Contested spaces: NTFPs, livelihoods, and conservation planning

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.;This research shows that criminalizing non-permitted harvesting increases the vulnerability of Latino/as farmworkers seeking to improve their livelihoods while having little impact on the harvest. Analysis shows that berry yields should be large enough to supply the industry with little effect on wildlife overall yet perceptions that harvesting is detrimental to wildlife decreases permitted harvest spaces through a discourse of scarcity. Diverting permitted harvesting activities to natural areas outside of black bear ranges could support harvester livelihoods while decreasing potential impacts on bears. Habitat fragmentation and conversion of wildlife habitat into suburbs near and into primary bear ranges and conservation lands likely affect bears more than the overall informal berry harvest. Local planning for wildlife corridors in developing suburbs could decrease human/bear encounters while supporting larger-scale habitat conservation. The growth of the berry industry along with low farm wages ensures that informal harvesting will continue, leading to the conclusion that land-manager dialogue with the berry industry and harvesters toward increasing permitted harvest spaces would benefit the industry, wildlife, and harvesters and their livelihood practices.