Florida panther advocates search for new volunteers

Panthers are on the move.

Well, at least its organization, Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge Committee is, and it needs help.

Tom Murray, its new president, said the non-profit organization is on the prowl to be an active advocate of the refuge, support its programs and promote a better understanding of the endangered Florida panther.

The Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge was established in 1989 to protect the Florida panther and its habitat. Florida panthers den, hunt and roam throughout the habitat and adjacent lands.

File photo

Wildlife biologist Deborah Jansen, second from left, places a new radio collar on a panther captured near Ochopee on Feb. 9 as veterinarian Emmett Blankenship, right, and other researchers from Big Cypress National Preserve examine the big cat. 9. Rocky McBride, center, tracked the cat with his hounds and darted it for the researchers. The panther was captured after he took chickens and a turkey from a nearby campground earlier that morning.

The 26,400-acre refuge is located within the core of panther distribution in the heart of the Big Cypress Basin. The entrance to the refuge is located about 35 miles east of Marco Island, at the northwest corner of the intersection of Interstate 75 and State Road 29.

Murray urges people to attend a meeting of the organization at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 13, at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1450 Merrihue Drive in Naples.

The goal of the meeting is to attract membership and gain key volunteers in various fields to support the organization's objectives.

"The first newsletter in 17 months is at the printers and we have received a $10,000 grant from the Naples-Fort Myers Safari Club International to be used in construction of a boardwalk on the refuge's interpretive trail," Murray said. "We also hosted a successful educational and entertaining Florida Panther Week at the refuge and the Naples Zoo."

In the months ahead the organization plans holding a series of seminars, targeted at environmentalists and the public, launch a membership drive to increase outreach and complete interpretive signs along a new hiking trail. Fundraising is still needed for the boardwalk.

There are more than a mouthful of objectives that need assistance to aid the organization's mission.

The refuge does not have outreach or environmental education staff. Public education and outreach related to Florida panther biology and conservation is critical to the survival of this endangered species, Murray said.

Additionally, advocacy outreach to local, state and federal elected officials by the group is important to long-term protection of panthers and their habitats, he said.

"All of this is more important now than ever as the Fish & Wildlife Service's budget for refuges in the southeast states has been cut by 20 percent for the next fiscal year," Murray said.

He is looking for volunteers in the areas of membership, public relations, marketing, speakers bureau, adult education, special events, finance, part-time staff, staff exhibits, trail maintenance and buggy drivers.

"If people would just take a couple hours out of their busy day on June 13 it will help identify potential new volunteers," he said. "Working together we can make a difference."

For more information call Murray at 289-2847.