Issue: 09-04 APRIL 2009

DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands and Polk Counties of Florida

Peace

Kissimmee

Gr een Swamp

Bone Va l l e y

FROM THE CHAIR…Paul Anderson

NO DUCK HUNTING AT CIRCLE B BAR RESERVE

There are many reasons why the Circle B Bar Reserve is not an appropriate place for duck hunting. Some of these are listed below: 1. We assert duck hunting on this site is illegal. The County Conservation Lands Program was approved by county voters in 1994 for passive recreation. It is clear that duck hunting is not pas-sive recreation. There are many other appropriate sites in this area where duck hunting is allowed. 2. The second most important reason is eco-nomic. Annually 4.2 million people visit Florida who participate in wildlife viewing. In 2007 these people had a $3,226,164,233 economic impact on the state. For outdoor recreation only saltwater fishing had a greater economic impact. Hunting had an impact of $719,066,045. Therefore wildlife viewing brought to Florida 4.5 times more dollars than hunting. 3. Killing ducks, and driving away the ducks and other wildlife will drive away visitors. Tom Palmer's article in the Ledger on March 15, 2009, said Circle B Bar "is now drawing hundreds of visi-tors a day and has become a major wildlife view-ing area". Contrast that number with the roughly 110 duck hunters over 5 hunts. 4. The duck count before the first 2 hunts was 468 ducks of 11 species. The count after the first 2 hunts was 42 ducks of 8 species. That is a 91 percent reduction in the number of ducks. Hunt-ers killed 371 ducks in this past hunting season. Contrast that with the original count of 468 ducks. This shows that this small 450 acre marsh on this small 1,267 acre reserve is not large enough to sustain such intensive hunting, and that the Circle B Bar Reserve is not an appropriate place for duck hunting. 5. There is also an impact on volunteers. The Reserve is managed by Polk's Environmental Lands Program. It has approximately 1½ persons who are paid staff and the remaining workers are volunteers, many of whom are Sierra Club mem-bers. The hunts are very demoralizing, and some volunteers are suggesting they might leave. I have volunteered there and for my part I can say that I do not plan to volunteer there on any day when hunting is allowed. 6. Regarding other wildlife, one volunteer was ob-serving an eagle's nest on the Reserve near the

(Continued on page 2)

Photo by Marian Ryan

RICHARD COLEMAN CONSERVATION AWARD

PRESENTED TO DR. ROBERT TAYLOR

Frances H. Coleman and Rachelle Coleman Selser pre-sented the award on behalf of the Ancient Islands Group. The inscription reads: In recognition of exceptional commitment to the nesting box and environmental studies scholarship projects. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Carpenter Bob fit the criteria for this award perfectly. He identified a worthy goal and has worked tirelessly to achieve it. New College Foundation confirmed on the day of the award that we had achieved the goal of $25,000 with the last checks sent. This will not be the end of our efforts to raise money for the fund but it certainly is nice to officially and correctly be entitled to use the word 'endowed.' There were many contributions made directly to the fund -- and our deepest thanks go out to those friends -- but if it had not been for Bob's efforts, it would have been many years before the goal was reached. Bob will continue to make nesting boxes; there are now avail-able several sizes for those who wish to attract a wider variety of birds. This win-win project benefited the scholarship fund, the birds, and the group. All are happy that he is going to continue.

....Frances H. Coleman

BONUS FOR APRIL MEETING The Florida Native Plant Society will join us for this meeting at Circle B Bar. They will have an informational dis-play, some native trees that might be just right for your yard, and very relevant landscaping questions for the Builders As-sociation.

marsh on the first day of the hunt and when the first deaf-ening volley of shotguns went off the nesting eagle ex-ploded into flight with a cloud of feathers. She came back, but such disturbances can lead to broken eggs, and aban-doned nests, either now or in the future. Before returning to this nest next year the eagle pair may consider other, less safe but quieter, locations outside the Reserve. We assert that such a disturbance of nesting eagles violates federal laws protecting eagles. 7. Lastly, in general, duck and other bird populations are declining throughout the world. It is predicted 25 percent of all bird species will be extinct by the end of this century. Habitat destruction is probably most important, but not al-ways. For 2 examples, it is reported that both America's passenger pigeon and Pacific Islands' dodo bird were hunted to extinction. We need to protect our wildlife. Please write letters to the editor. Also, visit, call, or write your County Commissioners and ask them not to al-low hunting on the Circle B Bar Reserve. When the public hearing is scheduled on this management plan please at-tend, and speak in opposition to hunting on this site, or support those who do speak. Thank you.

(Continued from page 1)From the Chair

Photo by Frances H. Coleman

Photo by Bernard Martin

SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT PLAN

City of Winter Haven, Florida The City of Winter Haven has hired PBS&J to develop a Sustainable Water Resources Management Plan for the Peace Creek watershed. The primary objective of the plan is to preserve and protect the surface water and ground-water resources of the city for human and environmental use. The backbone of the plan is an interconnected, hydro-logic network of lakes, canals, wetlands, aquifers, open spaces, and parks, designed to meet the long-term water resource needs of the entire community, including supply (water quantity), treatment (water quality), flood protection, and the preservation of natural resources. The plan is an investment in the City’s natural infrastructure— preserving and enhancing the innate ability of the watershed’s unique landscape to provide multiple water resource benefits—as opposed to engineered infrastructure. Using the natural infrastructure to provide these benefits will in the long-term result in a less costly, more efficient water storage and delivery system for all future uses. In contrast, the hydro-logic system is currently operated to meet the flood protec-tion needs of the stakeholders living along the Peace Creek Canal. ....PBS&J

GREEN HORIZONS RECOGNIZES

MARIAN RYAN

CREATING A FUTURE

THAT WILL RESEMBLE THE PAST

Mike Britt, Natural Resources Division, Winter Haven, pre-sents a new vision for water management of the Peace

Creek Watershed at our March meeting.

At the Annual Dinner in late February, Marian Ryan was presented the prestigious Blazing Star Award by the Land Trust. The inscription reads: For her untiring efforts in the advancement of environ-mental causes that seek to protect Florida's natural re-sources and for educating the public as to their value to present and future generations.

Congratulations, Marian!

KISSIMMEE BASIN

WATER RESERVATION "Based on the preliminary results, all water in river (inflows at S-65 and outflows at S-65E) is required for the protection of fish and wildlife." When asked, the Water Management District said the science indicates that there is no water available for new utility allocations except in the wettest of the wet years. Who's going to be asking for water then?

E-ALERTS No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legisla-ture is in session. Mark Twain Some things never change. HB 1349, the Wetland Destruction Bill, is one of many bills moving through Talla-hassee now. E-mail Jenny at jennyjacobs1@gmail.com to join her e-alert list. She does not share your address with anyone and will not overload your inbox. You will, how-ever, be informed in a timely manner so that if you wish to send a pro or con e-mail to your legislator, it will be easy for you to do.

EVENTS/ACTIVITIES

For more activities/events, please visit our web site at http://florida.sierraclub.org/polk/

Apr. 18 Earth Day at Polk's Nature Discovery Center, Circle B Bar Reserve - Designed for Children and Families. PCC and the Nature Discovery Center are sponsoring this mini Earth Day, planned espe-cially for children, from 9AM to 3PM. There will be presentations, tram rides, exhibits, and Sierran Carpenter Bob will hold a nesting box workshop. Grab some kids and help them see the world as it should be!

Apr. 25 Project EAGLE - Lakes and Shorelines Clean-Up - Lake Shipp Park in Winter Haven. This park is the site for volunteer staging and an environmental festival from 8AM until 12 noon. A great lunch will be provided for participants. For more information call the Wildlife Commission at 863 648-3200 or Keep Winter Haven Clean and Beautiful at 863 291-5662.

May 2 Trek Ten Trails Guided Hike - Green Swamp East - north of Lakeland off US 98 on Rock Ridge Road. Explore and learn about cypress swamps and pine flatwoods habitats. This site contains a large variety of Florida's native vertebrate wildlife species. Call Marian at 863 293-6961 for more details.

WORLDS CONNECT

Winter Haven Public Library celebrates National Library Week with a week of educational and interactive workshops which will show participants how they can make a difference in building a greener environment thereby promoting sustain-able community development. The library is located at 325 Avenue A, NW. Space is limited at all workshops, please call 291-5600 x 247, to reserve your space today!

Apr. 13 Sustainable Cooperative Farming. Local production with no synthetic chemicals. 6:00-7:30pm

Apr. 14 Gardening for Wildlife - Butterfly Gardening. Sierrans Marian Ryan and Rachelle Selser, Habitat Stewards for the National Wildlife Federation will share tips and techniques for attracting wildlife into your yard using Florida friendly plants, conserving water, reducing the need for pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides while providing the basics for wildlife. Three planting projects will be completed by each workshop attendee to take home and enhance their own "backyard wildlife habitat." Are you certifiable? Sign up for a Habitat Steward to help certify your yard as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. (5:30p.m.-6p.m.) Gil Daigneau of Go Natural Organics, Inc. will present Butterfly Gardening and Butterflies – the For-gotten Pollinators. Incorporating Florida friendly plants in the landscape helps to provide for wildlife, conserve water, reduce the need for chemicals and increase the potential for hours of enjoyment and entertainment in your own yard. Larval host plants (Milkweed for Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars) will be available for purchase. (6-7:30p.m.)

Service - These Saturday events are Ridge Ranger projects.

These stewardship projects start at 8:00 at their respective locations unless otherwise noted. For more details call the

Volunteer Coordinator, Jim Reed, at 863 699-3742 or e-mail james.reed@myFWC.com or call Gunn at 863 326-5426.

Apr. 18 Highlands Hammock State Park - Sebring. Clean up invasives; assist park staff with parking and preparation for evening concert. Start 9AM.

Apr. 22 Riverwoods Field Lab - Lorida. Butterfly garden work will be in the morning followed by a cookout lunch. In the afternoon SFWMD will provide a boat tour of the Kissimmee River Restoration project. Sign up early - limit 20 persons. Start 9AM.

Apr. 25 Walk-in-Water Tract - Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge. Clear fence lines of debris after DOF team removes oaks and pines with chain saws.

Apr. 29 FWC Royce Ranch - Lake Placid. Inventory fish species in Royce Ranch waters. Citizen-science project - requires participant preplanning - call or e-mail Jim.

Special activities such as greenhouse work, invertebrate study, fish species inventory, and bat surveys

are available. Call Jim for details. In order to participate in one of the Sierra Club's outings, you will need to sign a liability waiver which will be furnished at the beginning of the outing. If you would like to read a copy of the waiver prior to the outing, please see http://

www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms/ or call 415-977-5528. In the interests of facilitating the logistics of some outings, it is customary that participants make carpooling arrangements. The Sierra Club does not have insurance for carpool-

ing arrangements and assumes no liability for them. Carpooling, ride sharing or anything similar is strictly a private arrangement among the participants. Participants assume the risks associated with this travel. Please note that the above

listed activities are events that we think you will find interesting and fun, but they are not official outings. Florida Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST37115

Apr. 15 Retrofit Your Home (Inside and Out) for Water (and Dollar ) Conservation. 6:00 - 7:30PM

Apr. 16 Florida Friendly Landscaping 101 - Design Your Yard. Water conservation, etc. 6:00-7:30pm

May 2 Flamingo Villas Tract - Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge. Ongoing clean-up and trail maintenance.

May 9 Carter Creek Tract - Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge. Fence removal and relocation.

May 16 Highlands Hammock State Park - Sebring. Remove invasive and exotic plants.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 1117 Lakeland, Florida

Bone Valley

APRIL 9 MEETING

PROGRAM:

Current and Future Green Initiatives

of the

Polk County Builders Association

Presented By

Scott Coulombe

Executive Director, PCBA

General Meeting and Executive Committee

Meeting Run Concurrently

Join us for our pot-luck suppers at 6:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month. Bring a dish to share, a drink and your utensils. Dress is casual. The meeting will start around 7:15 p.m. This is the second of many meetings which will be held at Circle B Bar Reserve. The Reserve is located on State Road 540 (Winter Lake Road) at a mid-point between Lakeland, Bartow and Winter Haven. From Bartow, take US 98 north to SR 540 and turn right; from Lakeland, take US 98 south to SR 540 and turn left; the property entrance is approximately two miles east of US 98 on the south (right) side of SR 540. From Winter Haven, take SR 540 and after the exits to the Polk Parkway (where there is a traffic light) look for and follow the Reserve signs; it will be a left turn. Bring flashlight for parking lot.

Web Site: http://florida.sierraclub.org/polk/ (links to Ancient Islands)

Members should send changes of address to: Sierra Club, P.O. Box 52968, Boulder, CO 80322-2968 or address.changes@sierraclub.org

2009 ANCIENT ISLANDS SIERRA GROUP

Paul Anderson Chair - 965-8241

Marian Ryan Vice-Chair - 293-6961

Jenny Jacobs Secretary - 439-1926

Charles Geanangel Treasurer - 326-5748

Gunn Honican Membership - 326-5426

Newsletter Publisher Paul Daniel -

Nesting Boxes

Bob Taylor - 439-2251

FL/SC Steering Committee Marian Ryan

293-6961

Email Tree Coordinator Jenny Jacobs - 439-1926 jennyjacobs1@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor Frances Howell-Coleman

956-3771

Members-at-large Robert Jackson - 646-1475

Al Greulich - 967-6783 Albert Honican - 326-5426

Sierra Club Ancient Islands - FL Sierra P.O. Box 7544 Winter Haven, FL 33883 Published Monthly RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Annual dues include subscription to Sierra ($7.50) and chapter publications ($1). Dues are not tax-deductible.

Please mail your check and this form to: Sierra Club, PO Box 52968, Boulder, Colorado, 80322-2968

Check One Individual

Introductory � $25

Regular � $39 � $47

Senior � $24 � $32

Student � $24 � $32

Joint

Sierra Membership Application

Name ___________________________________________________

Street Address ____________________________________________

City ___________________________ State _____ Zip ___________

Phone (optional): ( ) _________________ F94Q W3311 1