FWC hoping broader action plan better protects 57 imperiled species

The gopher frog, which hangs out around ponds in north Palm Beach County, is being decimated by off-road vehicles roaring around its territory.

The rim rock crowned snake is under attack from red fire ants and ground-clearing bulldozers near rock quarries in MiamiDade County.

And burrowing owls, which can found in open grassy areas, are being thinned out by lawn mowers and development.

They are among the 57 native species the state says is imperiled, and almost half live in South Florida, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and snails.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is proposing a wide-ranging, $1.2 million action plan to better protect them. The plan, which will be submitted to Fish and Wildlife commissioners for final approval in April, would give each animal on the list receive special attention.

“This is what we need to do so they have a sustainable population, so they won’t go away,” said agency spokeswoman Diane Hirth.

For many species, such as the snowy egret, the Florida sandhill crane and the least tern, it means close monitoring with special cameras that use an infrared beam to detect them and then take their pictures.

For others, such as the Florida pine snake, the black skimmer bird, the tricolored heron, it means asking governments and local developers to avoid disturbing their habitats.

In the case of the gopher frog and other species endangered by motor vehicles, the Fish and Wildlife Commission plans to ask local police agencies – and deploy its own law enforcers – to be on the lookout for careless drivers.

The plan could also mean killing predators, such as crows and alligators, which feast on the nests of some endangered birds.

“We can use lethal force as a tool, but we try not to,” said Claire Sunquist Blunden, the imperiled species management plan coordinator.

Many of the species face the same threats – development, pesticides and predators. They would be protected by similar action plans, which largely call for trying to prevent the animals’ nests and homes from being disturbed.

Plans also might call for setting “prescribed fires,” around their area to clear out vegetation and flush out predators such as raccoons and snakes.

Some animals have more specific problems. The brown pelican, found throughout coastal South Florida, often is killed by fishermen’s monofilament and hooks. The reddish egret and other birds that live near the shore are subject to shrinking habitats because of sea level rise.

The Big Cypress fox squirrel’s home territory is being threatened by the Everglades fires, rapid urbanization and diseases such as mange.