Poll to Help Manage Gators
Officials seek input for first review of gator management plan in decades.

By Tom Palmer
The Lakeland Ledger
September 17, 2006

Lakeland Fla - Some Floridians have seen alligators their entire lives and some Floridians know little about them outside of press accounts of fatal attacks on pets or humans.

State wildlife officials want to hear from that kind of cross section of residents as part of the first comprehensive review of alligator management in Florida in decades.

The online poll is being conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"It's very open-ended," said Harry Dutton, a wildlife biologist in the agency's Tallahassee headquarters who is directing the effort.

"This is something that really hasn't been talked about comprehensively in 20 years," Dutton said.

Alligators are aquatic reptiles that were once driven to the brink of extinction by unregulated hunting.

Dutton said today biologists estimate Florida's alligator population at about 1 million, but explained that includes everything from baby alligators to old males more than 10 feet long.

The bulk of Florida's alligators are 4 feet or shorter, he said.

That fact points out what he hopes will be a complementary effect of the survey, which will be to educate the public about alligators while soliciting their opinions.

Dutton said FWC officials are looking at the issue from various angles, ranging from commercial harvest to conservation and scientific research.

Results of the survey, which will begin next week and continue until Sept. 29, will be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's seven-member governing commission at its Dec. 6-7 meeting in Key Largo.

If any changes are proposed, they will not be adopted until after the agency holds a series of public meetings.

To participate in the survey, go to MyFWC.com/gators/input.html. The site also contains detailed information about alligators.

Source: The Ledger Online

The rare Bugun Liocichla. (Photo: Ramana Athreya)

'New rare bird' spotted in India

September 12, 2006 - By BBC News

North East INDIA - A new species of bird has been discovered in the north-east of India, according to an ornithological journal. Indian Birds said the rare species has been named Bugun Liocichla - only 14 of these birds are known to exist.

The bird has olive plumage with a distinctive black cap and red, black and white patches on its wings.

The journal said that the small bird had been first spotted by an Indian astronomer more than 10 years ago in Arunachal Pradesh state.

But it was not until May this year that astronomer Ramana Athreya managed to find it again in the Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary in the state and confirm the discovery of a new species.

Ornithologists say the bird's closest relative appears to be another rare Liocichla species found in only a few mountains in central China.

Liocichla are members of the diverse bird family known as babblers.

In June, a quail believed to have been extinct for nearly 80 years was rediscovered by a prominent ornithologist in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam.

The grey-and-black streaked quail was spotted by wildlife specialist Anwaruddin Choudhury in Assam's Manas national park.

Source: BBC News Online

 

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Judge Says Wildlife Refuge Hunts Illegal

MATT APUZZO Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Dozens of wildlife refuges could be closed to hunters after a federal judge ruled that the government never considered the consequences of steadily expanding hunting rights for six years.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated federal law when it allowed or expanded hunting at 37 refuges from 1997-2003.

While the agency studied the consequences of opening each refuge to hunters, Urbina said officials had a responsibility to look at the effects systemwide.

"No one was looking at the cumulative effect when you open 37 refuges," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States and an attorney in the case. "You can't have each refuge sticking their head in the sand."

President Theodore Roosevelt began the wildlife refuge system in 1903, setting aside a tiny island off the east coast of Florida to protect pelicans and other birds from hunters. The system now includes more than 535 refuges where wildlife and its habitat are protected.

Environmental groups have criticized the government for allowing hunting, fishing and other recreational activities in many refuges.

While Urbina said in Thursday's ruling that wildlife officials violated the law, he stopped short of overturning the hunting rules and asked attorneys for both sides to propose solutions.

Lovvorn said that could mean banning or scaling back hunting. A Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman said the agency remains committed to allowing hunting when it is compatible with the refuge mission.

"At this point there hasn't been any indication anything is going to change immediately," spokesman David Eisenhauer said. "It's a little early to say what's going to happen."

The refuges at issue in the lawsuit are located primarily in the South, Virgina and Appalachia and the Pacific Northwest. 

Source: Mercury News Online Online