N. Cook
01-10-2010, 09:30 AM
The FWC Commission meeting will be Feb. 17 in Appalachacola at the Franklin County Courthouse, 3rd. Floor, 23 Market St.
The final vote adding full Migratory Bird Seasons to a number of WMAs across the state will be taken....UW-F submitted these into the two year Rules Change Cycle some time ago and finally the process is at an end!
Most important issue is the FWC proposal to apply a new Rule for TAKE that mirrors the very stringent Federal Rule for Endangered Species to not only Florida Endangeres Species, but also Florida Threaten Species.
In essence this would give creatures such as the Black Bear and the Sand Hill Crane (among a couple of dozen other common animals ) the same "protection" as a Florida Panther.
The problem is the word "harass" is in the rule and defined as "annoy". This may be ok for a Florida Panther, but "annoying" a black bear or a bird as common as the Sandhill Crane is unavoidable for hunters and land owners (as well as hikers, bikers, horseback riders, kayakers, etc.)
Thus UW-F and other hunting groups have been seeking some wording protecting the casual recreation user. We got that in the last proposal to the Commission at the meeting in Clewiston, but now the Audubon Society has challenged the new wording and added a proposal that totally negates the protection for law abiding recreation from charges of "annoying".
This is going to be a challenging battle...We need folks to attend the meetng on the 17th and support the UW-F wording.
The final vote adding full Migratory Bird Seasons to a number of WMAs across the state will be taken....UW-F submitted these into the two year Rules Change Cycle some time ago and finally the process is at an end!
Most important issue is the FWC proposal to apply a new Rule for TAKE that mirrors the very stringent Federal Rule for Endangered Species to not only Florida Endangeres Species, but also Florida Threaten Species.
In essence this would give creatures such as the Black Bear and the Sand Hill Crane (among a couple of dozen other common animals ) the same "protection" as a Florida Panther.
The problem is the word "harass" is in the rule and defined as "annoy". This may be ok for a Florida Panther, but "annoying" a black bear or a bird as common as the Sandhill Crane is unavoidable for hunters and land owners (as well as hikers, bikers, horseback riders, kayakers, etc.)
Thus UW-F and other hunting groups have been seeking some wording protecting the casual recreation user. We got that in the last proposal to the Commission at the meeting in Clewiston, but now the Audubon Society has challenged the new wording and added a proposal that totally negates the protection for law abiding recreation from charges of "annoying".
This is going to be a challenging battle...We need folks to attend the meetng on the 17th and support the UW-F wording.