NEWSLINK: Big cat 'fight' erupts over Golden Gate Estates drilling

The boos started almost immediately.
From the podium at the front of Golden Gate Community Center, Darrell Land, panther team leader for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee, told the rowdy crowd of about 225 what they didn’t want to hear: there was no evidence oil drilling hurt Florida panthers.
“Panthers have learned how to live around this kind of activity,” he said “We expect actual site disruption will be limited.”
Land was there to discuss potential effects a proposed exploratory oil well near Golden Gate Estates could have on the big cats.
Last year, the Dan A. Hughes Co., of Beeville, Texas, applied for a permit to drill an exploratory oil well in central Collier County.
Since last May, the issue has stirred the ire of local environmental groups who view the well as detrimental to aquifers and sensitive read more