"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."Margaret Mead


Share Your Passion for Birds and Special Places at the 2010 Florida Audubon Assembly
Get charged up to take care of the places that make Florida special. Connect with your Audubon friends - chapter leaders, volunteers, bird stewards and staff – because together we have power. Get excited with other people like you - the heart of Audubon – because they are inspired by being around you. Chart the course for Florida conservation. When we are together our voice is heard.

Register today for the 2010 Florida Audubon Assembly.

Learn, share and ask the experts at the conservation strategy workshops for Protecting Florida’s Resilient Coasts and Special Places.

Your partners in conservation are counting on you to help chart the course for long-term recovery of birds and beaches affected by the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Disaster; restore America’s Everglades and craft strategies for the land and water critical to people and wildlife.
Act now to get the special Early Bird rate.

Honor those courageous people who defend Florida’s wildlife at the Friday Awards Banquet.
Join fellow conservation leaders, Audubon staff and partners to set our 2011 Conservation Agenda. Get excited at Saturday workshops: •National and state strategies for a clean energy future •Coastal monitoring and citizen science programs, and •Partnering with law enforcement to protect shorebirdsTo really hit the birding jackpot, plan to arrive before the Assembly begins and stay until Sunday.

Be there, connect, get excited, and strengthen your passion and commitment. Register today.

See thousands of pages of information from the 20 Volume National Audubon Society Field Guides. Download them to your iPhone or iTouch. http://www.audubonguides.com/index.html

See the field guides from enature.
http://enature.com/fieldguides/index.asp

232 SPECIES OF BIRDS LIVE IN MY ZIP CODE
If you want to know what you might encounter in your area, visit http://enature.com/zipguides/, enter your zip code and enjoy.

Read the latest edition of the Audubon Naturalist here

Green Energy does matter. See why here

Our National Parks, open spaces, scenic waterways and public lands need our help http://www.greatoutdoorsamerica.org/

Read the Hernando Audubon newsletter here http://www.hernandoaudubon.org/Newsletter.html

Birds

Sighting of Cuban Pewee at Everglades National Park thrills bird-watchers
The first sighting of a rare Cuban Pewee in Everglades National Park on Sunday is creating a stir among bird-watchers.

The bird, recognized by a white crescent behind its eye and its distinctive call, described as ``dee-dee-dee-dee, ' ' was spotted by birding guide Larry Manfredi near the Long Pine Key Picnic Area.

Once photographs and recordings of the bird ' s song are reviewed by the Florida Ornithological Society Records Committee, this is expected to be the third confirmed sighting of the Cuban Pewee in the United States and the first for Everglades National Park .

Bird-watchers have started heading to the park from as far away as West Virginia, Indiana and California to see the bird, which has been seen for several days since the initial sighting.

The Cuban Pewee, native to Cuba and the Bahamas, is a small member of the flycatcher family.

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A big win for Plovers
A federal judge today ruled in favor of designating critical habitat areas for the wintering piping plover in North Carolina in compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, intervened in the case on behalf of the Interior Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The piping plover has been listed as a threatened species under the ESA since 1986. The beaches of North Carolina play a vital role in all stages of their life cycle.

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Hog Island Report
After last summer's dormancy, Audubon's Hog Island has enjoyed a vital reawakening, hosting service and educational programs on this beautiful setting in Maine's Muscongus Bay. Programs this year operated under Project Puffin (which is part of National Audubon Society's Science Division). There were three sessions - all focusing on birds. The first was a five day service learning session operated in conjunction with Exploritas (formerly Elderhostel and now Road Scholar). The program was entitled 'Maine Seabird Biology and Conservation'. Twenty-four participants took part in the program, the highlight of which was a census of the eider and gull population on Audubon's Ross Island.

Our second session was titled 'Joy of Birding' which featured Pete Dunne, Peter Vickery, Chris Lewey and other notable instructors. We had a total of 52 participants in this session. Our third week of June programming was 'Field Ornithology and Coastal Maine Birding for Teens.' A total of 44 adult and 15 avid teens attended this session (the largest group in Hog Island history) which featured Kenn and Kim Kaufman, Scott Wiedensaul, Sara Morris, Lang Elliott and other top ornithologists. Our final session for 2010 is another Road Scholar service learning program about Maine seabird biology and conservation scheduled for mid September. This program is already sold out with 30 participants.

In total, the Island's programs hosted 165 participants which represents 92% occupancy for the camp facilities. Participants represented 32 states as well as New Brunswick. A total of 13 Audubon Chapters, garden clubs and ornithology groups sponsored a total of 32 participants. Twelve of the 15 teen campers received scholarships including two from the American Birding Association and four from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through a grant to the Audubon Education Department. We were also very fortunate to have Chef Janii Laberge return to the Island to work his culinary magic, keeping all the participants well-fed and energetic.

None of these programs would have succeeded without the support of our dedicated volunteers, the Friends of Hog Island. A total of 32 Friends signed on for one or more work sessions, donating a total of about 1,300 hours of work. In addition to preparing the camp for occupancy, Friends also assisted during each of the programs by helping in the kitchen, the camp store and taking care of various maintenance issues. They scraped and painted trim on most of the buildings, revitalized island gardens, hung flower boxes on anything that stood still and most importantly, greeted the participants with an enthusiastic and infectious warm welcome.

The staff of birding super-stars, inspiring setting, great food, and the extraordinary teaching team all contributed to the stellar scores received on the Cornell Hotel School's evaluations. The Joy of Birding session received an overall approval rating of 4.82 out of 5 - only surpassed by the approval rating of 4.96 out of 5 for the Ornithology session!

Several partners helped Project Puffin make these sessions such a complete success. Maine Audubon has continued to lend its help in getting the island ready for the summer, by reinstalling the water line, tending to the Island's generator, reinstalling the floats and ramps and servicing the sewage system. They were helped by staff from that splendid Maine institution Camp Kieve, whose boat the Snow Goose transported participants to various sites. Our programs also benefitted from the assistance and counsel of the Cornell Hotel School whose faculty and students helped with marketing and evaluation.

All in all, it was a wonderful summer on Hog Island as participants, staff and Friends all rediscovered the unique magic of that special place and enjoyed the wonders, complexities and beauty of the surrounding bird-life. I feel strongly that this summer's activities, supported by the partnership of so many groups and agencies, recaptured a vision for the future use and mission of this supremely significant ornithological resource. Certainly that future will present new programmatic, structural and financial challenges but I feel confident that those challenges can be met by the growing number of dedicated individuals who have witnessed and experienced the Island's enormous educational potential. I sincerely hope that next summer you will come and discover it for yourself!

Best wishes,
Steve Kress
Director, Project Puffin

Serious birders
The American Ornithologists Union will be holding its 129th annual meeting at Jacksonville’s Hyatt Regency. For more information, visit http://www.aou.org/ or contact Mary Dowdell at 352-797-7874 or email at maryedowdell@bellsouth.net .

Excessive preening suspected in dramatic feather degradation in oiled Laughing Gulls
We've all seen the horrific photos of birds and other wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico covered in oil, but new photos from our longtime friend and contributor Carrol Henderson suggest a more insidious impact of the disaster on birds that have been partially oiled but not immediately doomed.

Henderson, the nongame wildlife program supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the author of many books, photographed Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans, Royal Terns, and Sandwich Terns on July 21 and 22 while he was attending a meeting of the Mississippi Flyway Council in Mobile, Alabama.

After he returned home and studied his photos, he realized something was wrong with some of the Laughing Gulls in his pictures.

"I noticed that there were some gulls with very degraded tail feathers and secondaries," Henderson says. "The vanes of the feathers were missing along the tips. I have photographed many species of gulls in many countries in the past 20-plus years, but I have never observed this pattern of plumage degradation before. It does not appear related to the molt patterns of gulls, because they typically lose matching feathers from both wings in synchrony."

"Perhaps I am overly suspicious of oil-spill impacts," he continues, "but I believe this could be the result of the vanes breaking off the feather shafts because of excessive preening after the feathers have been exposed to oil residue."

See some great photos here

Hurricanes and Birds
With Hurricane Earl racing up the East Coast and two or more storms looking to follow in Earl’s wake in coming weeks, many people are wondering about the effects of hurricanes and tropical storms on birds.

While numbers are hard to come by, it is clear that a lot of birds are killed outright by hurricanes. This is especially true of seabirds, which have nowhere in which to seek shelter from these storms. Beaches may be littered with seabird carcasses following major storm events. Most Atlantic hurricanes occur in late summer and early fall. Fall storms coincide with bird migration and may disrupt migration patterns severely.

Many birds get caught up in storm systems and blown far off course, often landing in inhospitable places or simply arriving too battered and weakened to survive. Others, while not killed or displaced by storms, may starve to death because they are unable to forage while the weather is poor. The number of birds that die as a result of a major hurricane event may run into the hundreds of thousands.

Healthy bird populations are able to withstand such losses and have done so for eons. However, hurricanes can have severe impacts on endangered species, many of which occur on tropical islands, often among the places hardest hit by hurricanes. For example, Hurricane Hugo in 1989 killed half of the wild Puerto Rican Parrots existing at that time. The Cozumel Thrasher, found only on Mexico’s Isla Cozumel, was pushed to the edge of extinction by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Hurricane Iniki may have wiped out the last survivors of as many as three bird species when it hit Hawaii in 1992.

Read more

Booming big bird populations pose problems
By Naomi Snyder, USA TODAY
The massive growth in the population of some big birds, such as Canada geese and vultures, is leading to conflicts with people and challenging wildlife officials to develop solutions.

Although the most publicized problems with large birds have involved airplanes — notably when US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to ditch into New York's Hudson River in 2009 after geese were sucked into its engines — there are other problems, too. Vultures are short-circuiting power lines and damaging cars and homes, and cormorants are destroying land with their waste, according to state and federal wildlife officials.

Many of these birds thrive in human habitats such as golf courses, says Greg Butcher of the National Audubon Society.

"There is a consensus in the bird conservation community that some of these species are really overpopulated," he says. "The biggest question is what to do with these birds."

The non-migratory population of Canada geese along the eastern U.S. and Canada has more than tripled since 1990 to nearly 1 million, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since 1980, the black vulture population has grown 2.5% per year nationally, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.

In Tennessee, where the survey puts the annual growth of black vultures at 11%, the Tennessee Valley Authority is trying to keep the birds off transmission towers so they don't short-circuit power lines. It is equipping the towers with plastic strips, which the birds find uncomfortable for perching, says bird scientist Charles Nicholson.

In Florida 's Everglades National Park , officials plan to use an arsenal of water guns, laser lights and noisemakers to scare off native vultures around parking lots. The birds rip the rubber off windshield wipers and sunroof seals, says David Hallac, chief of biological resources for the park.

Dave Sherman, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, says the waste of the double-crested cormorant kills off trees and vegetation on islands and can reduce fish populations. Ohio has been shooting them since 2006, he says, and "the islands look a lot greener."

Killing birds to reduce populations can be controversial.

In July, 350 to 400 resident Canada geese were captured and killed in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, says Carol Bannerman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, citing problems with birds hitting aircraft.

"Anytime there is a conflict between animals and people, the animals lose," says New York resident Patty Adjamine, who attended a memorial service for the birds.

Chickadees Are Cold Weather Machines Though any bird that survives winter in the North amazes those of us that depend on furnaces and warm blankets, the black-capped chickadee may be the most incredible of all winter survivors.

“Black-capped Chickadees have a wonderful assortment of adaptations for the winter,” said biologist Susan M. Smith, who has studied the black-capped chickadee as long as anyone. “Carefully hidden food items, dense winter coats, specially selected winter roost cavities, and perhaps most remarkable of all, the ability to go into nightly hypothermia, thus conserving large amounts of energy, greatly increases the chances of survival,” she said.

The ability to go into regulated hypothermia actually lowers the chickadee’s body temperature in a controlled manner, down to about 12 or 15 degrees (F.) below their normal daytime temperature of 108 degrees (F.). This remarkable adaptation allows the bird to conserve almost 25 percent of its hourly metabolic expenditure when the outside temperature is at freezing. The lower the outside temperature, the more energy conserved, Smith found.

“Chickadees are not the suburban wimps that some people think they are, said wildlife ecologist Margaret Clark Brittingham. For three winters in Wisconsin, she kept track of 576 black-capped chickadees. She found that every winter morning chickadees had to replace the fat they used overnight. As the small birds struggled against starvation and stinging cold, they earned her respect, too. “They are tough survivors that live close to the edge of life,” she observed.

Spring Spectacle
You see an eerily beautiful image that looks like a work of art, made of metal, glass, or mirrors. But then again it looks like a work of nature, the ripples and waves on the ocean surface reflecting light in silvers and blues. Take another look. It's not the ocean, but if you guessed it had to do with water you are close. It's a flock of migrating sandpipers, charging along the Washington coast at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge in late April.

One of the greatest shorebird spectacles anywhere unfolds each spring from March to early June along the Pacific coast as millions of northbound migrating shorebirds stop to rest and feed before continuing onward to their tundra nesting areas. Many of these birds have traveled tremendous distances, coming from as far away as the tip of South America. Warm southerly winds help them along on their journey.

Washington's Willapa and Grays Harbor refuges are among the shorebird hot spots. In April as many as 500,000 sandpipers may converge at one time in the estuary at Bowerman Basin in Grays Harbor.

The sight of their huge aerobatic flocks is astounding. About 85 percent of them are Western Sandpipers, followed by Dunlins, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Semipalmated Plovers. Brilliant Red Knots turn up reliably, some of them in the course of an annual 20,000-mile round-trip migration between the high Arctic and southern South America.

Taking advantage of the bounty are swift-swooping Peregrine Falcons and Merlins, whose presence may be signaled by thousands of shorebirds simultaneously taking flight.

Learn more about the sandpipers of North America.


Invasive species

Could eucalyptus trees be the kudzu of the 2010s?
Don't encourage more invasive plants; even the experts can err.

There was a time in the South when planting kudzu was not viewed as botanical vandalism, but as a community-spirited gesture. The vine, imported from Asia, was intended to control erosion and provide forage for livestock.Some things just don't work out.

Today kudzu is an invasive pest throughout the South, where it can grow up to a foot a day. It smothers trees, houses and if you move too slowly it might even smother you. Pretty much the only thing that will eat a mature kudzu vine is goats. If you lack goats, eradicating it takes years of herbicidal dousing.

Which leads us to a muddle-headed idea from an S.C.-based company: to plant 330 acres of eucalyptus trees genetically modified to withstand cold weather. The idea is that the tree, native to Australia, could be used commercially to make paper and as fuel for power plants. The Summerville, S.C.-based ArborGen, says the hybrid it would use can't easily reproduce.People thought kudzu was a good idea, too.

The problem of invasive plants is growing as fast as, well, you know. It's not just kudzu. Have you ever tried to get rid of wisteria gone wild? Japanese honeysuckle, English ivy or privet?The major harm from invasive plants isn't that they're landscaping annoyances; it's that they crowd out and smother native species.

That means birds and other animals that rely on those native plants die out, too. A whole ecosystem fails.

Although one form of eucalyptus is already on a U.S. Forest Service list of invasive plants, ArborGen in May won federal permits for seven test sites, including one 75 miles from Charlotte in Marlboro County, S.C. A U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis concluded the test hybrids aren't likely to create a pest plant.We say, remember kudzu. For decades the federal Soil Conservation Service promoted it. And then it was too late.

And one reason kudzu hasn't devoured the whole continent - yet - is that it prefers mild winters. Can you imagine the horror if it had been genetically modified to withstand cold weather?

Florida Panthers

Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi)
The Florida Panther is Florida's state animal. It is estimated that only 80 - 100 Florida Panthers remain in the wild. The Florida Panther was placed on the endangered species list in 1967. About 30 to 35 juvenile and adult Florida Panthers wear radio collars as part of the Florida Panther Recovery Program.

Florida Panther Fun Facts:
Adult male Panthers defend territories of around 200 sq. miles while female Panthers have territories of around 75 sq. miles.
Female Panthers generally have a litter of 1 to 3 kittens every other year.

Mothers stay with their young for about 1.5 to 2 years.

Males weight around 120 pounds and are 7 ft long from nose to end of tail. (Panther's tails are 2/3 of their body length.)

Panthers can leap more than 15 feet and can run 35 miles per hour for short distances.

Panthers like to eat deer and wild pigs.

Historically Florida Panthers lived in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and some think they reached into Texas. Today they only live in parts of Southern Florida including the Everglades and the Big Cypress Swamp.

The Florida Panther is threatened by the destruction of their habitat, collisions with automobiles, and genetic defects caused by extensive inbreeding. The US Fish & Wildlife Service and many private organizations are fighting to save the Florida Panther from extinction.

Endangered Species

Tiger cub found in check in bag
A two-month old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed-tiger toys in the luggage of a woman at Bangkok Airport. The 31-year old Thai national was scheduled to board a flight for Iran when she had trouble checking in her oversized bag.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) staff suspected something amiss when they scanned the bag and x-ray images showed an item resembling a real cat. Officers from the Livestock Development Department and the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department were then called in to open the bag for inspection and discovered a tranquilized tiger cub.

Unknown originInvestigations are underway to determine if the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, where it came from and the suspect's intended final destination. The cub is being cared for at the Rescue Centre of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. DNA samples will be sent to the tiger enclosure at Khaopratab Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ratchaburi Province, to determine which subspecies the cub belongs to, which will help determine its origin.

Read the article

Rare Red Fox Sighting Confirmed
The US National Forest Service have announced the recent sighting of a Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator), in the area where the Humboldt-Toiyabe and Stanislaus National Forests and Yosemite National Park come together. The Sierra Nevada red fox has never occurred in high numbers, and it is known to have suffered when non native foxes were introduced. The lack of any record of the fox for more than 10 years had led scientists to think that it was probably extinct.

This summer, the Forest Service has been conducting monitoring activities with motion sensitive cameras to detect the presence of the elusive fisher and marten, two forest carnivores known to frequent the High Sierra.

Surprised observers:

While checking photographs on August 11, 2010, Forest Service wildlife biologists, Sherri Lisius, from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and Adam Rich, from the Stanislaus National Forest, identified a photo believed to be that of a red fox.

Surprised by what they saw, the Forest Service biologists consulted with California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). The only known population of Sierra Nevada red fox since the 1920s occurred in the Lassen Peak region - about 150 miles to the north.

Not seen here since 1920s:
Recent survey efforts by CDFG in the Sierra Nevada have failed to detect red foxes south of the Lassen area, making the Forest Service detection significant. "The last known sighting of a Sierra Nevada red fox in the Sonora Pass area was sometime in the 1920s," said Mike Crawley, Bridgeport District Ranger. "Needless to say, we are quite surprised and excited by this find."

DNA testing - Distinct population:
The Sonora Pass population of the Sierra Nevada red fox carried a genetic signature seen previously only in museum specimens collected before 1926. Analysis of hair found on the tree supporting the motion sensitive camera allowed UC Davis veterinary geneticists to identify it as originating from a Sierra Nevada red fox, distinct from the Lassen Peak population. Wildlife biologists from the Forest Service, CDFG, and the University of California, Davis, will set-up additional monitoring stations to gather more information on the presence of Sierra Nevada red fox in the area of Sonora Pass.



Going to Washington soon? Our planet's rich diversity of plant life is currently at risk. Ecosystems are changing rapidly, and more than 20% of the world's flora is threatened with extinction. In most cases, plants become endangered due to human activities, and human efforts will be needed to reverse this trend.

Scientists are racing to gather information on known plants and to document the estimated 50,000 plant species that have never been scientifically described. Botanical artists work alongside them to capture plant diversity for future generations and remind us about our own vanishing botanical wealth.

Losing Paradise?
Endangered Plants Here and Around the World, a traveling exhibition developed by the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA), explores the conservation efforts of scientists and illustrators around the globe. The exhibition will be open to the public at the National Museum of Natural History, First Floor, from August 14 - December 12, 2010. Visitors to the exhibit will see 44 botanical illustrations, live plants, and specimens of rare and endangered plants from the Museum’s collection.

FWC seeks information on listed species
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) passed new rules Wednesday for conserving and managing threatened species in Florida. The new rules require biological reviews be completed on all species on the state’s lists of threatened species and species of special concern.

Currently, the FWC seeks input and information on 61 listed species that have never had reviews completed, or the reviews were done so long ago that the information is no longer current. The list of species is available at MyFWC.com/ImperiledSpecies (follow the link under “Latest Updates”).

FWC staff needs information on population size and trends, distribution and range, and threats to the species.

“We want to make sure we have the best available scientific and commercial data as we conduct these reviews,” said Dr. Elsa Haubold, leader of the FWC’s Species Conservation Planning Section. “That is why we are requesting information about these species from the public. We also will research published studies and contact known experts for information.

“Specific aspects of the species’ life history that may influence the range and status of the species in Florida will help us make well-informed decisions on whether to continue listing each species.”

After gathering information from the public and completing the research, staff, along with biological review groups appointed by the Commission, will evaluate the information this fall, using the newly approved listing process. Based on these reviews, staff will then make recommendations to the Commission on whether the species should be on Florida’s threatened list.

Before a change in status is made, no matter if the species is listed or not, all reviewed species will have a management plan developed that will outline the conservation goal and objectives needed to improve or maintain the species. The management plans will be developed with extensive public and stakeholder input.

Information and data on any of the 61 species should be sent to: Biological Status Reviews, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South Meridian St., Mail Station 2A, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600 or e-mailed to Imperiled@MyFWC.com. Responses will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.

If providing information on more than one species, send a separate, clearly identifiable section of the response devoted to each species.

Cold blasts in summer killing Florida coral reefs
A strange upwelling of cold water this summer has caused serious damage to some South Florida coral reefs.

It's not uncommon for cold weather to harm coral along with pesticides, algae, acidity and other dangers. But it usually happens in the winter. The bleaching of 70 percent of a large coral patch off Palm Beach County occurred in July, when sudden blasts of cold ocean water subjected the reefs to extreme highs and lows in one of Florida's hottest months.

The upwelling can be caused by winds, eddies and currents, but scientists say is virtually impossible to predict.

Coral reefs are an important part of the ecosystem, providing habitat for marine life and protecting the coast during tropical storms.

Read more

State wildlife agency may stop deciding which animals are endangered
State wildlife officials say they will get out of the business of determining whether species should be listed as endangered under a proposed new classification process. Environmental and some recreational groups say they support the proposed changes.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been wrangling for the past decade with the contentious issue of whether it should list species as endangered, threatened or a "species of special concern." The commission holds a three-day meeting beginning Wednesday in Pensacola Beach where it will discuss the new rules.

A commission representative said the new process will allow wildlife officials to focus on developing plans for protecting all listed species, including some that are not on the federal list.

There now are 64 endangered or threatened species on the state list and 43 that are listed as "species of special concern.""We don't want to have these arguments about what category a species should be listed in," said Elsa Haubold, section leader for species conservation planning at FWC. "We want to say, 'this species is listed, now what do we do about it?' "

Representatives of Audubon of Florida, Save the Manatee Club, the Boat Owners Association of America (BoatUS) and the Florida Airboat Association said they support the proposal. The issue came to a head most recently in 2007 when the commission was set to move the manatee from the endangered to the threatened category.

The agency halted action at the request of Gov. Charlie Crist and convened meetings of environmental groups, landowners and recreational interests who were concerned about the listing process.Under the proposal, which will be considered Wednesday, any species on the federal endangered and threatened species list will be included automatically on the state list with those federal designations.

Any species now listed by the state as endangered or threatened that are not on the federal list will be placed automatically on the state "threatened" list. Any species of special concern will remain in that category until it can be evaluated by the commission within the coming year to determine if it should be placed on the state threatened list or removed altogether.

Audubon of Florida is supporting the proposal but has concerns, said Julie Wraithmell, the group's wildlife policy coordinator. Audubon will be closely watching the evaluation process in the next three years to determine whether shorebirds now listed as species of special concern are dropped from the list. The group also is concerned about a portion of the rule that would protect boating, hunting and other recreation activities from infringement by the rule."We know people are going to use that to bully land managers," Wraithmell said.

But Bonnie H. Basham, who represents BoatUS and the Florida Airboat Association, said disturbances caused by recreational activities should be allowed as long as people are not intentionally trying to harm endangered and threatened species. She also said boaters are giving up their fight over the listing of manatees to allow other threatened species to receive protection."I don't think it was appropriate for all the other species that need protection (to) wait until the day we all agree on manatees because I don't think that day will ever come," she said.

Fla. black bears may have rebounded too much
It wasn't too long ago that Florida was desperate to save the black bear. The species has lost so much habitat and become so heavily hunted in the 1950s the animals were almost never seen.
Decades later, it looks like the state may've done too good a job. The black bear population has exploded, forcing the animals out of the wilderness and increasingly into contact with humans.

The animals have been spotted prowling gated communities, in back yards, garbage cans and even at Universal Orlando. The problem is particularly acute in central Florida because black bears have rebounded so strongly in the Ocala National Forest.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is studying the issue. The most controversial idea is whether to reopen a hunting season for the animals.

NMFS to release final draft of Teller sea lion BiOp
After many delays and with much anticipation from the fishing industry, the National Marine Fisheries Service just released its draft biological opinion (BiOp) on Alaska's Steller sea lion population. The draft clocks in at over 800 pages of text, charts, and graphs, and it examines the effect of commercial fishing on this protected species. It also makes some recommendations that could limit fishing in a portion of the Aleutians.

The western stock of sea lions was listed as endangered in 1990, and every year NOAA scientists do surveys of the marine mammals to figure out how many are surviving and how many are breeding. And through most of the Aleutians, the numbers have stabilized. Except for out at the western tip; there, the adult population has declined almost by half in the past decade.

It's this region that NMFS wants to target, as the BiOp lays out. NMFS says that while the population is influenced by a number of factors, commercial fishing does have an impact on Steller sea lions and it negatively affects their habitat.

John Warrenchuk is a scientist with the non-profit conservation group Oceana. He agrees with NMFS's assessment that competition for food is a serious problem for the sea lions."Steller sea lions need abundant fish, abundant prey near shore to be able to do well, and they're kind of the same boat as Alaskan fishing communities that need lots of fish near their communities to go out and catch," says Warrenchuk. "What we need to do is increase the biomass of Pollock, of Pacific cod, and Atka Mackerel in near-shore areas in sea lions' critical habitat to make sure there's enough fish to go around.

And so NMFS is recommending a something called a "reasonable and prudent alternative," or an RPA. This would place some restrictions on fisheries in the Western Aleutians. The BiOp calls for the closure the Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries out near Attu, where the Steller sea lion population is most vulnerable.

There would also be some limits on the ground fish fishery near the Andreanof Islands, but there restrictions wouldn't be as extreme.

Dave Benton, head of the Marine Conservation Alliance, a fishery management organization, says that he's not sure these closures would necessarily be warranted."I'm really not convinced that the scientific underpinnings are there to extend fishery management measures beyond critical habitat," says Benton. "It seems to me that there's a pretty steep bar that needs to be climbed over to get to that place, and I just am very curious when we look analysis to see how they based their decision to do that."He also says he's worried that NMFS is moving too quickly with the BiOp.

"This thing warrants a very careful scientific review and a very thoughtful public comment," says Benton. "And I don't see how we're going to be able to do that in the time-frame that NMFS has specified."

Greenpeace feels that this new BiOp finds commercial fishing to be the most likely cause of sea lion declines in the western Aleutian Islands and their failure to recover in other areas. Fishing fleets are catching too much of the fish Steller sea lions need to eat for their survival. You can take action and let the agency know you support their conclusions and urge them to move forward and give Steller sea lions the protection they need.

Meanwhile, Warrenchuk has his own reservations about the direction of the BiOp - but for different reasons. "It's a step in the right direction, but it's not all the way there," says Warrenchuk. Overall in Alaska, we need to move toward a more a more ecosystem-based fisheries management, which includes accounting for the needs of the ecosystem and for other components that rely on fish including marine mammals and Seller sea lions."The North Pacific Fishery Management council will release the final draft of the biological opinion on Steller sea lions in January.

Take action here

Florida wildlife agency adopts new species classification system
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday approved a new process for identifying threatened species that would replace the controversial state listing process.The agency faced a firestorm of opposition in 2007 when it considered moving the manatee from endangered to the less protective "threatened" category on the state list.

The commission delayed action at the request of Gov. Charlie Crist.Scientists said the new agency listing process, adopted in 2005, incorrectly matched categories developed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In response, the commission brought together landowners, boaters and environmentalists to help develop a new listing process, which was adopted Wednesday during a meeting in Pensacola Beach."We are all glad they did," Pat Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club said after the vote. "It gave us a chance to find common ground where not very much existed before."

Under the new process any species on the federal endangered and threatened species list will be included automatically on the state list with those federal designations. Any species now listed by the state as endangered or threatened that are not on the federal list also will be placed automatically on the state "threatened" list.

The state's "species of special concern" category, the least protective category, will be eliminated but those species will first be evaluated to determine if they should be placed on the state threatened list.


Everglades and Water Quality Issues

Return on saving the Everglades : $90 billion
Restoration of the Everglades is at a critical point. In a pending Florida Supreme Court appeal, litigants have argued against the purchase of the U.S. Sugar Corp. land on economic grounds. The newest deal calls for buying 26,800 acres that could be used to build reservoirs and treatment areas to restore water flows from Lake Okeechobee to the southern Everglades.

The litigants ' main argument states that the high cost of the South Florida Water Management District’s issuing of $200 million in bonds does not serve the "public good." Litigants imply that restoring the land bought with bonds will cost still more and take away from other Everglades restoration projects. Those critics, who argue "sticker shock" from the price, have failed to consider the economic benefits that restoration will bring, or claim that these benefits are intangible or incalculable. However, there are objective, scientific methods of valuing the services provided to nature and society by restored ecosystems.

While the cost of buying the land is evident, the greater benefits from the land are less apparent. To assess these benefits, we have quantified the economic value of the services provided by ecosystems: flood protection, water supply, recreation, etc. We have used and modified the methodology for "valuing ecosystem services," first quantified by a group of international economists and biologists in 1997 and recommended for application by the National Academy of Sciences.

Our point is that natural systems and restoration provide economic value. Furthermore, we must recognize that the natural ecosystem has tangible economic value. We argue that it can be evaluated as an investment, and we calculated the return on the purchase of the U.S. Sugar land. Our assessment compared the costs to the ecological and economic benefits of the proposed plans for Everglades restoration. Costs include the purchase of land, building necessary reservoirs and storm water treatment areas, and ongoing operations and maintenance. Benefits include flood control, water regulation and the revitalization of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, which have been damaged by harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Investment in any of the proposed restoration plans would result in a substantial return within 10 years and contribute up to $90 billion to the economy over 40 years. What the investors and taxpayers need to remember is that restoration is not only a "feel good" environmental project, but also an economic investment with a huge return. With a benefit-to-cost ratio of at least 6 to 1 there is an astounding "sticker benefit" associated with the purchase and restoration of this land.

Eric Buermann: Reduced U.S. Sugar land buy was wise move in tough times
Much has changed in the two years since Gov. Charlie Crist stood on the edge of America’s Everglades and called upon the South Florida Water Management District to negotiate a historic land acquisition with U.S. Sugar Corp. that would help restore this national treasure.

Since 2008, the economic impacts that have been felt across the nation have led to a decline of $150 million in district revenues.

Legal challenges have drawn the acquisition out in the courts. And recent federal court rulings have changed the landscape of restoration planning.

In the midst of change, what has remained constant is the need for more land south of Lake Okeechobee — whether through this acquisition or from another willing seller — to achieve water quality improvements and restoration of the Everglades and its watersheds.

A second amended acquisition, recently approved by the SFWMD Governing Board and U.S. Sugar’s Board of Directors, keeps that dream alive to provide near-term benefits for South Florida’s ecosystems while addressing the new fiscal constraints and legal obligations that we face.

The modified contract calls for the district to utilize $197 million in cash on-hand — already reserved for land acquisition and restoration projects — to initially purchase approximately 26,800 acres of land. The agency retains options over the next 10 years to acquire the corporation’s remaining 153,200 acres should economic conditions allow.

In crafting this new agreement, the district carefully evaluated its existing requirements and mandates to identify acreage that could significantly enhance restoration and water quality efforts already under way for key basins.

The acquisition consists of two strategically located parcels. One, lying just west of two of the agency’s water treatment wetlands, is 17,900 acres of citrus land in Hendry County . This site will be used for projects to improve water quality in the C-139 agricultural basin, where phosphorus levels historically have been high. The second parcel is 8,900 acres of sugar cane land in Palm Beach County.

This will be used to enhance existing treatment wetlands to help meet federally mandated water quality targets in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

Along with achieving some important water quality benefits, this latest version of the purchase fulfills the SFWMD Governing Board’s pledge not to increase the burden on taxpayers or hamper the district’s ability to carry out its core missions.

By paying for the initial acreage with a portion of cash saved during better economic times, the district eliminates the immediate need for financing with certificates of participation.

That approach saves taxpayers millions of dollars that would have been spent on annual debt service payments.

When the state and federal governments partnered more than a decade ago to restore the Everglades, no one imagined vast areas of agricultural land south of the lake would ever be available for that purpose. The new realities of the last two years have forced the district to rethink how to approach the River of Grass acquisition in a fiscally responsible way.

However, the benefits of this rare opportunity remain as clear as ever.

Special master's recommendation buoys supporters of Everglades land buy
Report to federal judge recommends against finishing Everglades reservoir
The South Florida Water Management District may be allowed to abandon a $700 million reservoir project in the southern Everglades Agricultural Area, after a court-appointed Special Master on Tuesday said the Everglades would benefit more from the district's purchase of 27,000 acres from U.S. Sugar than from completing the reservoir.

Special Master John Barkett's recommendation now goes to a federal judge for consideration.

District officials praised the recommendation as a more financially sound way to restore the Everglades. It will also remove a major obstacle in the district's ability to purchase land from U.S. Sugar for $197 million, they said.

"Given limited resources, the district has seized a rare opportunity to acquire lands in a cost-effective way, enabling us in the coming years to implement proven water treatment projects," said spokesperson Kayla Bergeron. "We will continue to work with our state, federal, tribal and private partners to fulfill our shared restoration and water quality improvement goals for the Everglades."

But some, including the Miccosukee Tribe, have criticized the U.S. Sugar deal, saying the reservoir in the cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee is a surer and faster bet for restoring water flow in the Everglades than the land purchase. The tribe argued that the district would not have money to finish the reservoir if it spent millions buying land from U.S. Sugar, and tried to get a judge to order an emergency injunction in August.

Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno ruled that there was no emergency need to stop the purchase then, because it is not scheduled to close until October. An attorney representing the Miccosukees did not return phone calls for this story.

Barkett's recommendation comes six months after Moreno's order that the district resume construction of the city-sized reservoir. In March, Moreno ordered a special master help the district coordinate completion of the reservoir and the purchase of the land from U.S. Sugar.

Kirk Fordham, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation and a supporter of the U.S. Sugar deal, said the special master had recommended "sound, science-driven steps that will improve water quality and put restoration efforts back on track."

Purple Reigns in Water conservation
Florida is a state flanked by a gulf and an ocean, dotted with hundreds of lakes and springs and crossed by thousands of miles of rivers and streams, and sprinkled with lots of puddles during the rainy season.

Water is everywhere. Still, we are unsure how much water we have to drink or how long our supply will last. A waste not, want not approach helps conserve our water sources.One easy way to keep our water stocked is to reclaim it. Domestic wastewater — water that we usually waste — can be filtered, disinfected and used again.

Some places in Florida have been using reclaimed water for years and the purple pipe — in the United States, reclaimed water is distributed in purple pipes — has distributed many a gallon to Florida landscapes and lawns.

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Wildlife and Habitat

Watch Out for Wildlife
The fall is all too often one of the deadliest times for wildlife near roads and highways. Experts estimate that up to 1.5 million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur in the United States every year. And roads are a leading cause of decline for some species.In fact, vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for the critically endangered Florida panther -- a record 17 panthers were killed by vehicles in 2009. But animals aren’t the only victims: More than 200 motorists are killed in wildlife-vehicle collisions in the U.S. every year.

Defenders’ Watch Out for Wildlife Week (September 12-18) is raising awareness of the dangers our roads pose to wildlife -- and you can help.

Watch a slideshow and take action: Urge your U.S. Representative to make our roadways safer for wildlife and motorists alike.

Facebook photos lead to arrest of illegal hunters
Two Inverness residents were arrested when an investigation uncovered they had illegally taken a deer and then posted the photos on Facebook.

William Andrew Buchanan (DOB 08/26/89) and Tara Anne Carver (DOB 09/06/82) were cited for possession of wildlife taken illegally, according to investigators from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

“FWC officers received information that the photos had been published on Facebook and investigated the tip,” said Lt. Steve Farmer, investigations supervisor. “Investigators then interviewed Buchanan and Carver.”

Buchanan confirmed he was in the photographs, helping skin the deer. He also stated he used his mother’s truck to move the deer when he received a call from Carver, and he provided the chain to hang the deer. However, he wouldn’t admit to shooting the deer or being present when the deer was killed, said Investigator Jim Smith, lead investigator on the case.

“Carver said she published the photographs on her Facebook page and that the deer was killed sometime in May,” Smith said.

Carver blamed Buchanan for killing the deer but confirmed she had skinned it and stored some of the meat in her uncle’s freezer.

“Fortunately for investigators, pictures can say a thousand words,” Smith said.

Keep the Pressure on Washington for a Federal Drilling Moratorium
On September 2nd, another emergency occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. This time, it was an oil platform that caught fire 92 miles off the coast of Louisiana, 200 miles west of the Deepwater Horizon spill. This event is a reminder that the Gulf of Mexico is peppered with nearly 4,000 active oil and gas platforms, and we are just one accident away from another devastating spill that can wreak havoc on our Gulf ecosystems and species, including birds, fish, sea turtles, and manatees.

Please take a moment to write to your leaders in Washington and tell them you support a federal moratorium on drilling along all of America's coastlines until there has been a full safety review of all rigs and platforms.

Click here to get more information and send a quick message now!

Thank you for taking the time to protect manatees and their habitat.

Sincerely,
Dr. Katie Tripp
Director of Science and ConservationSave the Manatee Club

Another case of non-native animals released where they don’t belong
BURR OAK, Mich. (AP) — A Burr Oak man simply wanted to gather some sweet corn for the family freezer.He didn’t expect to have to deal with an alligator rushing at him.Jeff Adamski was in a corn field on a recent evening when two women came running from a few rows over, screaming that they had seen an alligator.He checked it out and sure enough, there it was.Adamski tells the Sturgis Journal he “backed away,” and the gator “darted at me.” He then backed up faster, and the animal kept coming.

That’s when Adamski says he decided to deal with the problem, considering what an alligator could do to a child if he let it go.The newspaper reports Adamski grabbed a 4-foot bar out of his truck and killed the alligator.

Burr Oak is about 80 miles south of Grand Rapids.

[Last month two alligators were captured in the Chicago River. These are the results of people buying or trapping exotic wildlife as pets and then realizing that they can’t really care for them. Their illogical solution is to release the animal in the wild whether or not the conditions suit the animal. Note the constrictors in the Everglades.]


Global Warming and Climate Change

One Way to Reduce Miami’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By Susie Glass, LEED AP
When one thinks about green house gases being emitted into the atmosphere the natural assumption would be that transportation contributes the greatest numberof total combined emissions. And, although transportation does rank close to thetop of the list, Miami’s number one ranking is actually held by buildings.

An overwhelming 54% of greenhouse gases can be attributed to buildings alone here inMiami. Just as a refresher, green house gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorbinfrared radiation emitted from the earth, and as a result temperatures rise and raise sea levels. Greater Miami is one of the most vulnerable urban areas in the world when it comes to rising sea levels. At current, there is 400 billion dollarsof property at risk by rising sea level.

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Offshore & Ocean

Japan Resumes Controversial Dolphin Slaughter Anyone who has seen the Academy Award-winning documentary, The Cove, is familiar with Japan's annual dolphin hunt. This year's season starts today and runs through February, during which time Japanese fishermen can legally kill up to 20,000 dolphins. Many of those deaths take place in Taiji, a coastal community with a 400-year-old tradition of rounding up dolphins to sell to aquariums or slaughter for their meat. The town was the focal point of The Cove, and since the film was released, Taiji's taken a lot of heat from animal rights' activists.

After viewing the literal bloodbath that ensues in the film, it's easy to understand why activists feel so enraged. Using the "oikomi" method of hunting, fishermen round up dolphins into a bay, capture some, and kill the rest for meat. While fishermen insist their local economy is dependent on this cultural tradition, animal rights activists describe the practice as barbaric, cruel, and inhumane.

Dolphin and whale hunting in Japan is certainly a time-honored tradition. And yes, after seeing the waters run red in The Cove, the hunts can be pretty horrific. But from a sustainable food perspective, there's a problem even more disturbing than the slaughter — the toxicity of dolphins and whales. Both of these swimmers contain astronomical levels of the heavy metal, mercury.

Read more or sign the petition

New oil rig explosion creates Florida political firestorm
A new oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast on Thursday led House Republicans and Democrats to trade accusations about oil drilling. The Mariner Energy production rig caught fire Thursday morning. Thirteen workers were rescued, one with injuries.

There were reports of an oil sheen on the Gulf surface but it was unclear whether the rig was leaking, according to a report by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The Mariner Energy rig is about 90 miles south of the Louisiana coast and is west of the Deepwater Horizon rig that sank in April, causing one of the nation's worst environmental disasters.

Florida is closely monitoring reports regarding the fire, state emergency management director David Halstead said in a statement. On Wednesday, House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, said House work groups studying the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster concluded there was no reason to call a special session to deal with potential economic impacts from the oil spill.

Energy

Renewable energy's future in Florida depends not on solar, wind or hydro
The future for renewable energy sources is arriving. But right now, it's not the future many Floridians expect.

It's not solar panels on every rooftop, nor windmills across the landscape nor even huge hydroelectric turbines in the Gulfstream. No, out of the six main sources of renewable energy in Florida, residents might be surprised to learn that solar, wind and hydro rank at the bottom of Public Service Commission projections through the year 2019. Instead, biomass, solid waste and waste heat hold the top three positions.

Say again?

Yes, solid waste, biomass and waste heat lead the pack. Why?

Advocates for renewable energy say the state simply hasn't set the right regulatory or policy framework for a broader renewable energy power surge. "It has a great unrealized potential, but we're missing the policies," said Susan Glickman, a consultant to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and the Clean Energy Group. "If our policy makers would put the policies in place, Florida wouldn't be so slow."

In the void, biomass, solid waste and waste heat systems have taken the lead. They have proven relatively inexpensive sources of renewable energy, and the materials needed to produce it are abundant.

Here is a rundown of each, and why they lead the pack.

PSC delays action on contested utilities' conservation plans
The Florida Public Service Commission on Tuesday agreed to delay action until September on energy conservation plans proposed by six utilities.The PSC adopted conservation goals in January for the state's five largest electric utilities and two city-owned utilities. They are subject to the Florida Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (FEECA), adopted by the Legislature in 2008.In March, those utilities submitted 10-year plans outlining the cost of the PSC conservation goals.

But PSC staff says the plans submitted by Florida Power & Light, Progress Energy and Gulf Power failed to meet the conservation goals established by the commission. As requested by staff, the commission agreed Tuesday to delay consideration for those three utilities in addition to Tampa Electric Co., the Florida Public Utilities Co. and JEA, formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority, so that additional calculations related to the plans could be performed.

The commission approved the conservation plan for the Orlando Utilities Commission as recommended by PSC staff.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has intervened in the cases, saying that Progress Energy is exaggerating costs of conservation. A Progress Energy spokesman responded Tuesday that the that utility relied on the Itron consulting firm from Oakland, California to develop a conservation plan that protects customers from increased costs for conservation in the first years.Progress Energy proposed increasing the cost from the current $3.24 per month to $6.38 the first year and eventually to $30.17 in year 10.

The average monthly cost would be $16.76. The company says the cost would jump to $14.08 the first year without the more gradual approach and that the 10-year average would be about the same."We believe that the best way to achieve the aggressive goals mandated by the Florida Public Service Commission is to do it in a way that limits the price impact on customers in today's economy," said Tim Leljedal, a Progress Energy spokesman. "That's why we propose a gradual approach, but doing it in a way that we can still achieve the overall goal within 10 years."

In comparison, Florida Power & Light said in March that energy conservation would vary between $2.83 and $4.32 per month, compared to $2.26 now. The PSC set a lower conservation goal for FP&L than for Progress Energy.

FPL’s bills to rise again
Florida's Public Service Commission voted has 3-2 to increase Florida Power & Light customers' bills by $31 million starting in January to pay for development of the company's nuclear projects.

The decision came after nearly three weeks of wrangling between the company and the commission over whether to conduct a full hearing on the issue after testimony revealed that FPL supplied the commission with inaccurate data last year regarding its nuclear projects.

After a series of votes that indicated that only PSC Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano and Commissioner Nathan Skop seemed interested in a full hearing, Argenziano moved to have the company's request to have the increase approved, effective Jan. 1, with no discussion.

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Land Conservation

Community Coalition Supports Public Acquisition of Environmentally Sensitive Lands on Edison Farms
A coalition of national, state and local environmental and civic groups have united in their support of the public acquisition and preservation of the 4,000-acre Edison Farms site (map attached*); including the Brooks Concerned Citizens, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Collier County Audubon Society, Audubon of Southwest Florida, CREW Land & Water Trust, Estero Council of Community Leaders, Florida Wildlife Federation and The Trust for Public Land.

The Coalition is advocating Lee County’s Conservation 20/20 Program prioritizes Edison Farms for acquisition at an August 12 meeting of the 20/20 Program’s Advisory Committee.

Edison Farms, also known as Agripartners, has been identified as a high priority land acquisition and preservation project for decades by local, state and federal agencies. In fact, the state Florida Forever land acquisition program ranked the property and contiguous Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) area as #3 statewide in the Partnerships and Regional Incentives Projects category.

However, with little to no funding for the state land acquisition program, there seemed no opportunity for the public acquisition of this exceptionally important natural resource area until recently.


Now, with a willing seller and the Lee County Conservation 20/20 committee poised to consider this acquisition on Thursday, August 12th, there is an unparalleled prospect to preserve these 4,000 acres critical to water supply, water quality in perpetuity.

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Alaska National Wildlife Reserve
Only 14 years after the first human footsteps fell on the North Pole, President Warren Harding, a man clearly unfamiliar with America's vibrant Arctic, carved a chunk out of its tundra and called it a 'Petroleum Reserve.' That name, so arbitrarily assigned and unreflective of this place bursting with life, curses the wildlife that thrive there to this day.

Migratory birds from around the globe flock to the Western Arctic to nest and breed on the shores of Teshekpuk Lake, a half-million caribou gallop over nearby hills and America's remaining polar bears build dens here to protect their young. It is a vibrant place, indeed.
Thanks to the hard work of caring citizens who realize their natural value, the vital wildlife areas of the Western Arctic remain intact – but our greatest test lies ahead.

The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the leasing of public land to oil companies, will soon determine the future of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. For a short time only, they're offering the opportunity for you to submit an official comment for their consideration on the future of the Reserve.

Join us in calling on BLM to create a plan for the Reserve that sets aside vital wildlife areas!

Miscellaneous

FWC wraps up 3-day meeting in Pensacola Beach
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) resolved quite a few issues during its three-day meeting that concluded Friday in Pensacola Beach.

Commissioners started the meeting by recognizing Jim Berry, a local artist from Milton, with a plaque for his portrayal of Florida wildlife in his artwork.

Also on Sept. 1, the Commission passed several final rules, starting with fox and coyote enclosures and their operation in Florida. The new rule prohibits the taking of fox or coyote by a dog or dogs within an enclosure. Another final rule addresses how the FWC will notify a county or municipality of a pending application for the possession of Class I or II wildlife. Other rules passed include restricting the method of take during the spring turkey season on wildlife management areas and adding a month of crossbow hunting opportunity on private lands.

The Commission also approved a final rule that changes the way Florida manages listed species. The rules describe a system whose goals are to conserve threatened species and to ensure no fish or wildlife goes extinct in Florida because of human action or inaction.
Wednesday’s meeting concluded with a report on adjusting hunting season dates on FWC-managed lands and an anchoring and mooring update from staff.

While catch-and-release fishing for snook still will be allowed during the closed harvest seasons, the Commission made other decisions regarding snook on Thursday. They approved the reopening of the Atlantic snook harvest season from Sept. 17 until Dec. 15, and then close the harvest of snook in this area from Dec. 15 until Sept. 1, 2011. Commissioners also decided to keep the harvest of snook closed in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico, Everglades National Park and Monroe County waters until Sept. 1, 2011.

The Commission also agreed to reopen the recreational harvest season for red snapper in Gulf state waters on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for eight consecutive weekends, beginning on Oct. 1 and continuing through Nov. 21. This coincides with the same season expected to be implemented in federal waters off of Florida.

In other marine fisheries action, Commissioners proposed a draft rule that would increase the daily recreational bag limit for red drum from one fish to two in Escambia through Pasco counties in northwest Florida and in Flagler through Nassau counties in northeast Florida. They also will consider implementing a possible vessel limit for redfish in northern Florida as part of its proposed rule. A final public hearing on the proposed redfish draft rule will be held in February in Apalachicola.

In addition, Commissioners proposed a series of blue crab draft rule amendments, including staggering the annual regional, 10-day trap-harvest closures so they occur every other year. A final public hearing on the proposed blue crab rule amendments will be held in Weston in December.

The Commission also directed staff to continue reviewing permit, pompano and African pompano management issues and discussed the possible creation of a recreational reef fish tag or endorsement and several federal fisheries management issues.
On Friday, the Commission heard reports on the agency’s budget and legislative issues for the 2011 session of the Florida Legislature.

The full agenda of the Sept. 1-3 meeting is available online at MyFWC.com/Commission.

Celebrate September as Florida Literacy Month in a State Park
Florida Governor Charlie Crist recently signed a proclamation designating September as Florida Literacy Month. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Florida State Parks and its partners are celebrating the fourth annual Florida Literacy Month with special events at state parks and libraries statewide. In conjunction with International Literacy Day on September 8th and National Library Card Signup Month, entrance to all of Florida’s state parks will be free* Friday, September 10 through Sunday, September 12 for visitors who bring a library card, library book or who donate a new or gently used family book.

“Florida Literacy Month is a perfect reminder that reading and writing can be enjoyed in many settings, including the outdoors,” said Florida State Parks Director Donald Forgione. “Reading a nature-themed book at a Florida State Park is one example of an exciting way for students and adults alike to learn about the environment while improving literacy skills.”

...more

Mysterious Migration of the DragonflyLike many birds and some butterflies, dragonflies migrate.
But unlike other migratory creatures, naturalists have been unable to determine where or even why these insects migrate. Regardless, at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, they’ll get there in a hurry!Dragonflies have been around a long time—they’ve roamed the earth for over 300 million years and are one of the more common insects found trapped in ancient amber.

Learn more about these common, but still mysterious creatures,

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FWC reminds Floridians balloon releases take a toll on wildlife
With the start of football season, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reminds event organizers and other Floridians about a law prohibiting the release of more than nine lighter-than-air balloons within a 24-hour period.

Balloons released in Florida almost inevitably end up in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean. Wildlife, especially sea turtles, mistake balloons for food, and strings attached to balloons can entangle birds and other animals. The release into the atmosphere of large numbers of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gases poses a danger and nuisance to the environment, particularly to wildlife and marine animals, according to Florida Statute 379.233, passed in 1989. The law provides for a $250 fine for violations.

There are exceptions for scientific or meteorological balloons released by a government agency or under government contract, hot air balloons that are recovered after launching, and balloons released indoors. The law also allows for the release of balloons that are biodegradable or photodegradable under FWC rules. Since 1989, the FWC has received only one such balloon design for review, and that balloon was not approved.