Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Esnard, Ann-Margaret

Thesis/Dissertation Co-Chair

Ivy, Russell L.

Abstract

This research examines tensions between Latino/a farmworkers, who rely on the seasonal harvest of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens [W. Bartram] Small) berries for increased livelihood security, and conservationists and land-managers who view harvesting as detrimental for wildlife. Informal harvesting occurs on public and private lands, sometimes without permission. Berries, though ubiquitous on the landscape, have become a contested resource. The rapid conversion of rural wildlife habitat into suburban development has increased State urgency to bring natural areas into protection along the Florida Ecological Greenways Network. Habitat infringement and associated pressures on wildlife by development has led to the promotion of the state-wide Florida Wildlife Corridor, based on the FEGN. This corridor would connect isolated Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) populations and Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) with other populations. The scale of the commercial berry industry is unknown, but is estimated at millions of pounds annually. State and wildlife conservationists are increasingly concerned with the perceived scale of the harvest and its possible associated effects on wildlife, particularly Florida black bears.

Extent

398 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00004308

Format

pdf

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