Description: This dataset contains lines representing the output of a Least Cost-Path (LCP) analysis for the Florida Panther within South-Central Florida. This layer is meant to be used in conjunction with the FGDL layer FLORIDA_PANTHER_CORRIDORS_DEC22. This layer was developed by the University of Central Florida for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Panther Recovery Implementation Team. The aim of this data is to identify potential pathways and corridors that panthers are likely to use under existing land cover/land use conditions from the current species core range (south of the Caloosahatchee River) to large habitat hubs north of Interstate 4 (The Green Swamp and Ocala National Forest). The focus is on predicted panther movements and natural range expansion within the south-central Florida region. Inputs for this model include Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) cooperative land cover v3.4 polygon data layer; US Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2012 Panther Habitat Assessment Methodology Classification; Florida Ecological Greenways Network [FEGN 2021]. The least cost path analysis resulted in the creation of 76 separate pathways between the 34 target conservation areas (found in FLORIDA_PANTHER_CORRIDORS_DEC22). The total length of the pathways was 2,284.4 mi, average length was 30 mi, minimum length was 2.6 mi and maximum length was 93.3 mi. For more information, please see this summary report.
Copyright Text: University of Central Florida, Dept. of Biology, Science and Planning in Conservation Ecology (SPICE) Lab