Celebrate Florida’s Successes with Endangered, Threatened Species
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is celebrating Florida’s successes with endangered and threatened species throughout the week leading up to Endangered Species Day on May 17.
This year is also the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which was approved by Congress and signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973.
The Florida panther is featured Monday, May 13 on MyFWC Facebook. It is the first of a series of wildlife spotlights this week focusing on the successes and challenges of conserving Florida’s imperiled species.
Visit Facebook.com/MyFWC through Friday to find out more about what it takes to conserve endangered or threatened species in Florida and how you can help.
More on Florida’s endangered and threatened species is available at MyFWC.com/ImperiledSpecies.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
