Godsea manages seven refuges in the area from Ten Thousand Islands north to J.N. "Ding" Darling on Sanibel.
Back in 2011, Godsea said an extensive public process went forward to put together a visioning document for the 567 wildlife refuges across the U.S. Some of those recommendations dealt with public access and visitor services planning as well as hunting and fishing areas.
The proposed plan for the 25,560-acre panther refuge will, among other changes, establish new hiking/biking trails, open Pistol Pond for fishing, allow limited turkey hunting and open the area for commercial video and photography access.
“We don’t really anticipate many impacts from people bank fishing on site there,” Godsea said. “As far as some other uses, most all of those we proposed through a special use permit in which it won’t be wide open. It’ll be more controlled and a little more regulated.”