[INTERVIEW] US conservation photographer's mission to save wild Florida and its elusive panthers

Carlton Ward Jr.'s "Log Jump" depicts a male panther jumping through a swamp in the southern Everglades of Florida. Although panthers once roamed throughout North America, the southern tip of wild Florida is the only place in the eastern United States where the animals survived widespread human persecution and encroachment. Courtesy of Carlton Ward Jr.

'The story of the Florida Wildlife Corridor is not unique to Florida,' says Carlton Ward Jr.

By Park Han-sol

The story of the endangered Florida panther ― elusive, tawny-furred felines that are the last surviving big cats in the eastern United States ― is emblematic of the southeastern coastal state's long-underappreciated wilderness, says conservation photographer and National Geographic explorer Carlton Ward Jr.

These carnivores, which can now only be observed in Florida's southern tip, almost faced extinction in the 1980s with a population of fewer than 20.

That number has miraculously grown to 200 as of today thanks to conservation efforts, but the animal's need for vast swathes of territory to survive ― an average of 520 square kilometers for a single male ― highlights the current state of their fragmented habitat. And the situation is only getting worse with the ever-accelerating development taking place within the state that is seeing nearly 1,000 new residents moving in each day.

American conservation photographer and National Geographic explorer Carlton Ward Jr. / Courtesy of Carlton Ward Jr.

This is where Ward, an eighth-generation Floridian, comes into the picture as a leading proponent of the Florida Wildlife Corridor ― a project aiming to protect and connect 18 million acres of land throughout the state's interior so that there will be a contiguous swath of wildlife habitat.

"The only way you can have enough land to support animals like the panther is to have a connected wildlife corridor, because they're not going to live just within the boundaries of national parks," the photographer told The Korea Times in a recent video interview. "They need this connected green landscape like they used to have 200 years ago as their historic territory."

While Florida already has about 10 million acres of public conservation lands scattered throughout ― national parks, state forests and wildlife preserves ― he noted that these areas will likely become isolated and surrounded by development if there are no efforts made to protect the green spaces like farms and ranches connecting them.

"What's happening with our rapid rate of development is that all those (areas) will become islands surrounded by housing and roads if we don't protect the (wildlife-friendly) land in between," Ward added.

"The international community probably doesn't know much about nature in Florida. But neither does the population living in Florida. Most people are not originally from here, and they live on the coastline without a connection to the interior of the state."

As a result, the documentarian has tasked himself since 2010 with putting a face on this "terra incognita," or uncharted land that is hidden in plain sight, through photography, films and other mediums of visual storytelling.

Carlton Ward Jr.'s "Encroachment" shows a new housing development on the periphery of the city of Orlando, home of Walt Disney World Resort, which cuts into panther habitat. Nearly 1,000 people move to Florida every day. New roads, houses and buildings consume an average of 40,470 hectares of land each year, far outpacing the rate of land conservation. Courtesy of Carlton Ward Jr.

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He trekked more than 2,000 miles through the corridor during two National Geographic-supported expeditions. The journey produced both extensive publications and the PBS film "The Forgotten Coast: Return to Wild Florida" that brought new attention to the state's forgotten interior dotted with swampland, ranches and forests in need of increased protection.

To further give the landscape a recognizable identity, he and a coalition of biologists, ranchers and conservationists launched the Path of the Panther project in 2016 ― turning the endangered feline, which also happens to be the state animal of Florida, into an ambassador for the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

"It's a way for people to better see and understand why we need a wildlife corridor, especially when there are new developments, new highways and other pressures coming in," the photographer noted.

"A land or a place without an identity, it's not going to get protected. But if you're able to lift that landscape with a story that everyone can connect with, then that can transform the land to become our priority for the future."

The panthers' gripping tale of survival in their native ecosystem has been documented through more than five years of field research, resulting in 500,000 still-frame images and over 800 hours of high-definition camera trap footage.

The story is set to reach a wider audience later this year through the release of National Geographic's feature documentary film and Ward's book ― both entitled "Path of the Panther."

Carlton Ward Jr.'s "New Hope" captures the first female panther documented north of the Caloosahatchee River, in the northern Everglades, since 1973. This rare image of the panther and her cubs was taken with a specialized camera trap in January 2018. Courtesy of Carlton Ward Jr.

In 2021, the years-long effort made by Ward and like-minded environmentalists inspired the passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act with unanimous, bipartisan support. The act officially recognizes the geography of the corridor and creates incentives for the area's preservation.

Since then, the state of Florida has committed $800 million to conservation easements and public land acquisitions within the corridor.

The story of the Florida Wildlife Corridor acts as a strong motive for the continuation of the conservation effort, not just in other parts of the United States but around the world, Ward explained.

"In the end, it's a story that is not unique to Florida. Every part of the world has this similar challenge of trying to balance the infrastructure that we need for our economies and our urban lives with the infrastructure that nature needs to survive into the future," he said.

He added that while the climate crisis appears to be a fundamentally existential threat for people beyond their control, one way to approach it is by addressing the biodiversity crisis ― loss of wildlife habitat ― that can yield more tangible, immediate outcomes and further encourage them to explore the path of sustainability.

"Saving forests, grasslands, wildlife corridors and protected areas in the ocean is, in my opinion, one of the most important things to do for the climate crisis. Those are the types of things that we can do in a matter of years. And that's setting a foundation for rebalancing the planet for climate as well."

Ward is one of more than 70 photographers who have been invited to this year's Xposure International Photography Festival, set to run from Feb. 9 to 15 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. His presentation and photo exhibition will center on his Path of the Panther Project.

The feature documentary film, titled "Path of the Panther," will air on National Geographic and stream on Disney+ this spring. Ward's book of the same name is due to be released in May.

Carlton Ward Jr.'s "Buck Island Ranch" portrays cowboy Laurent Lollis steering a herd of Spanish cattle across Buck Island Ranch in southern Florida. The survival of the panther and the success of the Florida Wildlife Corridor depend on the preservation of such agricultural lands, according to Ward. Courtesy of Carlton Ward Jr.