TITLE: PANTHER_ZONES
Geodataset Name: PANTHER_ZONES Geodataset Type: SHAPEFILE Geodataset Feature: POLYGONGENERAL DESCRIPTION:
| This dataset contains the boundaries of lands mapped by the Florida Panther Sub-team of MERIT as Primary, Secondary, and Dispersal zones for panther conservation in South Florida. |
DATA SOURCE(S): U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS: N/A DATE OF AUTOMATION OF SOURCE: 2001 GEODATASET EXTENT: South Florida
FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:
Datafile Name: PANTHER_ZONES.DBF Item Name Width Type N. Decimal Degrees FID 4 Long 0 Shape 0 Geometry 0 COUNT 16 Double 16 ZONE 10 String 0
FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:
| Item | Item Description | |
| FID |
Internal feature number. |
|
| SHAPE |
Feature geometry. |
|
| COUNT |
Unknown |
|
| ZONE |
Panther classification zone:
|
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MERIT is the Multi-species/ Ecosystem Recovery Implementation Team, appointed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in November 1999 with the purpose of developing a plan to implement the recovery and restoration actions as identified in the Multi-Species Recovery Plan. |
| Attribute accuracy is relied on the integrity of the attribute information within the originl data layer |
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Primary Zone: All lands within the Primary Zone are essential for the survival* of the Florida panther in the wild. The current population represents the foundation of one of the self-sustaining populations needed for recovery of the species. [*Survival (as defined in the Endangered Species Consultation Handbook): The condition in which a species continues to exist into the future while retaining the potential for recovery. This condition is characterized by a species with a sufficient population, represented by all necessary age classes, genetic heterogeneity, and number of sexually mature individuals producing viable offspring, which exists in an environment providing all requirements for completion of the species' entire life cycle, including reproduction, sustenance, and shelter.] Secondary Zone: Lands within the Secondary Zone are contiguous with lands in the Primary Zone, and they are areas which panthers may currently use, and where expansion of the Florida panther population is most likely to occur. It is acknowledged that some areas within the Secondary Zone are not panther habitat (e.g., low density residential areas), and other areas may be in need of restoration before they will provide suitable habitat for panthers. Dispersal Zone: The purpose of the lands within the Dispersal Zone is to function as a landscape linkage that establishes connectivity from the Primary Zone in the vicinity of the Caloosahatchee Ecoscape to suitable habitat north of the Caloosahatchee River. It is acknowledged that some areas within the Dispersal Zone will need to be restored to suitable habitat. The value of the Dispersal Zone toward helping to achieve a self-sustaining panther population in South Florida is dependent upon the availability of suitable habitat north of the river and appropriate management actions to ensure panther use. Historically, an area of principal importance to Florida panthers has been described as a set of public and private lands centered along the northern boundary of Big Cypress National Preserve and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. This area was designated as the source area for dispersing panthers. The cost surface model was used to find a set of one-pixel-wide least-cost paths from the source area to various large patches of potential habitat north of the Caloosahatchee River. Although there were several least cost paths from the principal population area to lands north of the river, the least cost path passing approximately 4-7 miles east of LaBelle was the path that best modeled the paths used by three dispersing panthers in the past. Using the potential habitat model and Landsat satellite images dated 12/26/99 and 4/3/2001 as guides, a draft boundary was digitized around an area extending from the Primary Zone and Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest north across the Caloosahatchee River to State Road 78. The Florida Panther Subteam reviewed the draft boundary and reached consensus to extend the eastern boundary of the Dispersal Zone 200 m to the east of an old railroad grade that traverses the area and crosses the Caloosahatchee River just west of Ortona lock and dam. It was assumed that the old railroad grade has good chances of accommodating dispersing panthers in an area where much of the landscape is currently in use as pasture or citrus. |
A note concerning data scale: Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitablefor some project, analysis, or modelling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data. 1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:250000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger. Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analyses. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our web pages at: http://www.geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html |
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/ |
Florida panther radio-telemetry data collected by personnel with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission FFWCC), Big Cypress National Preserve, and Everglades National Park between February 21, 1981, and March 30, 2001. This data set contains 55,542 observations. Process Date: Unknown |
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:
Projection ALBERS Datum HPGN Units METERS Spheroid GRS1980 1st Standard Parallel 24 0 0.000 2nd Standard Parallel 31 30 0.000 Central Meridian -84 00 0.000 Latitude of Projection's Origin 24 0 0.000 False Easting (meters) 400000.00000 False Northing (meters) 0.00000
DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):
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|
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS 620 South Meridian Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600 (850) 488-6661 |
Name: FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name: FGDL
Address: Florida Geographic Data Library
431 Architecture Building
PO Box 115706
Gainesville, FL 32611-5706
Web site: http://www.fgdl.org
Contact FGDL:
Technical Support: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
FGDL Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
FGDL Mailing Lists: http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
For FGDL Software: http://www.fgdl.org/software.html