neckringer
12-10-2003, 03:53 PM
Duck Hunting OK'd
Commissioners adopt a hunting season for Circle B Bar Reserve after a litany of locals' objections.
By Tom Palmer
The Ledger
tom.palmer@theledger.com
BARTOW -- Duck blinds and gunfire will become part of the sight and sounds at the marsh at Circle B Bar Reserve that is frequented by local bird-watchers.
County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to allow duck hunting this winter in a portion of the reserve, a 1,267-acre site on Lake Hancock purchased in late 2000 under the county's Environmental Lands Program and opened to the public in February.
Commissioner Neil Combee said a limited duck season was a fair way to share the property.
"Ninety-three percent of the time there will be no hunting there," he said.
The vote was a defeat for local environmentalists, who warned commissioners that hunting would drive away other visitors and stunt Circle B's potential to become a premier nature-based attraction to boost local tourism revenue.
Commissioners told county staffers to report back next spring on any problems or user-conflicts that arise.
Marian Ryan, one of the leaders of the effort to defeat hunting at Circle B, was angered by the commission's action.
"It proves once again we are a backwater where the process means nothing and a selected few have the commission's ear," she said.
During Wednesday's nearly three-hour discussion, six of the seven residents who spoke on the proposal opposed it.
The requests for duck hunting emerged in recent months in a handful of e-mails to commissioners from local businessmen such as Wogan Badcock III, nearly a year after the county scheduled a series of public meetings to get citizen comments on future uses for the property.
The public meetings are part of the process used to prepare management plans for the county's environmental sites.
Hunting was discussed at those meetings and unanimously rejected.
The Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to commissioners on environmental lands issues, recommended against duck hunting, suggesting instead the county work with hunting groups to improve access to duck hunting on Lake Hancock.
Ryan, a local Sierra Club activist, said she thinks a decision to allow hunting will cause increasing user conflicts as plans progress to develop more trails and wildlife-viewing areas at Circle B.
A staff presentation showed the main trail runs a safe distance from the hunting area, but bird-watchers testified they frequently hike and observe birds from areas much closer.
Ken Morrision, a longtime local environmental leader from Babson Park, said the presence of hunting will deter other outdoor enthusiasts, regardless of assurances they may receive that the danger is minimal.
"You may as well put a sign that says it's closed to the public," he said.
Purchase and management of the environmental lands sites are financed from the proceeds of a property tax of 20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value. Voters approved the tax in a 1994 referendum.
Veteran local bird-watcher Chuck Geanangel said Circle B has the potential to attract bird-watchers and other wildlife enthusiasts from all over the country. Geanangel said hunting will drive away wildlife, which was what happened in duck-hunting areas on mined land he visited.
"The birds got up and left," Geanangel said.
But Jeff McGrady, regional wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, disputed Geanangel's assertion.
"The birds leave (when hunting is under way), but return quickly," he said, citing the number of active bald eagle nests around Lake Kissimmee, a popular area for duck hunting.
Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.
Commissioners adopt a hunting season for Circle B Bar Reserve after a litany of locals' objections.
By Tom Palmer
The Ledger
tom.palmer@theledger.com
BARTOW -- Duck blinds and gunfire will become part of the sight and sounds at the marsh at Circle B Bar Reserve that is frequented by local bird-watchers.
County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to allow duck hunting this winter in a portion of the reserve, a 1,267-acre site on Lake Hancock purchased in late 2000 under the county's Environmental Lands Program and opened to the public in February.
Commissioner Neil Combee said a limited duck season was a fair way to share the property.
"Ninety-three percent of the time there will be no hunting there," he said.
The vote was a defeat for local environmentalists, who warned commissioners that hunting would drive away other visitors and stunt Circle B's potential to become a premier nature-based attraction to boost local tourism revenue.
Commissioners told county staffers to report back next spring on any problems or user-conflicts that arise.
Marian Ryan, one of the leaders of the effort to defeat hunting at Circle B, was angered by the commission's action.
"It proves once again we are a backwater where the process means nothing and a selected few have the commission's ear," she said.
During Wednesday's nearly three-hour discussion, six of the seven residents who spoke on the proposal opposed it.
The requests for duck hunting emerged in recent months in a handful of e-mails to commissioners from local businessmen such as Wogan Badcock III, nearly a year after the county scheduled a series of public meetings to get citizen comments on future uses for the property.
The public meetings are part of the process used to prepare management plans for the county's environmental sites.
Hunting was discussed at those meetings and unanimously rejected.
The Conservation Land Acquisition Selection Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to commissioners on environmental lands issues, recommended against duck hunting, suggesting instead the county work with hunting groups to improve access to duck hunting on Lake Hancock.
Ryan, a local Sierra Club activist, said she thinks a decision to allow hunting will cause increasing user conflicts as plans progress to develop more trails and wildlife-viewing areas at Circle B.
A staff presentation showed the main trail runs a safe distance from the hunting area, but bird-watchers testified they frequently hike and observe birds from areas much closer.
Ken Morrision, a longtime local environmental leader from Babson Park, said the presence of hunting will deter other outdoor enthusiasts, regardless of assurances they may receive that the danger is minimal.
"You may as well put a sign that says it's closed to the public," he said.
Purchase and management of the environmental lands sites are financed from the proceeds of a property tax of 20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value. Voters approved the tax in a 1994 referendum.
Veteran local bird-watcher Chuck Geanangel said Circle B has the potential to attract bird-watchers and other wildlife enthusiasts from all over the country. Geanangel said hunting will drive away wildlife, which was what happened in duck-hunting areas on mined land he visited.
"The birds got up and left," Geanangel said.
But Jeff McGrady, regional wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, disputed Geanangel's assertion.
"The birds leave (when hunting is under way), but return quickly," he said, citing the number of active bald eagle nests around Lake Kissimmee, a popular area for duck hunting.
Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.