No outdoor cats in Fl Keys ES habitat

For background, see previous Feral Cat Blog! post FWS Fema Flood Insurance Feral Cats in Florida Keys

Last week I saved the latest version of the agenda materials for the June 20, 2012 Monroe County commissioners meeting and public hearing on the FEMA flood insurance ordinance (large download.) Yesterday the commissioners voted unanimously for the new ordinance, although several other agencies need to approve by June 30.

The new revised May 20 2012 Species Assessment Guides prepared by FWS for endangered species are included (also available separately.) The SAG’s relevant to cats are for Key Largo Cotton Mouse and Key Largo Woodrat, Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, and Silver Rice Rat. I may add some excerpt later.

Monroe County has for years allowed development in sensitive habitat areas of endangered species and has not accomodated FWS about freeroaming cat control. This long-awaited education and program to keep owned cats indoors is positive but as I’ve mentioned, the same outdated, limited, misrepresented FWS information is repeated for years about cat threats to these creatures; they do not know numbers of cats or endangered species. I’ve pointed out FWS and others have been working to gain evidence through such projects as the Florida Keys Predator Study.

Will try to post in near future new info relevant to the Florida Keys endangered species.

News article to date:

No outdoor cats allowed in some areas
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA Citizen Staff
Thursday, June 21, 2012

Related Feral Cat Blog! Posts

Florida Keys Refuges Feral Cat Removal Update
Feral Cat Blog! posts on Florida Keys issues
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