Another gov't pitfall: conservation implications created in the name of proposed development

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST CHARGES SCIENTIFIC FRAUD
Florida Panther Habitat and Population Data Skewed to Allow Development


Washington, DC � According to one of its own scientists, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) is knowingly using flawed science in assessing the habitat and population of the endangered Florida panther. Studies relied upon by FWS to make decisions about proposed development in Southwest Florida inflate panther population and inaccurately minimize habitat needs, according to a legal complaint filed jointly today by that scientist and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The principal problems cited by the complaint include �

* Equating daytime habitat use patterns (when the panther is at rest) with nighttime habitat use patterns (when the panther is most active);
* Assuming that all known panthers are breeding adults, discounting juvenile, aged and ill animals; and
* Using population estimates, reproductive rates, and kitten survival rates not supported by field data.
peer.org...

�The conservation implications of these problems are that future generations will see the Florida panther only on personalized license plates,� said Eller.

----------my comment-------------

Just more selfish corporate proposals to make a few extra bucks...

That's excellent for the administration because they'll be able to put more bags of money in their already over stuffed pockets...

You don't seem to give a crap that Florida has damned the Okechobe lake thereby shrinking the Everglades by about 60% and causing salt water to flow into the Everglades...

If you want to complain, start at the "source". I suggest you begin with when mankind first learned that if he kills all the "bad animals" that eats him, he is no longer going to be eaten...