Producer of documentary on Florida Wildlife Corridor discusses threats and measures to protect it

Share
Tori Linder (Courtesy of the filmmakers)

Tori Linder—a producer of “Saving The Florida Wildlife Corridor,” a documentary that travels through the titular Corridor, the 18 million-acre, statewide network of public preserves and private working lands, while examining the ongoing conflict between Florida’s explosive population  growth and rampant development, and it’s green infrastructure—starts the conversation on a recent edition of “Talking Animals” by explaining, more fundamentally, what constitutes the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and why it’s vitally important that it be protected and preserved.

She also further defines “green infrastructure,” a central term that surfaces often in these discussions. Linder addresses the major threats to the ongoing viability of the Corridor Animals,” menaces to such Florida fixtures as citrus groves and cattle ranches: namely, the eruptive increase in the state’s populace—she says a thousand people per day are moving to Florida—and the comparably-burgeoning need to house that influx of citizens…which escalates slates of development, of housing, of course, but also attendant structures and businesses. All of which can border, or even encroach on, the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

I observe that while Linder is a producer of the documentary, it’s not hard to imagine she could easily be presented as one of the Floridians presented onscreen, describing their connection to the Corridor, and why they feel it’s important to protect it. Sure enough, she points out that she’s a fifth generation cattle rancher, that she grew up working on her grandparents’ ranch, while noting that some of her conservation work was done in Africa, before ultimately returning to Florida to devote herself to these issues, including protecting the Florida Panther.

Linder outlines how she and her fellow filmmakers approached creating the documentary, including selecting the array of Floridians (such as sixth generation rancher Cary Lightsey, above, and sibling clam farmers Ian & Gretchen Stone, left)  who serve as talking heads, and the formidable challenges in editing the film down to a lean running time of less than a half hour. She also spoke to the screening and panel discussion that was to happen that evening, Feb. 23, but underscored that the movie can be watched anytime at https://video.wedu.org/video/saving-the-florida-wildlife-corridor-6atecl/

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

student meal
Next school year Hillsborough public schools are offering free meals

Hillsborough Public Schools are offering students free meals for the...

Correspondence Through Poetry. A Mind-Numbing Week.

Father Verses Sons: A Correspondence in Poems by Herbert Gold...

The sound of change: Music’s influence on anti-war and human rights movements

Throughout history, music has served as a powerful catalyst for...

a man in a tye dye shirt talking on a radio microphone
Recreational pot for Florida is on the ballot this fall—let’s talk about it

In four months, Florida voters have the opportunity to vote...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Follow us on Instagram

Traffic Jam - All Souls Edition
Player position: