Friday, February 19, 2010


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Farm & Outooors


Madison Enterprise-Recorder 1 1


Where To Hunt Spring Turkeys Without A Quota Permit


 If you weren't lucky
enough to get drawn for a spring
turkey quota permit, or if you
are looking for even more spring
turkey hunting opportunity
don't fret there are numerous
wildlife management areas
(WMAs) that don't require them.
 The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commis-
sion (FWC) offers 42 public hunt-
ing areas statewide where
hunters need only to "walk on"
to hunt spring turkeys.
 These hunts are made pos-
sible through the FWC's partner-
ships with the state's Division of
Forestry Florida's water man-
agement districts, the U.S. Forest
Service, Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, the
National Park Service, Depart-
ment of Defense and the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service, who con-
tribute their lands to the state's
public-hunting system.
 Hunters need only a hunt-
ing license ($17 for residents,
$46.50 for nonresident 10-day li-
cense), management area per-
mit ($26.50) and turkey permit


($5 for residents, $100 for nonres-
idents) to spring turkey hunt on
the following areas. These li-
censes and permits can be pur-
chased in Florida at county tax
collectors' offices and at most re-
tail outlets that sell hunting and
fishing supplies. They also can
be bought with a credit card by
calling 888-486-8356 or going on-
line at w'i' 'ilrll/i-hi-
censecom/fl.
 On the following areas,
spring turkey season runs
March 20 April 25, unless oth-
erwise noted below. Shooting
hours during spring turkey sea-
son on WMAs are one-half hour
before sunrise to 1 p.m.
 Osceola Turkeys Inhabit
 These Areas
 Big Bend WMA-Jena Unit -
12,522 acres in Dixie County
 Bull Creek WMA 23,646
acres in Osceola County Camp-
ing allowed. Centerfire rifles are
prohibited.
 Devils Hammock WMA -
7,635 acres in Levy County Sea-
son runs March 20-28. There are
15 no-cost, daily quota permits


available at the check station on
a first-come, first-served basis.
 Green Swamp WMA -
49,768 acres in Polk, Sumter and
Lake counties. Hunters must
have a quota permit to hunt the
first weekend, but there are 200
no-cost, daily quota permits
available at the check station on
a first-come, first-served basis
for the remainder of season.
Camping allowed only by special
permit from the FWC.
 Jumper Creek WMA -
10,552 acres in Sumter County
Camping allowed. Centerfire ri-
fles are prohibited.
 Kissimmee Chain of Lakes
Area 20,360 acres in Polk and
Osceola counties. Camping al-
lowed first-come, first-served
only at designated campsites.
Management area permit not re-
quired.
 Kissimmee River Public
Use Area 23,433 acres in Glades,
Highlands, Okeechobee, Osceola
and Polk counties. Area is split
between Central and South
hunting zones. When hunting
the South Zone, the season runs


March 6- April 11. For camping
information only call the South
Florida Water Management Dis-
trict at 800-250-4200, ext. 3019.
Management area permit not re-
quired. Centerfire rifles are pro-
hibited.
 Lake Monroe WMA 3,098
acres in Volusia and Seminole
counties.
 Lochloosa WMA 11,149
acres in Alachua County Camp-
ing allowed only by permit from
St. Johns River Water Manage-
ment District; call 386-329-4404.
 Log Landing WMA 1,147
acres in Dixie County Center-
fire rifles are prohibited.
 Lower Suwannee National
Wildlife Refuge 53,000 acres in
Dixie and Levy counties. Only
shotguns and bows are legal.
Management area permit not re-
quired, but hunter must sign
copy of area's hunting brochure
and have in his possession.
 Richloam WMA 58,146
acres in Hernando, Pasco,
Sumter and Lake counties.
Hunters must have a quota per-
mit to hunt the first nine days,


FiY *arIetI *A.I an I


By John L. Hoblick, Florida Farm Bureau
 As president of the state's largest agricultural or-
ganization, I'm pleased to present a tale that must
never come true. Farm Bureau, the Florida Depart-
ment of Agriculture, UF/IFAS and Florida commod-
ity organizations are working to make sure this flight
into fantasy will never reflect reality. I believe it
demonstrates how scary life could be without our
agricultural organizations and institutions.
 Five years into the second decade of the 21st
Century, farmer Frank Baffington is shaking his
head. His farm, a blessing to his family for the bet-
ter part of 100 years, is driving him to distraction.
 Not that he and his family haven't faced chal-
lenges. Hurricanes, freezes, droughts and bad mar-
kets generations of Baffingtons faced them all
down, displaying the adaptability, toughness, char-
acter and determination that characterize Florida
farmers and ranchers.
 Now, he thinks he might give up the land his
grandfather began working back when FSU was still
a girls' school. Canker and citrus greening have tak-
en a toll on the groves. He thinks that if UF/IFAS re-
searchers hadn't had their funding cut by the
Legislature back in 2010, the industry could have de-
feated or at least arrested those diseases. As it is
now, the door is closing on Florida's citrus industry
 The family beef operation is likewise curtailed.
Activist groups passed a constitutional initiative ef-
fectively outlawing commercial marketing of ani-
mals and animal products.
 That's okay, though. He couldn't have afforded
to keep the cattle anyway because of the costly Title
V ("Cow Tax") permits Washington has imposed be-
cause the bureaucrats said his cows were belching
too much methane. The cattle's absence leaves his
pastures teeming with weeds, some of which are
likely considered invasive. Nature, he thinks rueful-
ly, can be a bad mother to land that isn't managed.
 He's been entertaining the idea of planting an-
other crop. New grass cultivars that can be used to
produce energy might hold some promise, if scien-
tists finally find a way to produce energy from them


 Fish Day
 Now Is The Time For Stocking
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 *Bluegill (Coppernose & Hybrid) *Redear
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 We will service you at:

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 Sj(es, Feb. 23 From: 4-5 p.m.

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 V / lk Ups Welcome


that makes economic sense. And maybe he can find
a niche in local markets for some of the designer
vegetables that are more and more prized by the lo-
cavores.
 But, putting pencil to paper, he doesn't see how
he can make a profit because he can barely fill his
tractor with fuel or his tanks with fertilizer. The
new cap-and-trade law has driven prices of petrole-
um-based products to alarming heights. The sweet
iced tea he is sipping leaves a bitter taste in his
mouth as he remembers how the politicians
promised to save the world by curbing carbon diox-
ide emissions. At one point, it seemed as if Ameri-
can politicians thought the United States could fix
the problem all by itself by discouraging the use of
fossil fuels. They failed to heed the cries of rural
America and now Baffington wonders if he can
work his way out of the problem.
 He would like to chuck it all for a few days.
Maybe clear his head by going fishing; that's always
helped him to work through things. But now his fa-
vorite farm pond is under the jurisdiction of the
EPA and the Clean Water Restoration Act and off
limits to rod and reel. Once he welcomed rain-
storms, convinced that he and his property per-
formed a public service by recharging the aquifer.
Now, he hopes for long, dry spells because EPAs Nu-
meric Nutrient Criteria call for nutrient levels that
are actually lower than most rainfall. Still ...
Baffington is a farmer, so the idea of putting in a
new crop appeals to him. He could convert part of
his land to crops and maybe raise the seed money by
developing another tract.
 Oh, wait. He has forgotten about Amendment 4,
"Hometown Democracy," the constitutional amend-
ment voters passed in 2010. Can he afford a strong
enough political campaign to convince his neigh-
bors and the voters in the rest of the county that
they should allow him to change his zoning? Will
they care, faced as they are with 150 other amend-
ments on the ballot?
 He feels pains return to his chest. He should see
the doctor tomorrow. He isn't sure he wants to go on.
Yet he dare not die. Not now. The Death Tax has re-
turned, full-force, threatening to impoverish his
family should he join the departed. Head down, he
kicks disconsolately at the dirt.
 "Dear, stop kicking," says his wife, lying beside
him on the bed. "You have been so restless lately"
Baffington sits up, startled, and gazes at the clock
glowing on the nightstand.
 It's 3 a.m. The date is Feb. 14, 2010, he remem-
bers. It's Valentine's Day. A Sunday, and in a few
hours he will prepare breakfast and serve it with a
bouquet to the woman he has loved for more than 30
years. His mood brightens as he remembers their
first meeting at a Farm Bureau Young Farmer con-
ference so long ago. Baffington smiles, his confi-
dence returning. Agriculture is a community and
its people, organizations and institutions are inter-
woven into his family's life, one of their strongest
connections to people of like mind.


but those without one may hunt
the remainder of the season:
March 29 through April 25.
Camping allowed only by permit
from Division of Forestry; call
352-754-6896. Centerfire rifles are
prohibited.
 Santa Fe Swamp Wildlife
and Environmental Area 5,627
acres in Bradford County Only
bows and muzzleloaders are le-
gal.
 Three Lakes WMA 54,628
acres in Osceola County Camp-
ing allowed. Centerfire rifles are
prohibited.
 Upper Hillsborough WMA
- 5,178 acres in Polk and Pasco
counties. Wednesday and
Thursday only There are 75 no-
cost, daily quota permits avail-
able at the check station on a
first-come, first-served basis.
Camping allowed. Only shot-
guns, bows and muzzleloaders
are legal.
 Upper St. Johns River
Marsh WMA 124,623 acres in
Brevard and Indian River coun-
ties. Camping allowed.
 Eastern Turkeys Inhabit
 These Areas
 Apalachicola National For-
est 581,837 acres in Franklin,
Leon, Liberty and Wakulla coun-
ties. Camping allowed.
 Apalachicola River
Wildlife and Environmental
Area 86,140 acres in Franklin
and Gulf counties. Camping al-
lowed. Management area per-
mit not required.
 Aucilla WMA 47,532 acres
in Jefferson and Taylor counties.
Camping allowed.
 Big Bend WMA Hickory
Mound Unit -14,427 acres in Tay-
lor County A no-cost, daily-use
permit is required to hunt
March 20 April 4 and is avail-
able at the check station.
 Snipe Island Unit 11,687
acres in Taylor County Hunters
must have a quota permit to
hunt the first 16 days, but those
without one may hunt the re-
mainder of the season: April 5 -
April 11.
 Spring Creek Unit 14,600
acres in Taylor County
 Tide Swamp Unit 19,538
acres in Taylor County A no-
cost, daily-use permit is re-
quired to hunt March 20 April
4 and is available at the check
station.
 Blackwater WMA -191,148
acres in Santa Rosa and
Okaloosa counties. Camping al-
lowed. Centerfire rifles are pro-
hibited.
 Choctawhatchee River
WMA 57,299 acres in Bay Wal-
ton and Washington counties.
Southern (non-spring turkey
quota area) portion of the area
may be hunted without quota
permit. Camping allowed.
 Econfina Creek WMA -
41,159 acres in Washington, Bay
and Jackson counties. Quota
permit not required to hunt after
the first nine days, except in the
Cat Creek and Fitzhugh Carter
areas (where quota permit is


needed). Camping allowed only
by permit from Northwest Flori-
da Water Management District;
call 850-539-5999.
 Eglin Air Force Base -
265,000 acres in Santa Rosa,
Okaloosa and Walton counties.
Hunting and camping allowed
only by permit from Jackson
Guard Natural Resource Office
by calling 850-883-1152. Only
shotguns, bows and muzzleload-
ers are legal.
 Escambia River WMA -
34,476 acres in Escambia and
Santa Rosa counties. Camping
allowed.
 Joe Budd WMA 11,039
acres in Gadsden County Satur-
days and Sundays only There
are 20 no-cost, daily quota per-
mits available at the check sta-
tion on a first-come, first-served
basis. Hunters may use bows
and muzzleloaders only Camp-
ing allowed.
 Lower Econfina River
WMA 3,004 acres in Taylor
County Season runs March 20-
28.
 Mallory Swamp WMA -
30,283 acres in Lafayette County
Season runs March 20 April 4.
 Ochlockonee River WMA -
2,790 acres in Leon County Sat-
urdays and Sundays only Only
shotguns, bows and muzzleload-
ers are legal.
 Osceola WMA 266,270
acres in Baker and Columbia
counties. Camping allowed.
 Pine Log WMA- 6,911 acres
in Bay and Washington coun-
ties. Season runs March 20 -
April 4. Camping allowed. Cen-
terfire rifles are prohibited.
 Point Washington WMA -
12,414 acres in Walton County
Centerfire rifles are prohibited.
 Steinhatchee Springs
WMA 20,909 acres in Lafayette,
Taylor and Dixie counties. Sea-
son runs March 20 April 11.
There are 40 no-cost, daily quota
permits available at the check
station on a first-come, first-
served basis required to hunt the
first nine days. The portion of
the area that is in Dixie County
is inhabited by Osceola turkeys.
 Talquin WMA 3,053 acres
in Leon County Saturdays and
Sunday only Centerfire rifles
are prohibited.
 Upper Chipola River WMA
- 7,377 acres in Jackson County
Camping allowed only by permit
from Northwest Florida Water
Management District; call 850-
539-5999.
 Yellow River WMA 29,674
acres in Santa Rosa and
Okaloosa counties. Quota per-
mit not required except when
hunting Grassy Point and Burnt
Grocery Creek areas. Camping
allowed in non-quota areas.
 Visit MyFWC.com/Hunt-
ing to download the rules and
regulations on each of the above
management areas, including
maps. These brochures also are
available at tax collectors' offices
in counties close to wildlife man-
agement areas.


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