The Appalachian Trail reveals the limits and deceptions, but also the joys, of wilderness in urban America: An essay to accompany Flagler Reads Together’s focus on “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk.”
Wildlife
Flagler Reads Together:
Florida Wildlife Officials Call Bear Hunt a “Success,” Opponents Call It a Slaughter
Some 304 bears were killed in two days and few hunters cited for violations, but critics called it a slaughter, saying most of the bears were killed on private land, where state regulations could be more easily skirted.
Hunting Bear at Whole Foods Misfires
The chairman of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s comparison of hunting bear to shopping at Whole Foods prompts Tom O’Hara to investigate. He strikes out on bear meat.
Bear-Kill Quota Popped 5 Days Early:
Florida Officials Reassess Before Next Hunt
Florida Fish and Wildlife officials acknowledged the agency “underestimated the hunter success for the first day,” and said a number of scenarios from the planned week-long hunt — cut down to two days — will have to be factored into future planning.
Seek Cover, Teddy: 3,500 Hunters Take Guns and Bows to Bears Across Florida
The hunt, which includes Flagler County, limits each permit holder to killing a single bear weighing at least 100 pounds and won’t exceed the overall 320 bears targeted for what the commission calls a “harvest.”
County Rejects One Jumbo Cell Tower, Approves Another and Hedges On Third
The Flagler commission was responding to concerns about the height and visibility of three proposed communications towers rising between 320 and 350 feet–more than twice the allowable size under county rules.
Split Florida Conservation Commission Approves Letting Hunters Kill 10% of Bear Population in 4 Regions
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission cleared the killing of at least 320 black bears for two to seven days in October, the first bear-hunting season in two decades.
Boat-Dock Permits Revoked, Flagler Re-Ignites Urgency to Finish Manatee Protection Plan
Federal officials have revoked all boat-dock permits for non-residential homes in Flagler because a manatee protection plan and an additional speed zone are not in place.
Not So Fast on Killing Teddy: Conservationists File Suit to Stop Bear Hunting in Florida
With permits for this fall’s hunt going on sale Monday, the Seminole County-based group Speak Up Wekiva filed a lawsuit in Leon County circuit court Friday challenging the constitutionality of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-approved bear hunt.
Genesis Was Wrong: Man’s Dominion Over Animals Is Stewardship, Not Ownership
Pope Francis has now rejected mainstream Christian view, insisting that being created in God’s image doesn’t mean dominion over the earth or absolute domination over other creatures.
Enough Abuse: Close Seaworld
Nothing justifies Seaworld’s confinement of killer whales and Seaworld’s abusive treatment of the animals by way of exploitative shows and inhumane conditions. To treat orcas that way for human entertainment should elicit repugnance, not the buying of $75 tickets.
You May Soon Shoot Black Bears: FWC Will Set One Week in October For Hunting
Hunting up to 200 black bears in Flagler and other parts of Florida would be allowed as part of a management plan as the state’s bear population of 2,500 is in increasing contact with its human population of nearly 20 million.
Unresponsive to Rescue Efforts, Dwarf Sperm Whale Dies Near Flagler Beach Pier
A beached Kogia sima whale, also known as a dwarf sperm whale, died near the Flagler Beach pier Monday morning after it had appeared in likely distress the previous day a few blocks north and had at times been helped away from the beach by swimmers and surfers.
In a First For Jacksonville Zoo, A Baby Gorilla Is Successfully Born
Almost a year after mourning the death of a newborn gorilla, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens this morning announced the first successful gorilla birth in its history. The newborn’s sex is currently unknown.
Four Palm Coast Employees Pull Off Poetic Doe Rescue Trapped in Grand Haven Pond
In Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon’s words (happy-face emoticon not included), “Santa will have all his reindeer this year,” thanks to four city employees who saved a doe from drowning in a coldish pond at Grand Haven Wednesday morning.
Palm Coast Inaugurates 3-Day Birds of a Feather Fest With “The Big Year”‘s Greg Miller Headlining
The inaugural and broad-spanned three-day Birds of a Feather Fest is scheduled for Feb. 6-8, 2015, offering a weekend of birding, workshops, presentations, kayak trips and family activities.
Let the Hunting Begin:
Florida Lifts Ban on Silencers
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Friday agreed, with little comment, to issue an order that immediately removes a prohibition on the use of noise-suppressors, or silencers, with rifles and pistols.
Two Deputies Save a Deer That May Have Been Hanging From a Fence for Hours
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Agricultural and Ranch Deputy Steve Williams and Sergeant Mike Lutz saved a deer hanging by its hind leg on a 6-foot fence at 26 Winchester Road.
A Cat in Flagler Beach Cashes in One of Nine Lives In Freakish Hitch With Garage Door
Flagler Beach Police Sgt. David Arcieri noticed most of the cat screaming as it hung between a garage door and a house frame Wednesday afternoon. Arcieri initiated the rescue. The cat is back to its normal self, lording it over the block.
Big Sugar Turns to Mass Development, Potentially Affecting Everglades Restoreation Efforts
Environmental groups around the state are alarmed at U.S. Sugar’s plans to change its business model and potentially develop huge tracts of land it owns in South Florida, which might affect Everglades restoration efforts.
Manatees No Longer Endangered? Not So Fast.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering downlisting manatees from endangered to threatened, reducing their protective status. Save the Manatee Club’s Katie Tripp argues the proposal rests on too scanty data.
Bear Spotted Roaming Around Palm Coast’s B Section
A black bear was spotted late this afternoon in the area of Belle Terre Parkway and Brookside Lane in northwestern Palm Coast. A short time later, it was seen in the area of Brownstone.
Zawadi, 19-Year-Old Giraffe and Mother of 8 at Jacksonville Zoo, Dies After Collapsing Before Visitors
Zawadi the giraffe had been at the Jacksonville zoo since 1996. Zoo officials tried to save her but she could not support her own neck and head. She wasn’t able to stand, sit up, or right herself. On Saturday, the zoo also lost Darasa, the mom of its newest Zebra foal.
Nellie, 61, World’s Oldest Dolphin in Captivity, Dies at Marineland’s Dolphin Adventure
Nellie, the oldest Atlantic bottlenose dolphin in human care, was born at Marineland’s Dolphin Adventure in 1953 and exceeded her life expectation by at least three decades and making an impact in television and stadium shows before she died on Thursday.
Jacksonville Zoo Mourns Loss of 1-Day Old Gorilla Born to First-Time Mother Madini
It is with great sadness that Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announces the passing of a gorilla infant born Thursday night (March 27). The infant was born to first-time mother, Madini, and first-time father, Lash.
A Florida Panther Struck By a Car Last May Is Returned to the Wild After 10-Month Rehab
The 9-month-old kitten was panther was rescued in Collier County last May after a homeowner saw it drag her hind leg. She went through two surgeries and rehabilitated in a 10-acre enclosure before she was released back into the wild on March 10 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
First Manatee Count in 3 Years Shows Healthier Number Despite 2013’s Record Deaths
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported a preliminary count of 4,831 manatees in Florida during a statewide aerial survey conducted on Jan. 24 and Jan. 27. That’s the third-highest number of manatees recorded since such surveys began in 1991. No surveys were conducted in 2013 and 2012 because of unusually warm weather.
They Don’t Only Shoot Them: Sheriff’s Deputy Bret Wood Saves Raccoon Stuck in Tree
When a 12-year-old student on his way to school this morning noticed a raccoon stuck in a tree on Palm Coast’s Florida Park Drive, deputies were called in, and as Animal Control would not respond, deputy Bret Wood used a car jack to pry the imprisoning branches apart and free the raccoon.
Jacksonville Zoo Announces Birth of Two Amur Leopards, a Critically Endangered Species
There are only three dozen or so Amur leopards living in the wild, and as such they may be the most endangered big cats in the world. The first cub was born at the Jacksonville zoo at about 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 16. The second followed at 11:15 a.m. They have not yet been named.
Record 769 Manatee Deaths So Far This Year Represent 15% of Endangered Population
With two months to go in the year, 769 manatee deaths have bee recorded in Florida waters, breaking the previous record of 766 set in 2010. Deaths are blamed mostly on a red tide bloom that started in southwest Florida in September 2012 and that only recently dissipated. Four manatees have died in Flagler so far this year.
A Feral Cats Plea to Palm Coast: Time to Adopt Trap, Neuter and Return Rather than Kill
As Palm Coast continues to trap and kill feral cats, Jacksonville, Deland, Port Orange and Flagler Beach are among the growing list of cities and towns that have adopted trap, neuter and return programs. Cities are turning to the protocol not only because it is humane, but because it is cost effective.
Fish and Wildlife Asking Public to Report Sightings of 3 Rare Snake Species
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologists are asking the public to report sightings of three rare snake species–Florida pine snake, southern hognose snake and short-tailed snake–to help with research.
Lawmakers Object As Florida Fish and Wildlife Prepares to Ban All Deer and Elk Imports
But lawmakers are joining some of Florida’s deer farmers in expressing concern that a growing industry will be harmed if a measure goes in effect imposing a blanket prohibition on the importation of live deer and elk to reduce the chance that potentially fatal Chronic Wasting Disease.
When Deputies Shoot Animals: An Explanation from the Flagler Sheriff’s Office
Responding to a citizen’s concerns, Commander Paul Bovino of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office explains why deputies sometimes shoot animals that are reported sick or injured, and why they don’t take them away in their patrol cruisers.
Death in the Afternoon
It was that the death rattle. You’ve heard it. We’ve all heard it if we live south of the Mason-Dixon Line. This one broke the silence of a perfect Palm Coast afternoon. But an investigation proved to be a succession of decapitated assumptions.
Free Morgan: A Killer Whale’s Punishing Captivity Gets Its Day in Court
In June 2010, Morgan, an orca, or killer whale, was captured from the North Atlantic and rehabilitated, but instead of being returned to the wild, was sent to an amusement park. A judge may decide its fate on Nov. 1.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Charts Next Steps For Expanded Panther Population and Range
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, plans to document where panthers are roaming beyond south Florida and develop the best practices to help people and panthers coexist.
Share Your Florida Panther Sightings and Photos
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has launched a new website that makes it easy for citizens who spot Florida panthers to share the information and pictures online.
Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth On the Hovers of Ospreys
Watching wild birds, ospreys especially, is one of Frank Gromling’s favorite things to do, linking back to a romance with the thrill of flying flying that takes its inspiration from John Magee’s “high untrespassed sanctity of space.”