Farm loophole allows permits for clearing sensitive land

Protection for the Florida panther, wood storks and red-cockaded woodpeckers could be falling through a gap in Collier County’s permitting system because since 2004, the county has given the go-ahead for scattered rural landowners to clear land totaling almost one square mile for nurseries and pastures without requiring state and federal review to see whether the clearing would harm endangered or threatened species - Aug. 26, Naples Daily News