Environmental evidence briefing

Species and Law

What has been reported, what an agency actually documented, which protections currently apply, and what the record still cannot establish.

Last verified: August 19, 2026. Species status can change; follow the linked agency sources.

Submit wildlife evidence

Evidence limit: Presence alone does not automatically approve or deny a permit. Review can depend on reliable identification, timing, nests or burrows, habitat use, proposed activities, survey quality, avoidance measures, and the law or permit criteria that apply.

Four evidence types are kept separate

Resident observation

A person’s report or an organizer’s photo label. It is a useful lead, but not a qualified identification or formal survey unless the record says so.

Photograph identification

A label applied to an image. Without a review record, date, and qualified identifier, it remains provisional. Original images are private while publication rights and privacy are reviewed.

Agency or database record

An observation, screening result, or status published by an agency. “Potential habitat” from GIS screening is not an observation.

Qualified-biologist confirmation

A documented identification or survey by a qualified professional using an identified method. No current, project-wide wildlife survey for Application 930235 was found in the reviewed record.

What each part of the record establishes

The same species name can appear in several record layers without those layers having the same evidentiary weight.

What residents documented

The preserved media inventory contains undated resident labels for several species. Those labels are observation leads, not population counts, qualified identifications, nest findings, or proof of present use. The images remain private while identification, dates, attribution, location sensitivity, and publication rights are reviewed.

What the applicant reported

The current filing includes environmental descriptions and attaches an earlier FWC letter through the March 16, 2026 partial response. Applicant statements and attached historical material are not agency acceptance and do not replace a current project-wide survey.

What an agency or qualified biologist has confirmed

FWC staff recorded one little blue heron during a March 31, 2025 visit associated with the earlier, withdrawn application. The same historical letter reports GIS-screened potential habitat for other species; potential habitat is not a confirmed observation. No current qualified-biologist survey for all of Application 930235 was found.

What survey work is still needed

The current RAI asks for wildlife-survey material and current FWC coordination. A defensible scope should be set by the reviewing agencies and a qualified wildlife professional, with methods, season and weather, covered areas, dates, personnel, findings, sensitive-location handling, and limitations recorded.

How to seek a qualified listed-species survey

Ask FWC and, where federal law may apply, USFWS which current guidance and survey methods fit the species, activity, and review stage. Retain a wildlife professional with documented experience in the relevant Florida species and habitat, give that professional the current plans and agency requests, and require a signed report that separates direct observations, signs, database screening, habitat judgment, and limitations. The reviewing agency—not this site—determines whether the submitted work satisfies its request.

FWC listed-species resources Current SWFWMD RAI

Species record

Counts below describe labels in the preserved resident-media inventory, not population counts. Exact wildlife locations are withheld.

Wood stork (Mycteria americana)

Site evidence: Two undated resident image labels; no qualified identification in the reviewed submission record.
Current status: Federal ESA listing removed effective March 12, 2026, with post-delisting monitoring. Florida protection under Rule 68A-27.003 remains while FWC completes its state review. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act also applies.
Review relevance: Reliable, current use or nesting information may inform surveys, avoidance, habitat analysis, or agency coordination. The resident labels do not establish any of those conclusions.
Sources and verification: USFWS final rule; FWC state-listing action; USFWS MBTA overview. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Site evidence: Four undated resident image labels. A June 12, 2025 FWC letter attached to the current filing says earlier applicant materials contained an incidental observation, but no formal survey; that letter concerned the withdrawn application.
Current status: Not federally or Florida listed as threatened or endangered. Protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, MBTA, and Florida Rule 68A-16.002.
Review relevance: Permit or avoidance needs are activity- and nest-specific. A photograph does not establish an active nest, and there is no universal buffer stated here.
Sources and verification: FWC bald eagle profile; USFWS eagle-permit guidance; March 16, 2026 filing and historical FWC attachment. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Florida sandhill crane / sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis pratensis / A. canadensis)

Site evidence: Two resident labels say “Florida sandhill crane” and one says “sandhill crane”; all are undated and unverified. The historical FWC letter describes an earlier applicant incidental observation, not a formal survey.
Current status: Federal: not ESA-listed; MBTA-protected. The non-migratory Florida subspecies is Florida-designated Threatened; the migratory greater subspecies also occurs seasonally and is not state listed.
Review relevance: Subspecies, nest status, timing, and proposed activity matter. An undated photograph is not enough to identify subspecies or establish nesting.
Sources and verification: FWC sandhill crane profile; historical FWC letter in current record. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

Site evidence: One undated resident image label; no burrow survey or qualified confirmation was found in the reviewed record.
Current status: Federal: the eastern DPS, including Florida, is not ESA-listed; the western DPS outside Florida is federally Threatened. Florida: state-designated Threatened. Taking, molesting, harassing, or relocating a tortoise requires applicable FWC authorization.
Review relevance: FWC says development may proceed without a tortoise permit when all burrows and tortoises are avoided by at least 25 feet under the cited guidance. That is a permitting avoidance criterion, not a universal ecological buffer, and residents should not handle or move a tortoise.
Sources and verification: USFWS gopher tortoise record; FWC permitting FAQ. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

Site evidence: Five undated resident image labels; no qualified identification or project survey was found.
Current status: Florida-designated Threatened; not federally listed under the ESA in the cited current FWC guidance; MBTA-protected.
Review relevance: Current nesting, foraging, hydrology, and disturbance evidence could be relevant. Resident labels alone do not establish colony use or project effects.
Sources and verification: FWC roseate spoonbill profile. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Little blue heron (Egretta caerulea)

Site evidence: FWC staff documented one individual during a March 31, 2025 site visit for the earlier, withdrawn application. This is the clearest agency observation found, but it is not a current project-wide survey.
Current status: Federal: not ESA-listed; MBTA-protected. Florida: state-designated Threatened.
Review relevance: The agency observation is relevant historical context. Current nesting, foraging, hydrology, and proposed disturbance still require project-specific assessment.
Sources and verification: FWC species profile; historical FWC letter in current record. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor)

Site evidence: The historical FWC letter reports potential habitat from GIS screening. It does not report an observation at Tarpon Woods.
Current status: Federal: not ESA-listed; MBTA-protected. Florida: state-designated Threatened.
Review relevance: Potential habitat may identify a survey question. It is not proof of presence, nesting, or project effects.
Sources and verification: FWC species profile; historical FWC letter. Status verified August 19, 2026.

White ibis (Eudocimus albus)

Site evidence: No species-specific agency observation or reviewed resident identification was found. Generic bird labels cannot establish white ibis presence.
Current status: Federal: not ESA-listed; MBTA-protected. Florida: no longer state listed as of January 11, 2017, but included in FWC’s Imperiled Species Management Plan.
Review relevance: Reliable observations may add habitat-use context, but do not by themselves decide a permit.
Sources and verification: FWC white ibis profile; USFWS MBTA overview. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Great blue heron (Ardea herodias)

Site evidence: Two undated resident image labels; no qualified identification or agency observation was found.
Current status: Federal: not present on the current USFWS ESA list reviewed; MBTA-protected. Florida: not present on the current FWC threatened-species list reviewed. This is a list check, not a project finding.
Review relevance: Dates, repeated use, nesting, and hydrologic context matter more than an isolated unlabeled image.
Sources and verification: USFWS current listed-species report; FWC state-listing page; USFWS MBTA overview. Status verified August 19, 2026.

Barred owl (Strix varia)

Site evidence: Three undated resident image labels; no qualified identification or nest record was found.
Current status: Federal: not present on the current USFWS ESA list reviewed; MBTA-protected. Florida: not present on the current FWC threatened-species list reviewed. This is a list check, not a project finding.
Review relevance: A reliable nest or active-use record can require more specific analysis than a general photo label. No such record has been verified here.
Sources and verification: USFWS current listed-species report; FWC state-listing page; USFWS MBTA overview. Status verified August 19, 2026.

What the current permit record asks for

The December 14, 2025 RAI requested wildlife-survey material and FWC correspondence. In the March 16, 2026 partial response, the applicant said no new FWC letter had been received for Application 930235 and attached the June 12, 2025 letter concerning the earlier application.

Read the current RAI

How to document responsibly

Record date, approximate time, species label, behavior, and broad habitat type.
Do not trespass, approach nests or burrows, feed wildlife, or handle a tortoise.
Do not publish nest, burrow, home, or precise GPS locations.
Preserve the original privately; publication requires a separate rights and privacy review.