Pair of archery hunts slated for later this year

There's some special deer and wild hog hunts in Northwest Florida at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and a unique hunt that occurs on the island of St. Vincent NWR.

There are two archery hunts, two general gun hunts and one mobility-impaired gun hunt on the St. Marks NWR, which covers 60,000 acres in Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties. The five-day archery hunts for white-tailed deer and wild hogs take place Oct. 27-31 in the Panacea Unit and Nov. 3-7 in the Wakulla Unit. There are 120 permits available for each hunt at $15 each.

The two general gun hunts are both three days long and also take place on the area's two units - Wakulla (Dec. 12- 14) and Panacea (Dec. 18-20). There are 150 permits available for the Wakulla Unit and 75 for the Panacea Unit. These permits cost $15.

The three-day mobilityimpaired gun hunt is for hunters who are certified by the FWC as mobility-impaired. It takes place on the Panacea Unit Dec. 12-14, and 15 permits are available - again, $15 if you get drawn.

Camping is not allowed on the St. Marks NWR.

For hunters looking to rough it a bit more and go after some truly "big game," the 12,490- acre, undeveloped, barrier island of St. Vincent NWR in Franklin County is where the hunt's on for the enormous, imported sambar deer. These reddish-brown deer, which are actually in the elk family, are native to Southeast Asia and were introduced on the island in 1908. They can measure 6 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh more than 700 pounds!

You also can harvest wild hogs on this hunt. Only bows and muzzleloaders are allowed. Hunters with a Disabled Crossbow Permit may use crossbows.

The primitive weapon sambar deer/wild hog hunt takes place Dec. 3-5, and there are 175 permits available, costing $25. Hunters who drew this hunt last year aren't eligible to apply this year.

The bag limit on sambars is two (male or female), and there is no bag limit on hogs.

You can get to St. Vincent Island only by boat. If you don't have one, you can contact the local chamber of commerce for a list of boat captains who will ferry you to and from the island for a fee.

The island has no electricity, and generators are not allowed, so it's all about primitive camping for three days. Hunters may have a small campfire, but only using wood they take with them or dead wood they find on the ground.

I recommend you take a bicycle, unless you plan on walking everywhere. If you do harvest any game though, USFWS staff will come pick you and your animal up in one of their trucks. That's the only way you're catchin' a ride in a motorized vehicle, unless you're a disabled hunter. Those hunters receive special accommodations and transportation to and from their hunting spots.

Sambars feed on aquatic vegetation, so you're not likely to find them in drier, upland habitat. It's best to set up in marshes.

Shooting hours for this hunt end at 3 p.m. each day.

All of these above-mentioned hunt permits are nontransferable. Permit holders under age 16 must have an adult accompany them on all of these hunts, but that person may not hunt. Mobilityimpaired hunters are allowed to bring one guest who may hunt, but both hunters must share a single person's bag limit.

To apply, fill out the 2009- 2010 NWR worksheet at MyFWC.com/Hunting and click on "Limited Entry Hunts" and enter the four-digit hunt number for the hunt date you wish to apply for. You can submit your completed applications at www.wildlifelicense.com/fl, county tax collectors' offices or retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies through midnight July 30.

These permits are issued by a random drawing that takes place in early August. You may apply only once for each hunt. The application fee is $5. If you submit your application at a license agent or tax collector's office, be sure to get your worksheet back from the clerk, along with your receipt.

You can check the results of the drawing online at MyFWC.com/Hunting by clicking under "Limited Entry Hunts" and looking for the link, "Check Permit Availability and Drawing Results."

So whether you prefer to hunt native whitetails or wild hogs, or if you've got your sights set on one of those 600- pound sambar deer, these special NWR hunts may be just what the doctor ordered.

Tony Young is the media relations coordinator for the FWC's Division of Hunting and Game Management. You can reach him with questions about quota permits or how to apply at Tony.Young@MyFWC.com.

In other FWC news...

Child died of asphyxiation from Burmese python

Asphyxiation is the preliminary cause of death of Shaianna Hare (DOB 05-20- 2007), the two-year-old Sumter County girl found dead in her crib with the family's Burmese python wrapped around her body Wednesday morning, according to Lt. Bobby Caruthers of the Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

"The medical examiner's preliminary report lists asphyxiation as the cause of death and confirmed the marks on the girl's head and arms are bite marks," Caruthers said at a press briefing in Bushnell today. -

Meanwhile, the python is being cared for at an undisclosed facility licensed to possess this type of snake.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) investigators removed the python and a red-tailed boa constrictor from the residence yesterday after the snakes' owners voluntarily signed them over to the State of Florida.

A veterinarian examined and treated the python's stab wounds, and the snake is recovering at the undisclosed facility, where it will remain until officials complete the investigation into the child's death.

"At this point, the snake is evidence in the case. However, once the case has been concluded, it will be offered as a donation to the facility that is currently caring for it," said FWC investigator Janice Jones.

The Burmese python, classified by the FWC as a Reptile of Concern, had been stabbed by Charles Jason Darnell (DOB 03-26-77) after he found it wrapped around little Shaianna, his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter, Wednesday morning. Darnell said the snake had escaped its cage sometime during the night.

State law requires that people have permits to possess Burmese pythons, or any Reptile of Concern. Neither Darnell nor his girlfriend, Jaren Ashley Hare (DOB 09-08-89), had a permit for a snake. A permit costs $100 annually, and those wishing to possess such an animal must show on their application their understanding of animal husbandry, nutrition and caging requirements for the particular animal.

One requirement for a Reptile of Concern is that it must be kept under lock and key. The snake was not.

FWC investigators are working in conjunction with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit, which covers Sumter, Lake, Marion, Citrus and Hernando counties. The FWC's role is to investigate and recommend any charges relating to violations of the captive wildlife rules. Such violations are second-degree misdemeanors, which are criminal and carry a maximum penalty of $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Lessen the impact of climate change - go native

A healthy ecosystem requires a delicate balancing act among all species. Florida's sometimes fragile ecosystems are poised on a balance beam as a growing population and changing climate challenge wildlife managers.

Florida's environment complicates the issues, because it is a welcoming host to invasive plant species. It also covers two climate zones - subtropical and temperate, allowing some invasive species to invade other regions with impunity.

According to a 2006 report from the U.S. Geological Survey on invasive species and climate change, "If climates change, then new invasive species may disperse into novel climate regions."

The report urges managers on the edge of an invasive species' range to be aggressive in treating the spread of those nonnative species that take over a region and hold ecosystems hostage in a battle with native species for supremacy.

"Highly disturbed landscapes are more prone to invasion by nonnative plant species," said Don Schmitz with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Invasive Plant Management Section. "Just look at the Everglades - a highly disturbed ecosystem. Disturbance has left it more prone to invasives, such as the Brazilian pepper plant."

The growth of the nonnative Brazilian pepper has damaged mangroves, and as predicted sea-level changes occur, the mangroves will feel some of the first effects. The invasion of Brazilian pepper creates a battlefield in the mangrove communities. And quite a community it is - mangroves support all manner of flora and fauna in the Everglades and other brackish estuaries along the coast. Without mangroves, a variety of wildlife also would vanish, including invertebrates, fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. Florida softshell turtles and alligators; bobcats and manatees; cattle egrets and brown pelicans; snook and cobia - all of these species and many more call the mangroves home and depend upon their foliage, roots and shelter for sustenance.

The FWC recently published a report on its climate change summit held last year. One of the summit's workshops dealt with the effects of invasive organisms on biodiversity during climate change. Greg Holder, the FWC's Southwest Region regional director, led the workshop.

"If we are to do a good job of restricting the movement of invasive species when the opportunities arise, we will need to be vigilant and more fully understand the potential impacts on native habitats and species," Holder stated.

That's a tall order for a state with a warm and moist climate, which will only be enhanced by the changes in climate, but wildlife managers in Florida are following the suggested practices of the U.S. Geological Survey by aggressively controlling some of the moreinvasive invasives.

The Old World climbing fern is an invasive that can cover and smother native species and act as a fire ladder into native tree canopies that normally wouldn't burn during Florida's common ground fires.

The FWC's Invasive Plant Management Section funded nearly $1 million in development and introduction of a moth that preliminary field research indicates will destroy the ability of this fern to form dense canopies that destroy native tree communities. The research has been led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with funding support from the FWC and the South Florida Water Management District.

The USDA spent five years host-testing in Australia and Florida before introducing the moth at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, in Martin County, in January 2008. The USDA reported in January 2009, "During the year since the moth's release and subsequent release at two other sites in the park, it has developed very large numbers and has begun to subdue the weed through the activities of its leaf-feeding caterpillars."

It is true that environmental and wildlife managers must do their part on a large scale, but as individuals, we can do our part to lessen their load.

"Folks can begin by not planting nonnative plants and replace invasive and nonnatives already in the yard with native species," Schmitz said. "We have to start somewhere, and this is one instance where it really can begin in our own backyard."

The National Invasive Species Council 2008 management plan states that, "Reducing the negative impacts of invasive species should better enable natural ecosystems to withstand the threats of climate change."

If that's the case, we are standing steady on the balance beam in Florida - protecting one plant, one species, one ecosystem at a time.