Download - FWC Volunteer Newsletter Fall 2010
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8/8/2019 FWC Volunteer Newsletter Fall 2010
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and Florida Atlantic University.
Friends o Corbett also sponsors abiannual Tales o Corbett banquet
and hosts an annual banquet each
June or board elections, memberrecruitment and presenting
volunteer awards.Individual volunteers also
make important contributions to
J.W. Corbett WMA. Each year, JoeBrennan, a volunteer rom the
National Wild Turkey Federation,donates an average 290 hours to
the wildlie orage program by
mowing 300 acres and planting200 acres with a variety o wildlie
orage.Volunteer support at J.W.
Corbett WMA is invaluable. For
inormation on volunteering at J.W.Corbett WMA, contact Linda King
at 561-624-6989 or
[email protected] Linda King
The 60,348-acre J.W. Corbett
Wildlie Management Area(WMA) in northwestern Palm
Beach County is owned andmanaged by the Florida Fish andWildlie Conservation Commission
(FWC). The agency manages
the WMA to protect a variety owildlie, including endangered and
threatened species, migratory birds,fsh and both game and nongame
species. The FWC also manages
the area or a wide variety orecreational uses.
J.W. Corbett WMA has a long
history o volunteer support, andvolunteer eorts have been andremain invaluable; during 2009-
2010, J.W. Corbett WMA volunteerslogged more than 3,000 hours.
Volunteer activities at J.W. Corbett
WMA range rom large, one-dayevents supported by volunteers
rom local organizations or clubs
to ongoing individual projects. Forthe past 16 years, local clubs have
sponsored an annual J.W. Corbett
WMA clean-up event, logging
approximately 500 volunteerhours and flling our 20-cubic-
yard dumpsters beore noon. Localclub involvement in this clean-upevent includes Florida Sportsmens
Conservation Association,National Wild Turkey Federation,
Florida Trails Association,
Palm Beach County Airboat &Haltrack Conservation Club,
Wellington Radio Club, Pine Jog
Environmental Center and Friendso Corbett WMA.
Additional volunteer
contribution or 2009-2010includes approximately 400 hours
rom Florida Trails Associationvolunteers to clear trails, 80 hours
rom Wellington Radio Club or
communication support, 100hours o combined club support or
tree planting, and various otherprojects, including Red-cockaded
Woodpecker monitoring, bird
counts, invasive plant removal,clean-ups, landscaping, wildlie
surveys, and wood duck andbarn owl box installation andmonitoring.
Furthermore, the Friendso Corbett, established in 2000,
volunteer approximately 450 hours
annually. Members meet monthlyand raise unds or J.W. Corbett
WMA and the Everglades Youth
Conservation Camp, located withinJ.W. Corbett WMA and operated
by Pine Jog Environmental Center
Volunteers support J.W. Corbett WMA
Fall 2010
Vol. 1 Issue 2
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Photo by Linda King,FWC
J.W. Corbett WMA volunteer Joe Brennan preparingwildlife food plots.
Photo by Linda King,FW
J.W. Corbett WMA volunteers take a break for a photoduring a tree planting event.
Fall 2010
Vol. 1 Issue 2
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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8/8/2019 FWC Volunteer Newsletter Fall 2010
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2010 National Public Lands Day
Volunteers host fsh camps at the Stock
Enhancement Research Facility
2
National Public Lands Day,a nationwide, hands-on
volunteer eort to improve andenhance Americas public lands,
was celebrated Sept. 25. The FWCOfce o Recreation Services, in
cooperation with sta rom theJoe Budd Aquatic EducationCenter and Wildlie Management
Area (WMA) and the Florida Divi-sion o Forestry, hosted a National
Public Lands Day event at JoeBudd WMA just West o Tallahas-see.
Thirty-one volunteers, includ-
ing Girl Scouts and their amilies,contributed 124 hours to spruce
up the Aquatic Education Centerbuilding and grounds. Ater thework was completed, volunteers
and sta enjoyed an aternoon o
demonstrations by K-9 handlersand their dogs, o prescribed freequipment and about wild turkeytelemetry. Other activities includ-
ed fshing and archery.In Central Florida, the Ridge
Rangers volunteer program also
hosted a National Public LandsDay event at Lake Blue Scrubconservation site in Auburndale.Work ocused on supporting the
reintroduction o scrub lupine,an endangered plant speciesound only in Central Florida.Over a thousand scrub lupines
have been planted at Lake Blue
Scrub in two experimental plots.On this day, eight Ridge Rang-
ers volunteers and 18 Girl Scouts
and adult leaders spent the daymaintaining these plots by re-
moving encroaching vegetation.Juliet Rynear, biologist rom BokTower Gardens, gave an onsite
presentation to the Girl Scouts on
the scrub lupine project and theresults o the experimental plots.
By Jessica Ireland and Bill Parken
Every summer during June and July, the Fish
and Wildlie Institute Stock Enhancement
Research Facility in Port Manatee partners withangling clubs and nonproft organizations to host
several fsh camps at the hatchery to educatechildren o all ages about marine stock enhance-ment in Florida and how to be ethical anglers.FWC volunteers assist by organizing the events,
rigging rods,teaching atskill stationsand provid-
ing valuable
expertise oncatch-and-re-
lease fshing.This year, fshcampers romthe Florida
Aquarium,St. Pete Pier
Aquarium,
Florida Sherris Youth Ranch, Hillsborough
County Children Services and the Blooming Place
or Kids participated in these events.Volunteers rom the Anclote Key Anglers Club
have been organizing special-opportunity fshingevents at the Stock Enhancement Research Facil-ity or the past our years or oster children romBlooming Place or Kids. This summer, 22 volun-
teers contributed a total o 184 hours.The anglers club received a grant rom Fish
Florida to provide children with ree rods, reelsand tackle boxes to take home. They also gathered
donations rom local companies and ood vendors
to provide drinks and lunch, and even paid or thetour bus that transported children to and rom
SERF. These volunteers deserve special recogni-tion or all o their hard work or and dedicationto the children! For more inormation on the StockEnhancement Research Facility fsh camps, con-
tact Gina Russo at 941-723-4505 [email protected].
By Gina Russo
Photo by Liz Sparks, FWC
Volunteers spruce up the grounds at the Joe BuddAquatic Education Center.
Photo by Gina Russo, FWC
A young lady shows off her juvenile tarpon caught
during a fshing event at the Stock Enhancement
Research Facility.
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The 2010 Proessional Tarpon
Tournament Series provided
an opportunity or the Florida
Fish and Wildlie Conservation
Commission (FWC) and Fish
and Wildlie Research Institute(FWRI) sta and volunteers to
draw blood and take DNA sam-
ples. The samples help research-
ers evaluate how stressed the
tarpon are at the time o release
by measuring the response o
various blood chemistry levels
relative to non-tournament
tarpon.
All current tarpon research is
directed at evaluating the eectso catch-and-release fshing on
tarpon to eectively educate an-
glers on the best practices to en-
hance the survival and ultimate
conservation o the species.
During three weekends in
May and June 2010, teen volun-
teers Sam Roberts and Jeremy
Forbes awoke in the dark to be atthe beach beore sunrise. Tarpon
research can involve hours o
sweltering hot boredom ollowed
by minutes o organized chaos.
But when you have a fsh to sam-
ple, you have to be ready to get
the job done, so volunteer assis-
tance to do just that is invaluableto the project. Through the help
o dedicated volunteers, FWC-
FWRI tarpon research studies
have been able to gain much
inormation on this important
recreational fshery.
I you are an avid tarpon
angler and are interested in vol-
unteering to take DNA samples,
visit http://research.mywc.com/
tarpon or call 800-367-4461 ora kit.
By Kathy Guindon
Tarpon troopers take on the heat
New FWC conservationvolunteer program
3
In memory ovolunteerKathleen Tuck
Fish and Wildlie ResearchInstitute (FWRI) volunteer Kath-
leen Tuck passed away at her
home in Cedar Key on July 21.
She was 57. Tuck received the
2009 FWRI Volunteer o the
Year award or her contribution
to horseshoe crab studies, which
she researched and monitored
with unfagging enthusiasm.
She was a driven environmen-
talist, and was especially de-
voted to teaching children aboutconservation. Tucks amily has
established an account at the
Drummond Community Bank in
Cedar Key or donations or a
permanent horseshoe crab edu-
cational exhibit to be developed
in her memory.
Photo by Kathy Guindon, FWC
Tarpon research staff and volunteers prepare to taketarpon DNA samples.
The FloridaFish and Wild-
lie Conservation
Commission hasestablished a newconservation vol-unteer program in
the west centralFlorida area: theBrooksville Ridge
Volunteer Program. Volunteers
work on FWC and other pub-lic and private lands in Pasco,Citrus, Hernando, Sumter and
Levy counties. Volunteers whohave a passion or conserva-tion and the environment canhelp by working with scientists
and land managers to removeinvasive plants, prepare landsor prescribed burns, assist withhabitat enhancement and land
management activities and
participate in
wildlie re-search as a cit-
izen scientist.Current proj-ects includeRed-cockadedWoodpecker
research, rareinvertebrate
studies and invasive plant man-agement, and additional projects
are soon to come.I you are interested in vol-
unteering or have a conservation
project that could utilize the helpo volunteers in the BrooksvilleRidge region, please contact
Annemarie Hammond, Brooks-
ville Ridge volunteer coordinator,at 352-754-6722 or
[email protected] Annemarie Hammond
Photo by Annemarie Hammond, FWC
Volunteers operate land management equipmentto maintain fre lines and critical habitat onconservation lands.