On Feb. 9, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released its first draft of the Imperiled Species Management Plan, a project it has been working on over the last five years with the input of a multitude of partners and stakeholders.
The goal of the ISMP is “[w]ith broad public and partner support, conserve or improve the status of imperiled species to effectively reduce the risk of extinction.” The ISMP is intended to be the integrated conservation blueprint for the next 10 years for 60 imperiled species, including federally endangered species, federally threatened species, state threatened species, state species of special concern and state de-listed species.
In 2010, FWC adopted its new conservation model and, soon after, FWC began conducting biological status reviews for the endangered and threatened species that did not have previous management plans, essentially functioning as a health assessment for each species.
Based on these reviews, FWC completed 49 Species Action Plans encompassing the needs of all 60 species.
The goal of each SAP is to appropriately manage the species through specific objectives and actions as well as identifying key conservation strategies to minimize the impacts of known threats and improve habitat conditions. SAPs were completed in 2013 and are set to be updated within seven years, or sooner, as objectives are reached or new information necessitates an update.
The ISMP incorporates the existing SAPs and outlines FWC’s overall approach for species management, including individual and multi-species strategies and action.
The plan also identifies and targets the resources necessary to successfully implement the conservation strategies and reduce the risk of extinction of the species. The development of the ISMP required the creation of 14 Integrated Conservation Strategies “focusing on higher-level strategies and the integrated actions that benefit multiple species and their habitats.”
The ISMP’s overall objectives are principally focused on two main points – (1) filling data gaps to improve conservation and management since many species have only been subject to limited research and monitoring and (2) maximizing conservation benefits through communication and outreach.
The six current objectives of the ISMP are described more fully in the plan.
Through March 13, the FWC is accepting public comments on the plan and hopes to have a second draft prepared by June.
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