N. Cook
02-04-2008, 10:28 AM
I will be in Panama City (and I believe several N. FL. members as well) this week at the Commissioners' Meeting. We will be speaking in support of a number of rule changes, including the addition of full migratory bird seasons to the small game seasons on several more Wildlife Management Areas, the statewide canada goose season and added motor access on some lakes.
There will be a lot of "off the floor:" work seeking FWC support in the forthcoming (March) meeting in Tallahassee with the FDEP staff and management on two specific topics....Poor hunter access to certain public lands, especially Florida Forever lands assigned to the FDEP, Fl. State Forests and certain Water Management Districts, spefically the Southwest Florida WMD (Swiftmud) AND the destruction of submerged vegetation in the wetlands of Florida by the current aquatic plant control activities which do not take the wildlife into consideration as much as they should.
Note, as a Board Member of the FHF...I will also be speaking in support of the Draft Report of the Stakeholders Deer Management Committee at the request of Nick Wiley. This report is a bit controversial and is unfinished but the general movement is in the right direction. There are a couple of items I am opposed to, but you can never get all you want in any committee generated document. This is only a "in process" comment and the Final Report will be introduced later and I may or may not support it based on the content. There definitly will be a lot of "off the floor" work on this item! I will be glad to discuss the positions with anyone who has an interest.
There will be a lot of "off the floor:" work seeking FWC support in the forthcoming (March) meeting in Tallahassee with the FDEP staff and management on two specific topics....Poor hunter access to certain public lands, especially Florida Forever lands assigned to the FDEP, Fl. State Forests and certain Water Management Districts, spefically the Southwest Florida WMD (Swiftmud) AND the destruction of submerged vegetation in the wetlands of Florida by the current aquatic plant control activities which do not take the wildlife into consideration as much as they should.
Note, as a Board Member of the FHF...I will also be speaking in support of the Draft Report of the Stakeholders Deer Management Committee at the request of Nick Wiley. This report is a bit controversial and is unfinished but the general movement is in the right direction. There are a couple of items I am opposed to, but you can never get all you want in any committee generated document. This is only a "in process" comment and the Final Report will be introduced later and I may or may not support it based on the content. There definitly will be a lot of "off the floor" work on this item! I will be glad to discuss the positions with anyone who has an interest.