural chemicals, cattle waste, human sewage and urban runoff has further degraded the ecosystem. A multi-billion dollar economy based on beachgoing, fishing, boating, diving, hiking, hunting, and wildlife viewing is at risk of disappearing. SFWA supports Everglades restoration efforts based on natural solutions. Our focus is on public acquisition of agricultural and cattle lands for the recovery of the wetlands which once defined millions of acres of Central and South Florida and kept the ecosystem clean and healthy. We also strongly support a halt on new development in dwindling natural lands that are a part of the Greater Everglades ecosystem. Given the current needs of the natural ecosystem and the public water supply it protects, new growth in our fast-growing region should only take place inside existing urban and suburban boundaries.
The life blood of the historic Everglades was the free flow of enormous quantities of freshwater from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes just south of Orlando to the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and downstream to the estuaries of Biscayne and Florida Bays. However, years of canal building and diversion of water to drain land for agriculture, cattle grazing, and development, as well as to supply the daily needs of millions of South Floridians and tourists, have left the Everglades on life support. Pollution in the form of agricultural chemicals, cattle waste, human sewage and urban runoff has further degraded the ecosystem. A multi-billion dollar economy based on beachgoing, fishing, boating, diving, hiking, hunting, and wildlife viewing is at risk of disappearing. SFWA supports Everglades restoration efforts based on natural solutions. Our focus is on public acquisition of agricultural and cattle lands for the recovery of the wetlands which once defined millions of acres of Central and South Florida and kept the ecosystem clean and healthy. We also strongly support a halt on new development in dwindling natural lands that are a part of the Greater Everglades ecosystem. Given the current needs of the natural ecosystem and the public water supply it protects, new growth in our fast-growing region should only take place inside existing urban and suburban boundaries.
Energy
Seemingly never-ending proposals to drill for oil off Florida’s Gulf coast and inside the Big Cypress National Preserve and the historic Everglades, expanded nuclear power generators on the shores of Biscayne Bay, the largest gas-fired power plant in the U.S. in the heart of primary Florida panther habitat, and massive new powerlines and gas pipelines across the region, threaten the Greater Everglades in ways never seen before. SFWA advocates for energy conservation, clean energy solutions, safe bicycle lanes, and a greatly expanded regional mass transit system to protect native plants and wildlife and build a sustainable economy for the Greater Everglades.
Seemingly never-ending proposals to drill for oil off Florida’s Gulf coast and inside the Big Cypress National Preserve and the historic Everglades, expanded nuclear power generators on the shores of Biscayne Bay, the largest gas-fired power plant in the U.S. in the heart of primary Florida panther habitat, and massive new powerlines and gas pipelines across the region, threaten the Greater Everglades in ways never seen before. SFWA advocates for energy conservation, clean energy solutions, safe bicycle lanes, and a greatly expanded regional mass transit system to protect native plants and wildlife and build a sustainable economy for the Greater Everglades.
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