Reprinted from the Audubon Advocate
Two opportunities to make your voice heard. See below for more information.
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| Florida Black Bears |
In the wake of attacks by black bears
in the last two years, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) advanced a proposal in February to open a black bear
hunt this
fall, despite their own biologists’ testimony that bear hunting will not
meaningfully address the public safety issue. Agency staff are now in rule
development for a bear hunt this October, with a draft rule planned for
presentation to the commissioners at their April
15 commission meeting in Tallahassee.
At the February meeting in Jacksonville, many citizens and
conservation groups
voiced their opposition to the proposed hunt. Audubon
called the discussion of a hunt a
“dangerous distraction” from the real work
that needs to be undertaken to make Florida safer for people and bears
alike.
All the bears associated with recent attacks were in areas where
they were being fed—either intentionally (which is against Florida law), or
negligently because of unsecured trash and other human food sources.
“In
Florida, when you build a home on the coast, you have to build to withstand
certain windspeeds. When you build in flood-prone areas, you have to elevate
your home,” said
Julie Wraithmell, Audubon Florida's Director of Wildlife Conservation.
“Why is it that when people build homes in bear country, they are not required
to buy a $250 bear-proof trash can?”
Meaningful efforts to improve safety in bear country should
include:
- Enforcement
of Florida’s prohibition on feeding bears
- Advocacy
with local governments to require bear proof trash cans in bear country, and
subsidies to help low-income residents with compliance.
Hunts
could begin as early as this
October in the Apalachicola, Osceola, Ocala/Wekiva
and Lee/Collier subpopulations. Agency biologists have asserted these bear
subpopulations could sustain as much as
20% annual mortality (from roadkill,
euthanasia of nuisance bears, and hunting quotas combined). While a hunt based
on this percentage is proposed for this fall, current population numbers
will
not be available for most of these subpopulations until mid-2016.
The Florida
Black Bear was removed from the Florida Threatened species list three years
ago, when Florida adopted a new process for gauging species imperilment.
A unique
subspecies, Florida black bears once roamed much of Florida but now occupy
only
18% of their historic range, in 7 relatively isolated subpopulations (described
by FWC as
bear
management units). Their decline has largely been attributed to
large-scale
habitat loss—a threat which has not abated. Today, roadkill also takes a
significant toll on the species.
You can watch the February FWC meeting on YouTube. The video is presented in two parts:
Two Opportunities to Make Your Voice Heard
The FWC will consider the draft rule proposal for fall bear hunt at their
April 15 meeting in Tallahassee. Please consider attending and speaking at this hearing.
You can view the PowerPoint presentation FWC staff plan to
present to the Commission by clicking here.
If you cannot attend the meeting in Tallahassee, you can still make your voice heard by
using Audubon's Advocacy portal to send an email to FWC. Click the red button below for more information.
Yesterday, April 4, 2015, I was able to lead a field trip to Stormwater Treatment Area 2 (STA 2) in southern Palm Beach County. The area encompasses the former Brown's Farm Wildlife Management Area, an area once leased to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for waterfowl hunting. The area is now part of Everglades restoration, filtering water coming of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) before it continues it's journey to Florida Bay.
