$5M fence project to protect panthers on Alligator Alley

State officials are spending more than $5 million on a fencing project designed to keep panthers and other large animals off Alligator Alley. The Florida Department of Transportation will start construction later this year on a project that includes 18 miles of 10-foot fencing and work on three animal underpasses east of the Naples-area toll booth. The Florida Wildlife Federation has advocated for years to have panther fencing along all of Alligator Alley, which stretches from Miami to Naples. Wildlife…