Price of Preservation: Exclusive tour of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge

Progress versus preservation.

It’s a battle being fought in rural communities across southwest Florida where there’s room for growth. While Collier County has the most protected land in our region, there’s also a lot of development going on. Environmentalists argue this expansion is encroaching on the natural habitat for endangered species.

WINK Investigates reporter Céline McArthur takes you on an exclusive tour of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, to show you what’s at stake and what’s being done to protect it.

Wildlife Biologist Mark Danaher says there’s a lot to take in on the 26,400-acre refuge.

Céline: “How would you describe this place to people who are watching?”
Mark: “One word?”
Céline: “Yes.”
Mark: “Magical. There’s nothing else like it. This is true Wild Florida.”

Danaher says there are 120 species of birds, 33 types of mammals and 700 varieties of plants here!

“There’s always something new to see, there’s always something new to learn. But the diversity is just amazing,” said Danaher.

Endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers

Our first stop: a cluster of pines. It’s home to a breeding pair of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers.

“It became listed under the Endangered Species Act because it’s dependent upon old growth pines for its survival,” said Danaher.

Many of those old growth pines are gone. Lost to development, storms and wildfires. The woodpeckers eat insects and spiders in the bark, and carve their homes into trunks of trees with decay.

“Basically red heart fungus makes the heartwood of a pine tree, which is usually like cement, makes it real soft and pliable,” said Danaher.

Time isn’t on their side, but man is. It can take these woodpeckers two to four years to create their hollows. To speed things up, the Refuge works with Florida Fish and Wildlife to install artificial cavities right into the trees.

“A good installer can put one of these artificial cavities in, in less than an hour,” said Danaher.

These woodpeckers also need fire to maintain their habitats.

“If you take fire out, they they’ll be lost,” said Danaher.

Yes, he said fire. These birds will typically abandon a cavity if the brush or other trees grow too close to its opening. So, crews use controlled burns to manage growth, and their efforts appear to be working. They brought in a breeding pair of these woodpeckers from neighboring Picayune Strand State Forest in 2019.

“And literally, three weeks later, the birds were nesting, and they’ve produced a nest every year since then,” said Danaher.

The Florida Panther

The Florida Panther, on the other hand, needs more. More space to roam, and safe passage to and from neighboring parks and preserves. That’s become increasingly challenging as new development encroaches on the wildlife corridor, which connects green spaces across the region and the state. State records show 3 panthers have been killed in car crashes so far this year, and 25 last year. With a population of—at most—230 in Southwest Florida, each death threatens their survival.

That brings us to this wildlife crossing on the Refuge beneath I-75. Danaher points to these panther tracks as a clear sign the crossing is being used.

“Our cameras over time, are able to actually videotape and see those teaching moments of Broketail teaching her kittens that were born on the refuge in 2021, how to utilize wildlife crossings and so some of them are just… amazing,” said Danaher.

Ironically, Danaher says he’s only seen a Florida Panther 15 times in his entire career!

“That just adds to the whole you know, mystique about an animal like the Florida panther that’s so reclusive, doing its own thing. And if you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to see one in the wild,” said Danaher.

Florida’s ghost orchid

You’d also be lucky to spot the rare and endangered Ghost Orchid.

“Every orchid enthusiast knows about the ghost orchid,” said Danaher. “It’s only found here in southwest Florida and in Cuba.”

Danaher takes us deep into the swamp forest to see them. He asks us not to share our exact location, because poachers will find them.

That very real threat is depicted in the book The Orchid Thief and the 2002 film Adaptation.

In bloom, they look like this! Otherwise, they’re masters of camouflage; a cluster of roots clinging to the trunks of host trees, like pop ash, pond apple, and old cypress.

“Everything’s connected,” said Danaher. “And this is the perfect example of that.”

But Danaher says their cover can’t protect them from loss of habitat.

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge swamp

As we tour the swamp, we spot a gator. I’m nervous, Danaher is not. In this protected world, he says they don’t pose the same threat.

“The good thing about these gators, they’ve never been exposed to humans. They haven’t been harassed by humans. They haven’t had rocks thrown in and they haven’t had fishing lures, they haven’t been fed,” said Danaher. “These are true wild gators. It’s all about maintaining situational awareness and respecting them and respecting their space. And so far, it has worked.”

While a refuge offers much-needed space—away from us—for wildlife to thrive, Danaher says their survival depends on you showing up to see this for yourselves.

“A lot of us call it you know, nature deficit disorder,” said Danaher. “When people get connected to these natural landscapes, then they’ll realize the importance of protecting these natural landscapes.”

Danaher admits, protecting wildlife during this time of urban sprawl, can feel like an uphill battle. But he says this is the time for communities to focus on planning decisions that strike a healthy balance between new development and conservation — before the land is cleared for construction. Because once this is gone, it’s gone for good.

The Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge trail cam video was provided to us by Willian Freund, founder of the non-profit fStop Foundation.