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A Plan To Protect Florida's Imperiled Species

Brown pelican. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Brown pelican. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Florida wildlife authorities are seeking public comment on a first-of-its-kind plan for bringing back the state's 57 imperiled species.

The deadline to comment is tomorrow (Wednesday).

The plan is the first to address all the state's imperiled species.

Claire Sunquist of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the goal is avoid duplication. She says for instance many of the animals live in sandhill or scrub habitats.

"A lot of those species need similar prescribed fire or controlled burn regimes. So we tried to make sure we were addressing the needs of multiple species that live in those habitats in a similar way."

The plan includes the brown pelican, roseate spoonbill and Florida sandhill crane.

It also includes many lesser-understood species like the Sherman's short-tailed shrew, an elusive mammal found in central Florida that is difficult to find, capture and study.

Amy Green covered the environment for WMFE until 2023. Her work included the 2020 podcast DRAINED.