Florida Watches For Fay’s Next Move As She Parks Off the Florida Coast

Last Updated on 8/25/2008

Here is a list to all Fay related stories and posts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Emergency idle/no-wake & no-vessel zones in effect now on St. Johns

Roads closed on some WMAs in Orange, Osceola counties

Idle-speed, no-wake zones may take effect on the St. Johns River 

Idle-speed, no-wake zones may take effect on the Withlacoochee River

FWC warns Floridians not to attempt wildlife rescues amid flooding

FWC warns of hidden hazards below water’s surface  

High water prompts temporary restrictions for Everglades WMA

Roads closed on FWC-managed areas in Indian River, Brevard and Osceola counties

FWC will deal with lost and damaged boats after the storm

FWC urges boaters to be careful after flooding due to Fay

FWC wildlife management areas close in North Central Region

Roads closed on some WMAs in Orange, Osceola counties

Boat owners are required to secure their vessels during storms

SW Fla. offices now operational; Babcock/Webb reopens Thursday

FWC finds missing tiger

More storm-related closings in Northeast Region

Storm-related closings in Northeast Region

FWC reschedules climate change summit 

More storm-related closings in South Region 

FWC offices, Babcock/Webb WMA close in Southwest Florida

Take precautions and be careful before and during storm

FWC storm-related news

FWC cancels workshop, climate change summit

Fay has hovered over Florida and its coasts for nearly four days now and has caused torrential downpours and flooding throughout the state.  Precautions are still needed at every venture.  Travel is limited and damage is evident throughout the south and southeastern portions of the state.

The Outdoor Central News Network, in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as always will keep you informed to any and all update regarding fishing, hunting, and recreational opportunities in Florida.

Please be advised of storm related closures, and always think safety first.

New Rules for the Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area

The Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area in Marion County has a new permitting process this year.  In an effort to provide an equitable hunting opportunity, daily quota permits are limited to five per person per waterfowl season.  Additionally, the horsepower limit allowed for boat motors on the area has been raised from 10 to 40 to enable hunters to navigate through vegetation more successfully. 

“It’s important to create rules and quotas on public lands, such as this one, that allow as many hunters as possible to use the area, without sacrificing hunt quality,” said Jen Williams, hunting coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Northeast Region.

Ocklawaha Prairie Public Small Game Hunting Area is about 2,300 acres, just north of Moss Bluff along the Ocklawaha River and is convenient to Ocala. It is legal to hunt ducks, coots and snipe during the season. Hunters must enter through the check station off 137th Avenue (Old River Road).

For detailed regulations specific to this hunting area, log onto MyFWC.com/hunting/wma/2008-09/Northeast/OcklawahaPrairiePSGHA.pdf.

Apply for Special-opportunity Spring Turkey Hunts in Florida Sept. 9 – Oct. 14

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will begin accepting 2009 special-opportunity spring turkey hunt applications at 10 a.m. (EDT) Sept. 9. The deadline for submitting applications is midnight (EDT) Oct. 14.

Applications may be submitted at www.wildlifelicense.com, county tax collectors’ offices or at any license agent. A random drawing decides who will receive the coveted permits. To apply, hunters can obtain application worksheets at MyFWC.com/hunting and at all FWC regional offices.

Demand for these hunts is typically greater than the number of available permits, but hunters can increase their chances of being selected by submitting as many $5 nonrefundable applications as they like. Successful applicants pay a permit fee of $50 - $175, depending on the special-opportunity hunt area selected.

Participation rules limit out-of-state hunters to one permit per hunt.

The FWC created special-opportunity spring turkey hunts for sportsmen looking to take an Osceola, the “crown jewel” of the turkey hunter’s Grand Slam. The FWC designs special-opportunity turkey hunts to take place on large tracts of land, with great habitat, healthy turkey populations and a limited number of hunters.

The Osceola is a highly prized subspecies of wild turkey, found only in peninsular Florida, south of and including Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval counties. All hunts take place within the Osceola turkey’s home range.

For more information on special-opportunity Osceola turkey hunts, visit MyFWC.com/hunting.

Prescribed Burn Planned for Apalachicola River WEA Marsh

Sometime between Aug. 18 and Sept. 5, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will conduct a prescribed burn on 9,700 acres of marsh north of Apalachicola.

The area is part of the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area (WEA).  The last prescribed burn occurred in 2003.

Derek Fussell, an FWC wildlife biologist, said the burn is necessary for several reasons.

“For one thing, fire burns off the dead and rank grass in the marsh.  That has happened naturally for thousands of years, but because of people, houses, roads and other considerations, we now have to pick our times carefully to use fire,” he said.    

“Another big benefit from the burn is it kills or suppresses hardwoods and nonnative plants from gaining a foothold.  It also reduces the fuel load and prevents catastrophic wildfires, which can, and do, happen.”

As in the past, Fussell said the FWC is working closely with the Florida Division of Forestry and Department of Environmental Protection and takes into account National Weather Service information.  The burn will take place when the correct environmental conditions occur, including a southerly wind and necessary humidity.

FWC staff posted notices on all houseboats in the maze of creeks and tributaries in the designated burn area advising boat owners of the burn.

Fussell said the burn is done quickly with the use of a helicopter and a DAID (Delayed Action Ignition Device) machine, which is an ignition-distribution method for setting a fire line from the air.

The burn is expected to be finished in one day.

Blue Crab Workshops Scheduled In Florida

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has scheduled a series of public workshops to receive comments regarding a possible closed harvest season for blue crabs.

The FWC is looking at ways to create a closed blue crab harvest season so lost and abandoned traps can be collected and removed from Florida’s coastal waters.  The primary option under consideration would establish three regional blue crab harvest closures across the state for a period of up to 10 days.

The FWC encourages interested persons to participate in the workshops, which will take place from 6-8 p.m. as follows:

Monday, Aug. 25
Center for Marine Studies
9505 Ocean Shore Blvd.
St. Augustine

 Tuesday, Aug. 26
Brevard County Government Complex
The Brevard Room
518 S. Palm Ave.
Titusville

 Wednesday, Aug. 27
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve
261 7th St.
Apalachicola

 Wednesday, Aug. 27
Joseph P. D’Alessandro Office Complex
2295 Victoria Ave.
Ft. Myers

 Thursday, Aug. 28
City Council Chambers
123 NW Highway 19
Crystal River

Anyone requiring special accommodations to participate in the workshops should advise the FWC at least five days prior to the workshop by calling 850-488-6411.  If you are hearing- or speech-impaired, contact the FWC using the Florida Relay Service at 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (voice).

More information is available at MyFWC.com/marine/workgroups/index.html#Blue_Crab.

Caryville Man Catches Record Blue Catfish

Long-time Washington County resident James Mitchell caught a new state-record blue catfish late Monday afternoon on the Choctawhatchee River.

The state-record blue catfish weighed 64 pounds, 8 ounces and was 53 1/2 inches long.  The fish is 3 pounds larger than the previous record, a 61-pound, 8-ounce blue cat that came from Little Escambia Creek north of Pensacola.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fisheries biologists Chris Paxton and Claire Mangum met with Mitchell on Tuesday in Bonifay and weighed his fish on certified scales.

The 64-year-old Mitchell, who is disabled but still enjoys fishing, fished a favorite spot on the Choctawhatchee Monday near Caryville.  He caught the record catfish at sundown but needed the help of his son and grandson to pull the fish over the side of his boat.

He said the 10-minute fight left him worn out.

Mitchell fishes for catfish often on the river and uses bream, which is his bait of choice.

He caught the blue cat on a hand-sized bluegill, 6-foot rod and bait-caster reel loaded with 50-pound-test line.

“The bigger the bream the better,” Mitchell said.  He catches his bream using either a fly rod or cane pole. 

Within the past couple of months, he’s caught big blues or channel cats, he’s not sure which, out of the same stretch of the river, weighing 40 1/4 and 41 1/2 pounds.

While blue catfish are found in most of the rivers and some creeks in the Panhandle over to the Suwannee River, they are not native to the area.  They were originally found in rivers and tributaries in the Midwest and the Mississippi River drainage.  Exactly how they made it to Florida waterways is unknown.

FWC Announces 2008-09 Hunting Seasons

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
2008-09 hunting season dates

(Seasons and dates are not applicable to wildlife management areas)

Season	Northwest Zone	Central Zone	South Zone
Archery	Oct. 18 - Nov. 16, 2008	Sept. 20 - Oct. 19, 2008	Sept. 6 - Oct. 5, 2008
Deer-dog training	Oct. 25 - Nov. 13, 2008	Oct. 4-23, 2008	Oct. 4-23, 2008
Crossbow	Dec. 1-7, 2008	Oct. 20-24, 2008	Oct. 6-10, 2008
Muzzleloading gun	Nov. 21-23, 2008 and Feb. 19 - March 1, 2009	Oct. 25 - Nov. 2, 2008	Oct. 11-19, 2008
General gun	Nov. 27-30, 2008 and Dec. 13, 2008 - Feb. 18, 2009	Nov. 8, 2008 - Jan. 18, 2009	Oct. 25, 2008 - Jan. 4, 2009
Antlerless deer	Dec. 20-26, 2008	Nov. 15-21, 2008	Nov. 1-7, 2008
Fall turkey*	Nov. 27-30, 2008 and Dec. 13, 2008 - Jan. 18, 2009	Nov. 8, 2008 - Jan. 4, 2009	Nov. 8, 2008 - Jan. 4, 2009
Quail and gray squirrel	Nov. 8, 2008 - March 1, 2009	Nov. 8, 2008 - March 1, 2009	Nov. 8, 2008 - March 1, 2009
Bobcat and otter	Dec. 1, 2008 - March 1, 2009	Dec. 1, 2008 - March 1, 2009	Dec. 1, 2008 - March 1, 2009
Spring turkey	March 21 - April 26, 2009**	March 21 - April 26, 2009	March 7 - April 12, 2009

Wild hogs, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, skunks, nutrias, beavers and coyotes may be taken year-round.

* No fall harvest of turkeys allowed in Holmes County.

** Spring turkey season is limited to March 21 - April 5, 2009 in Holmes County.

Taking deer from the wild is illegal and dangerous

In the past year, wildlife authorities say, there have been five instances in which “pet” deer, illegally removed from the wild, have turned up in neighborhoods and parks in Northwest Florida.

Not only is the practice of taking deer out of the wild to make pets out of them illegal, they say; deer, as they grow, present a serious danger to people.

In the most recent incident, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Investigator Jerry Shores had a call from park personnel at Falling Waters State Park in early July when a young buck deer with velvet-covered antlers showed up with the word “PET” shaved into its hair.  The 70- to 80-pound deer liked to approach people and be fed.

“It’s pretty obvious someone had tried to make a pet of it, then when it got bigger they either released it or dumped it in the park,” Shores said.  “The problem is when its antlers harden in a couple of months, its disposition can change in a second and he can attack people.”

Shores said he’s still trying to determine where the deer came from.  The responsible person will face charges.

On May 8, a Santa Rosa County woman took her 4-year-old daughter outside to pet a doe sporting a collar around its neck. The deer had walked up to an Allenton home.  Everything seemed fine at first, but without warning, the deer went up on its back legs and began flailing away with its front legs at the child.

“The little girl got knocked down, but fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured,” Shores said.

Although the deer ran off into the woods, it came back later.  FWC officers were able to track the deer to a nearby residence, where the owner admitted taking the deer out of the wild last summer.

Shores said the homeowner was charged with allowing captive wildlife to endanger human safety.

Arlo Kane is an FWC wildlife biologist and knowledgeable about deer behavior.  He said many people don’t realize deer, as they grow and mature, become dangerous.

“Bucks, particularly during the fall, have a high level of the male hormone testosterone, and in the wild they fight and spar with other deer.  In captivity or as a pet, a human becomes the opponent,” Kane said.  “There are many, many accounts of people being seriously injured or killed by these deer they consider pets.” 

Even does in captivity can be trouble.

“Does will stand up on their hind legs, as was the case in Santa Rosa County, and flail with their front legs.  A child, or even an adult, who is unaware can be injured.  The hooves are basically a doe’s only weapon.”

A huge problem now is what to do with pen-raised deer.  Years ago, most state parks had few deer and were willing to take them but that’s no longer the case.  Because of concerns about safety and liability issues, fewer places are willing to take them.

Anyone who has information about deer being illegally kept as pets, or about other violations of wildlife or fish laws, can call the Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). Callers can remain anonymous and may be entitled to a cash reward.

FWC Posts Fishing Signs On Keys Bridges

Officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office are teaming up to educate fishermen about varieties of fish, many of which are being illegally harvested in very high numbers in the Keys.

The officers are posting signs on 24 fishing bridges in the Keys, from Key Largo to Key West.  The signs illustrate the most common types of fish caught at the bridges, including snapper, snook, shark and grouper.  It also shows the names of the fish in Spanish and English, as well as the size and bag limits.

Many of the fish being caught from the bridges are not legal to take, according to FWC officers.  The officers repeatedly cite fishermen with multiple fishing violations, such as keeping fish over the bag limit, catching fish out of season, and keeping fish under the minimum legal size.

“We want to make sure the public is aware of fishing regulations,” said Officer David Dipre. “Many fishermen who receive warnings or citations say they didn’t know there were regulations in place.  While many fishermen may be telling the truth, others may not.  By putting up these signs, we’re increasing awareness and eliminating the ‘I didn’t know’ excuse.”

For more information on fishing regulations, go to MyFWC.com and click on “Fishing.”

Daring Rescue; FWC Biologist Saves Drowning Bear

A 375-pound male black bear with a penchant for beachfront browsing was on dry land Saturday after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist pulled the tranquilized animal from Gulf of Mexico waters in Florida’s Panhandle.

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I jumped in,” said biologist Adam Warwick, who saw the bear struggling in the warm Gulf waters after it had been hit with a tranquilizer dart.

“It was a spur of the moment decision,” he said. “I had a lot of adrenaline pumping when I saw the bear in the water.”

The bear was roaming through a residential area Tuesday on Alligator Point, a neighborhood of about 100 homes on a small peninsula about 40 miles south of Tallahassee.

To prevent bears from wandering into residential neighborhoods, the FWC urges residents to secure garbage cans and other sources of food that might attract bears.

FWC officials responded to reports of a bear in the area and found the animal underneath a beachfront home. Their plan was to move it to a remote location, back in the wild.

The tranquilizer dart took longer than expected to work, and Warwick said the animal bolted into the Gulf in an effort to escape.

Warwick was worried the bear was already showing the effects of the immobilizing drug and that the bear couldn’t swim the four miles to land.

“At that point, I decided to go in after the bear,” Warwick said. “I wanted to keep him from swimming into deeper water.”

The animal was about 25 yards from shore when he jumped into the water.

“I was in the water swimming toward the bear, trying to prevent him from swimming into deeper water,” Warwick said. “He was now losing function (an effect of the drugs) in his arms and legs, and was obviously in distress.”

Warwick said he tried to splash and create commotion in an attempt to get the bear to head back to the shore.

“Instead, the clearly confused bear looked at me as if he was either going to go by, through or over me . . . and at times he even looked as if he was just going to climb on top of me to keep from drowning.”

Warwick said that after a few minutes the bear reared up on his hind legs as if to lunge at him, but instead fell straight backwards and was submerged.

“At that point I knew I had to keep the bear from drowning,” he said. “After a few seconds the bear popped his head up out of the water and thrashed around a bit, but could obviously no longer keep his head above water.”

Warwick kept one arm underneath the bear and the other gripping the scruff of its neck to keep the bear’s head above water. Warwick said he walked barefoot over concrete blocks crusted with barnacles in the 4-foot-deep water as he tried to guide and use the water to help float the bear back to shore.

He said he cut his feet on the barnacles and the bear scratched him once on the foot, but he was otherwise uninjured.

Area resident Wendy Chandler said Warwick looked like a lifeguard, pulling a tired swimmer to shore.

During Warwick’s trek, FWC Officer Travis Huckeba and a bystander with a boat approached Warwick and the bear in the water. The bear was startled and Warwick lost his grip until the boat backed off.

Warwick said the bear’s buoyancy made his job less difficult.

“It’s a lot easier to drag a bear in 4-foot water than move him on dry land,” he said.

When Warwick and the bear made it to shore, “A bystander arrived out of nowhere with a backhoe and, with some assistance, we were able to load the bear into the bucket and then into an FWC truck,” Warwick said.

Thad Brett, a general contractor who lives in the area and had a backhoe for work he was doing to his house, said his wife had seen the commotion and told him Warwick was trying to get the bear out of the water.

“I knew how hard it would be to get that bear out,” Brett said. “I could see he was about waist-deep in the water, and I came down with the backhoe.”

Brett said he positioned the bucket of the backhoe in the water so the bear could be lifted out and moved to the truck bed.

“It’s good to have good guys like (Warwick) around,” Brett said. “We’re real glad to have the FWC come out and help us with these bears, and we were real glad the bear was going to be relocated.”

The bear was transported to the FWC Tate’s Hell office and Warwick and FWC’s Ron Copley relocated the bear to the Osceola National Forest near Lake City.

“He was going up under people’s houses, probably trying to cool off,” Chandler said. “Kids were going up and down the stairs and anything might happen. We’re all pulling for the bear to get adjusted in his new home.” 

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