JUNE 4, 2003 THE CALHOUN-LIBERTY JOURNAL Page 13 Emergencies: Ih WwW Lawrence Animal Hospital 43 North Cleveland Street in Quincy OFFICE (850) €27-8338 ery C. Lawrence, DVM : 850) 856-5827 or (850) 856-5918 Office Hours: Mon.-Wed.-Thurs. 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. : \ Tues. and Fri. 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. a . ; Doctor's hours by appointment. - e provide: * Boarding * Grooming * Pet Pickup/Delivery . * Pet Foods/Supplies * Preventive Healthcare Programs} ¢* plus many more services. We are also pleased to offer a Special Preventive Spay/Neuter Program to help reduce unwanted puppies and kittens. For a wide range of Homeowner Insurance Plans, Fire and Dwelling Policies, call for a no-obligation review. CRAIG BRINKLEY Calhoun County 615 N. Main Blountstown, FL PHONE 674-5471 SAV BUREAU INSURANCE HELPING YOU is what we do best. AUTO « HOME « LIFE " Golden Pharmacy Phone 674-4557 Your Valu-Rite store with a full selection of drugs, greeting cards, film, health and beauty aid supplies 17324 Main Street North, Blountstown \.: LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED J Required reading for anyone who knows a kid. If there's a child vou care about, anywhere in your life. then you should care about our public schools. For a free booklet that contains ways ~~ Education Exc you can help improve education in America, call 1-800-96-PROMISE. | PAIS EI ROL SEI RST EO TRE LC eK ah Commission sets Feral Cat Policy The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today adopted a policy regarding feral cats on lands the agency manages — the cats are a threat to native wildlife, espe- cially imperiled species. The seven-member commis- sion heard staff recommendations from the FWC’s Division of Wild- life and then opened the floor to public comment. More than 70 individuals came to the Kissimmee meeting to participate in discussions about feral cats and trap-neuter-release (TNR) pro- grams. In addition, Commission- ers heard comments for and against managed feral cat colo- nies in 17 Florida counties. The Commission unanimously voted “To pursue staff recommen- dations and all of the strategies outlined and to oppose TNR only when it is a threat to native wild- life and then in the most socially acceptable way we can.” Strategies include: * Develop and implement a Hunters will see some changes fo public lands When June 1 rolls around, Florida hunters will see the state’s wildlife management area (WMA) system has been re- vamped. Earlier this year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) eliminated both the Type 1 and Il designa- . tions for open public hunting lands. Now, public lands are sim- ply referred to as WMAs. With the exception of a handful of rec- reational use areas and several military bases, including Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), Eglin AFB and Avon Park Bombing Range, public hunting lands will be open to those who purchase a $25 WMA permit. In Northwest Florida changes to the WMA system particularly affect those who traditionally hunt Econfina Creek and Yellow River FWC approves new rule to manage silver mullet The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has approved a rule to manage and protect the silver CAPPS Well Drilling (850) 674-8942 Mike Purvis, Owner 1 Licensed Driller ~ FR\f Sales & Repairs from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission comprehensive education pro- gram to increase public awareness of the impacts that feral and free- ranging cats present to wildlife, identify ways for cat owners to minimize impacts and inform cat owners of laws prohibiting the release or abandonment of cats to the wild, * Eliminate the threat cats pose to the viability of local popula- tions of wildlife, particularly spe- cies listed as endangered, threat- ened or of special concern, * Prohibit the release, feeding or protection of cats on lands managed by the FWC and strongly oppose programs and policies that allow the release, feeding or protection of cats on public lands that support wildlife habitat, : * Provide technical advice, policy support and partnerships to Water Management District lands. Both areas, along with. other Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD) lands open to hunt- ing, are now WMAs requiring quota permits the first 13 days of the hunting season. In the past separate fishing per- mits were also required on NWFWMD lands but beginning July 1 a regular fishing license will suffice. The quota hunt application pe- riod begins June 1. Billy Sermons, the FWC’s re- gional wildlife biologist, said hunters will notice several changes to WMAs this season. On the Econfina Creek WMA the Mobility Impaired hunt area has been relocated to south of Highway 388. The “Cat Creek” area, formerly a portion of the mullet fishery. The rule is an ef- fort to reduce the harvest of sil- ver mullet on the Atlantic coast where fishing pressure is highest and also to maintain healthy Gulf coast silver mullet stocks. The new rule includes three species of silver mullet — white, ~redeye and fantail mullet — all harvested primarily as bait. Recreational and commercial landings and fishing effort have increased on the Atlantic coast since the mid-1990s, according to the FWC'’s Florida Marine Re- search Institute. If fishing effort continues to increase, over-fish- ing is likely to occur. On the Gulf ~ coast, landings and fishing effort have declined, and the population appears to be healthy. The new rule designates silver mullet as a restricted species and prohibits commercial harvest of “silver mullet on Saturday and land management agencies in or- der to prevent the release, feed- ing or protection of cats on pub- lic lands that support wildlife habitat, * Oppose creation and support elimination of TNR colonies and similar managed cat colonies wherever they potentially and sig- nificantly impact local wildlife populations, and * Evaluate the need for new rules to minimize the impacts of cats on native wildlife. Commissioners said the FWC is not making drastic plans to kill cats; rather it is looking to employ the least-restrictive methods pos- sible to accomplish the agency’s mission to protect wildlife. Commissioners agreed that lo- cal governments have the primary responsibility for managing do- mestic animals, including cats, and the FWC will concentrate its efforts on coordinating with them -and other affected parties. The new policy goes into ef- fect immediately. Mobility Impaired hunt area, will be open to hunters who ob- tain a quota hunt permit. Else- where on Econfina Creek, the 2,000-acre Fitzhugh Carter tract is a recent addition and is located west of Highway 77 near Greenhead. The Fitzhugh Carter tract will be open only to those hunters with a quota permit. Other WMA changes involve Robert Brent, which will drop from 45,300 to 9,869 acres and become a recreational use area; Ed Ball WMA, which was dropped as a WMA at the request of St. Joe Tim- ber Company, the landowner; and Flint Rock WMA which is a recre- ational use area, will drop from 28,002 to 25,000 acres. : WMA brochures and quota permit applications are available from tax collectors or their sub- wi agents. closure is prohibited. This closure coincides with the current striped (or black) mullet weekend closure and is intended Sag to simplify mullet regulations. The rule also closes commer- cial harvest of silver mullet in February from Florida-Georgia border to Dade-Monroe county line. The closure, combined with the statewide commercial week- end closure, is expected to reduce the commercial harvest of silver mullet by as much as 17 percent on the Atlantic coast. For recreational fishermen, the new rule establishes a statewide “aggregate bag limit for both striped and silver mullet of 50 fish per person per day. From Feb. 1 through Aug. 31, a maximum ves- sel limit of 100 mullet applies. From Sep. | through Jan. 31,2 ‘maximum vessel limit of let applies. Implementin