FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leslie Phillips
June 21, 2004
202-224-0384

FAULTY SCIENCE COULD AFFECT FLORIDA PANTHER POPULATION
LIEBERMAN QUERIES FISH AND WILDLIFE

WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe
 Lieberman, D-Conn., said Monday questions about the quality of the
 science underlying Fish and Wildlife Service decisions on protecting
 the Florida panther had led him to doubt the effectiveness of the
 actual preservation efforts and the process by which they were
 established.
        In a letter to FWS Director Steven Williams, Lieberman raised a
 number of concerns about how the agency ensures policies are based on
 the best available science. In doing so, he cited the report of an
 independent review team that found errors in scientific reports
 related to the management of the endangered cat. According to the
 report, the errors were made by a scientist involved in the panther
 recovery program.  He is also an advisor to applicants for dredge and
 fill permits, which are often required for development in the western
Everglades.
        "The substantial federal investment in efforts to protect the
 Florida panther is placed at risk by failures in scientific analysis
 of the habitat needs of the panther, as well as failures to implement
 the requirements of federal law effectively," Lieberman wrote.
        The Senator sought information from FWS on how it protects
against the biases of people who are involved in the agency's
 scientific findings. What went wrong with the peer review process
that
 failed to detect the errors in the panther literature, as identified
 by the science review team? And what is the FWS doing to address
these
problems?
         The independent science review team said errors in the panther
 literature include measurements that were taken during the day but
which claim to represent 24-hour periods in the panthers' activities;
reliance on locations, rather than panthers, to determine habitat use;
 selective use of data; and unsound conclusions.
        The FWS and the Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for
 ensuring that dredge and fill permits - issued under Section 404 of
 the Clean Water Act - do not jeopardize endangered species.
Although,
 at one time, the Florida panther ranged from the Atlantic coast into
Louisiana and Tennessee, an estimated 30 to 70 panthers are left, all
 in southwest Florida.
        The panther literature helps inform the permitting process.
        In August 2003, Lieberman wrote the FWS, and two other agencies
 responsible for overseeing southwestern Florida wetlands, criticizing
 the government's apparent disregard for the cumulative environmental
 impact of development in the area.  Hundreds of acres of wetland are
 lost each year, due to development in southwest Florida.  The FWS
 response to that letter never mentioned the undertaking of the new
study, despite Lieberman's specific request for information of that
 type.
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