South Florida Wildlands Association

08/20/2026

After a pleasant ride through the heart of the Big Cypress to the pleasant little city of Fort Myers, yesterday's commission meeting on 11 separate development applications plus a complete rewrite of the comprehensive plan for Southeast Lee County was quite a shock. Much more to come on this decision - suffice to say now that panther habitat in Southwest Florida took a huge hit yesterday. Why winning our lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service over their permitting of projects in the panther's habitat is more important than ever. Stay tuned...

Lee County commissioners advanced new guidelines easing development restrictions in southeast Lee to support growth while aiming to preserve conservation areas including panther habitat and wellfields.

08/19/2026

Sending out a bit more information for those attending (or keeping a close eye on) tomorrow's Lee County Commission meeting dealing with the massive overhaul proposed for the county's comprehensive plan.

The photo of a panther crossing sign alongside Kingston is from a new article in the News-Press. It features a variety of voices speaking out about a plan that, if passed, will forever change the landscape of Southeast Lee County. Photo by ANDREW WEST/THE NEWS-PRESS & NAPLES DAILY NEWS /USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA.

The article contains a subscriber paywall, but this quote jumped out. lt's from Bill Spikowski, a former Lee County planner who was involved in the creation of the Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource area, an 83,000-acre protective overlay for Southeast Lee County created in 1990 that is at the heart of the controversy:

Those involved back then are concerned too. Bill Spikowski was a Lee planner and growth management coordinator who helped create the DR-GR and was involved in amending the plan for the area as recently as 2010.

Spikowski said that the changes seem designed to give the developers what they asked for.

“I know where the county’s going, and it’s not good,” he said. “They’re throwing stuff out because developers have asked for changes. It goes from science-based to ‘Here’s what the developers want.’”

We agree completely. Since 2010 when South Florid Wildlands was founded, we have fought one project after another coming into the habitat of the Florida panther. In defending our state animal, we have relied completely on county, state, and federal laws, regulations, and policy.

Our conclusions regarding impacts  are drawn from well established panther science. That science makes it clear that the longterm survival of the Florida panther requires large tracts of viable, interconnected, and roadless habitat.

Until recently, that description fit much of Southwest Florida. But the region has changed dramatically and this overhaul of the DR/GR will move it even quicker in the direction of dense and fragmented suburbia. There is a reason the Florida panther represents the last breeding puma populatioon in the entire eastern United States - an animal that once occupied all of the Lower 48. None of that science seems to have made it into the new "Lee Plan."

For a bird's eye view of of the Corkscrew Corridor, from the massive Kingston development now under construction at the eastern end to Florida Gulf University, see this recent flyover by Ralph Arwood. One way or another, by legal settlement with a developer or comprehensive plan amendments similar to the massive collection of amendments coming up tomorrow, all the development seen in the flyover was carved out of the DR/GR and the rural landscape, natural wetlands, and interconnected wildlife habitat this special area was supposed to protect. The video gets denser with development as as it moves west toward FGCU. Watch below:

https://vimeo.com/1219326136?share=copy&fl=cl&fe=ci

The link to the News-Press article which also contains quotes from South Florida Wildlands can be found here:

https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2026/08/17/panther-habitat-or-development-lee-county-commissioners-to-decide/91340295007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z11xx37p118550l004450c118550e117380v11xx37&gca-ft=43&gca-ds=sophi

Link to SFWA's action alert with much more information about tomorrow's meeting including how to get involved is here:

https://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/duxt-31q1cs--1dn7tw-de9uw545

08/18/2026

FB friends — the photos accompanying this post were sent along with an SFWA action alert. The issue is a major overhaul of the Lee County Comprehensive Plan (the “Lee Plan”) that would make development in this already densely developed county easier than ever.

The entire package of proposals will come before the Lee County Commission this Wednesday morning in a single up-or-down vote. SFWA’s action alert with much more information—including how to respond—can be read at the link below:

https://secure.campaigner.com/CSB/Public/archive.aspx?args=ODMzODQ0MjA%3d&acc=NjQ2NjI1

For the Florida panther and its struggle to survive in this critical part of its habitat—with connections to important public lands in all directions including a route into Central Florida—this could be a disaster.

Among the contents of this package are 11 individual residential and commercial applications, along with a provision that would eliminate the cap on non-residential commercial development. That cap is currently set at a maximum of 300,000 square feet in Lee County’s Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) area—an 83,000-acre area established in 1990 to protect contiguous wildlife habitat, wetlands, groundwater, and rural open space.

Please see the complete action alert above for more information. This is a complex collection of proposed changes that is currently set for a single up-or-down vote. That can change. Concerned citizens should request and receive the opportunity to participate meaningfully in this process, with sufficient time and explanation to understand what is being proposed, the potential effects of those changes, and why such a sweeping collection of proposals is being presented as a single gigantic package.

BTW—if you make it through all the photos, you’ll see the latest photo of Peppercorn, the Florida panther kitten rescued in March. She’s looking like a beautiful, healthy teenager now! She’s a great ambassador for her species and for the work we’re all doing to protect panther habitat.

08/14/2026

He/she just wanted a taste and knew exactly how to get it.

This is not unusual behavior from a seagull. This is what they are, what they do, and why they are such good survivors. From phys.org:

Smart Observers: Gulls watch human habits closely. They notice when you look away or set your food down.
Opportunistic Nature: They grab easy calories instead of hunting or fishing in the wild.
Teamwork: Gulls can work in pairs. One distracts you while the other takes your food.
Daring Flight: They use fast, silent swoops to hit targets before people can react.

08/13/2026

The pilot project allowing Mosaic to build a test road from its radioactive phosphogypsum stacks on a piece of private land got a lot of blowback from environmentalists when it was first suggested back in 2023. The main issue was the release of toxic material into air, land, and water once it was excavated from the stacks and spread out as a road base.

Unfortunately, judges at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to heed the precautions and a 1992 federal rule that says that phosphogypsum could not be used in road projects. The judges will allow this test project to go forward. See story from the Florida Phoenix at the bottom of the post.

Unless you've spent time in "Bone Valley" in Central Florida, it's difficult to imagine how large these stacks are and how much leftover material from fertilizer production they contain. There are about two dozen stacks in Florida holding over 1 billion tons of gypsum, phosphorus, acidic wastewater, small amounts of uranium and other radionuclides and other heavy metals. Left alone in the stacks, a hard crust develops as the stack dries out that prevents the material inside from blowing in the wind and entering the environment. That crust also prevents the release of trapped radioactive radon gas which is also present. Digging it up and spreading it on roads as a base could have the opposite outcome.

From an environmental and public health point of view, it seemed to make much more sense to leave this already polluting industry as is. The fact that this is "only" a test as the judges contend doesn't cut it for us. If the material is not going to be used in future roads because of its danger, why test it?

https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/08/12/u-s-appeals-court-approves-test-of-radioactive-waste-as-road-paving-material/

08/13/2026

With so many folks carefully observing nature in Florida with cameras these days, we're seeing some very exciting shots. In this photo taken by Phil Rathner, a male loggerhead shrike, noticeably larger than the female, is bringing an invasive brown anole to her as a present. After courtship, he will continue to bring her food as she incubates their eggs.

08/11/2026

Continuing our research and advocacy on behalf of Florida panthers and their interconnected core habitat in Southwest Florida. We ran into this photo today of a panther using a wildlife crossing that connects the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Photo by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The crossing is called the Bear Island Wildlife Crossing. It's one of many highway crossings in this area that knit together multiple public lands into a single contiguous habitat.

08/10/2026

What happens when a log falls in just the right place and someone takes the opportunity to set up a trail cam. This is from the "New England Log" page. A fascinating little thoroughfare.

And if you're surprised to see moose in Massachusetts, they were wiped out in Massachusetts by the early 1800s (due to land clearing and unregulated hunting) but walked in on their own from neighboring Vermont and New Hampshire once the woods in this part of New England had recovered. A strict prohibition on hunting has helped, and they now number about 1000 in Massachusetts.

08/08/2026

One more big THANK YOU to all who signed on to our comment
letter to federal agencies regarding the Hyper Club project in Collier County. We surpassed our goal and you made an impact!

This little video was made at the north end of the Picayune Strand State Forest while doing fieldwork in the area last week. It is due south of the Hyper Club project.

The video shows a gopher tortoise that turned a sharp 90° after crossing the road when he/she saw me. The shell shows some damage above the front right foot that appeared to have been mended with adhesive while healing took place. The tortoise was moving well and showed no sign of infection or other impacts. My guess is that the tortoise had gotten used to people during his/her rehab and that was the reason it approached. But a good example of the many critters we want to protect in and around the Hyper Club property right next-door.

08/06/2026

This recent article in Gulfshore Business provides much more insight into what the developers of the Hyper Club envision for these ecologically critical 542 acres in rural Collier County. Link here:

https://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/development/motorsports-club-proposed-for-eastern-collier-county-site/article_22241e58-b2e5-4e81-b112-7296b43cec07.html

More renderings of the potential project showing homes, vehicle storage and expanded tracks are available at the developer's website:

https://www.thehyperclub.com/

The article includes a good exchange on the two main views of this project and we've provided some excerpts below. Also - with one day to go in the extended comment period (closes end of day on Friday, August 7) we're still trying to reach 10,000 signers on our petition. We're very close - 9,700 now (thanks!) Sign the petition below if you'd like to add your voice to the opposition.

https://southfloridawild.secure.nonprofitsoapbox.com/stophyperclub

"The property at 5301 34th Ave. SE was purchased by Naples Racing Resort LLC in March 2024 for $10 million, Collier County property records show.

"County planning records identify the proposal as the Naples Racing Resort Planned Unit Development Amendment. The county’s Growth Management Community Development portal shows the request seeks approval for up to 100 residential dwelling units, up to 20 transient lodging units, a private membership club, individual vehicle storage units and redesigned track facilities while retaining the existing cell tower and updating the property’s master plan."

“For more than four decades, this property has played an important role in automotive testing and innovation,” Bond said in a statement. “Our vision is to thoughtfully build upon that legacy by creating a private destination where enthusiasts can enjoy their vehicles in a safe, professionally managed environment while respecting the property’s history, maintaining the natural environment and remaining compatible with the surrounding community.”

"Plans call for two interconnected performance circuits designed by Apex Circuit Design, the firm behind the Miami Formula 1 circuit, and preserve the property’s existing 2.1-mile straightaway. The development also would include vehicle condominiums for storage, a private clubhouse with dining and wellness amenities, pickleball courts, a swimming pool and “limited residential opportunities” available exclusively to club members, including 10 lodging casitas designed to accommodate manufacturer testing activities.

"Developers are also proposing a 35,000-square-foot public safety facility on about four acres that could include K-9 training areas, an indoor shooting range and other public safety resources."

"The proposal has already drawn opposition from environmental advocates.

"The South Florida Wildlands Association recently submitted a petition and comment letter to the Army Corps of Engineers that had gathered nearly 8,900 signatures as of Aug. 4, urging the agency to deny the project’s federal wetlands permit.

"In its letter, the group argues the proposal would affect approximately 142 acres of wetlands and threaten habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other protected species.

“The permanent loss of more than 142 acres of wetlands within a landscape specifically protected for the recovery of the endangered Florida panther ... far outweighs any private benefits associated with this development,” the letter states.

"The organization also argues the property lies within a network of protected conservation lands surrounding the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. It contends that additional development, traffic, noise, lighting and human activity would degrade wildlife habitat, displace panthers and other species, and undermine decades of public investment in conservation and ecosystem restoration."