As a continuation & expansion of the Panthers & Private Lands Project (Phase 3)

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Objectives

The key objectives of Phase 3 are to:

1. Document how the Private Habitat Conservation Lease, developed in Phase 2, can be applied to a parcel of land containing Priority 1 habitat for the endangered Florida panther and/or other listed species;
   
   
2. Execute the Private Habitat Conservation Lease on the first parcel of private land containing Priority 1 habitat for the endangered Florida panther and/or other listed species;
   
   
3. Develop guidelines on how the lease can be applied to other habitats;
   
   
4. Test the Private Habitat Conservation Lease on a second parcel of land (a landowner in DeSoto County, Florida already has offered a test site) to ensure the lease can be used to protect habitats critical for the survival of threatened and endangered species on any parcel of private agricultural or forestry land;
   
   
5. Develop a photo essay and educational program to acquaint as many people as possible with the lease concept and the benefits of private stewardship efforts to protect essential habitats for threatened and endangered species (note: funding for this portion of Phase 3 is not yet available); and
   
   
6. Develop a model Private Habitat Conservation Lease package that can be adopted by any government agency or land trust in the U.S. to give landowners incentives to protect essential habitats for threatened and endangered species and specific natural resources (such as aquifer recharge areas) that are important to public health and welfare.

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Phase 3 consists of six key steps:

1. APPLICATION OF LEASE TO TEST PARCEL: Create documentation showing how the Private Habitat Conservation Lease would be applied to a specific parcel of agricultural land containing Priority 1 panther habitat and /or other listed species.

The lease document is designed to appeal to a large number of private landowners. It is neither coercive or invasive; instead, it is based on the principle of rewarding private landowners for conservation practices through tax credits and/or annual payments. Because it will provide landowners with a reduction in operating costs and/or a revenue stream for maintaining natural habitats, it will offset the economic incentives (and temptation) a landowner might have for converting these habitats to other uses.

To view a draft of the proposed lease, click here: Private Habitat Conservation Lease

2. WORKSHOPS: Bring together representatives of the diverse groups interested in -- and affected by -- the panthers' survival in two intensive, two-day workshops with the purpose of working out final differences and refining elements of the Private Habitat Conservation Lease, and developing guidelines on how the lease can be applied to other habitats (using the test parcel in DeSoto County as a guide).

3. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Conduct an extensive federal-level economic analysis to determine the impact on the federal budget of using federal income and estate tax credits to compensate landowners for entering into Private Habitat Conservation Leases on their properties. The study would:

• compare annualized costs, on a national level, between the Private Habitat Conservation Leases, conservation easements and public land purchases;
• show how proposed income and estate tax credits can be paid for by savings elsewhere in the federal budget (such as through reduced expenditures for regulatory agency oversight in some areas); and
• explore other means, besides tax credits, in which Private Habitat Conservation Leases can be funded.

(Note: funding for this portion of Phase 3 is not yet available.)

An economic analysis completed as part of Phase 2 shows that the Private Habitat Conservation Lease is much less expensive than conservation easements and public land purchases. Of course, the lease is for a limited term, so does not provide a guarantee of long-term habitat protection. But it also is a flexible document, providing the opportunity for government agencies negotiating on behalf of the public's interest to buy more protection for additional compensation to an individual landowner. As a result, the lease truly offers a way for the public to get exactly what it pays for.

Results from economic analysis for Phase 2 can be viewed by clicking on: Executive Summary & Findings or on Methodology & Calculations. The Full Report, which can be ordered from the publications page in this web site, includes the Endnotes, where all sources of information for the study are cited, and the Spreadsheets where the calculations used in the study are shown in detail.

4. PHOTO ESSAY: Compile a photographic essay by renowned wildlife photographer Jim Valentine showing the benefits of private stewardship efforts to protect essential habitats for threatened and endangered species.

(Note: funding for this portion of Phase 3 is not yet available.)

5. WEB SITE (http://fl-panther.com): Expand existing project web site to encompass other threatened and endangered species and describe the project and its benefits to private landowners throughout the U.S.

6. LAUNCH SMALL-SCALE EXPANSION OF PROJECT: Choose a second test parcel of land elsewhere in Florida -- or another state -- focusing on another endangered or threatened species to develop guidelines on how the Private Habitat Conservation Lease can be applied to habitats for other threatened and endangered species and used throughout the U.S. to compensate private landowners for their willingness to protect, maintain or restore natural resources (such as aquifer recharge areas) that are important to public health and welfare.

(Note: funding for this portion of Phase 3 is not yet available.)

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The Landowner Working Group represents the major landowners with properties containing Priority 1 and Priority 2 panther habitat. The Review Committee represents leaders in major local, state and national organizations and government agencies, each of which is strongly interested in -- or affected by -- the survival of threatened and endangered species on private lands in Florida and the U.S.

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Bernie Yokel, former president of Florida Audubon Society and a Board Member of the National Audubon Society, calls the Conservation Lease the best effort to date to protect panthers:

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Phase 3 of the project will extend from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999.

For further information on this project, contact: