FWC Volunteer Newsletter Fall 2010

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and Florida Atlantic University.

Friends o Corbett also sponsors abiannual Tales o Corbett banquet

and hosts an annual banquet each

June or board elections, memberrecruitment and presenting

volunteer awards.Individual volunteers also

make important contributions to

J.W. Corbett WMA. Each year, JoeBrennan, a volunteer rom the

National Wild Turkey Federation,donates an average 290 hours to

the wildlie orage program by

mowing 300 acres and planting200 acres with a variety o wildlie

orage.Volunteer support at J.W.

Corbett WMA is invaluable. For

inormation on volunteering at J.W.Corbett WMA, contact Linda King

at 561-624-6989 or

[email protected] Linda King

The 60,348-acre J.W. Corbett

Wildlie Management Area(WMA) in northwestern Palm

Beach County is owned andmanaged by the Florida Fish andWildlie Conservation Commission

(FWC). The agency manages

the WMA to protect a variety owildlie, including endangered and

threatened species, migratory birds,fsh and both game and nongame

species. The FWC also manages

the area or a wide variety orecreational uses.

J.W. Corbett WMA has a long

history o volunteer support, andvolunteer eorts have been andremain invaluable; during 2009-

2010, J.W. Corbett WMA volunteerslogged more than 3,000 hours.

Volunteer activities at J.W. Corbett

WMA range rom large, one-dayevents supported by volunteers

rom local organizations or clubs

to ongoing individual projects. Forthe past 16 years, local clubs have

sponsored an annual J.W. Corbett

WMA clean-up event, logging

approximately 500 volunteerhours and flling our 20-cubic-

yard dumpsters beore noon. Localclub involvement in this clean-upevent includes Florida Sportsmens

Conservation Association,National Wild Turkey Federation,

Florida Trails Association,

Palm Beach County Airboat &Haltrack Conservation Club,

Wellington Radio Club, Pine Jog

Environmental Center and Friendso Corbett WMA.

Additional volunteer

contribution or 2009-2010includes approximately 400 hours

rom Florida Trails Associationvolunteers to clear trails, 80 hours

rom Wellington Radio Club or

communication support, 100hours o combined club support or

tree planting, and various otherprojects, including Red-cockaded

Woodpecker monitoring, bird

counts, invasive plant removal,clean-ups, landscaping, wildlie

surveys, and wood duck andbarn owl box installation andmonitoring.

Furthermore, the Friendso Corbett, established in 2000,

volunteer approximately 450 hours

annually. Members meet monthlyand raise unds or J.W. Corbett

WMA and the Everglades Youth

Conservation Camp, located withinJ.W. Corbett WMA and operated

by Pine Jog Environmental Center

Volunteers support J.W. Corbett WMA

Fall 2010

Vol. 1 Issue 2

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Photo by Linda King,FWC

J.W. Corbett WMA volunteer Joe Brennan preparingwildlife food plots.

Photo by Linda King,FW

J.W. Corbett WMA volunteers take a break for a photoduring a tree planting event.

Fall 2010

Vol. 1 Issue 2

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission


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2010 National Public Lands Day

Volunteers host fsh camps at the Stock

Enhancement Research Facility

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National Public Lands Day,a nationwide, hands-on

volunteer eort to improve andenhance Americas public lands,

was celebrated Sept. 25. The FWCOfce o Recreation Services, in

cooperation with sta rom theJoe Budd Aquatic EducationCenter and Wildlie Management

Area (WMA) and the Florida Divi-sion o Forestry, hosted a National

Public Lands Day event at JoeBudd WMA just West o Tallahas-see.

Thirty-one volunteers, includ-

ing Girl Scouts and their amilies,contributed 124 hours to spruce

up the Aquatic Education Centerbuilding and grounds. Ater thework was completed, volunteers

and sta enjoyed an aternoon o

demonstrations by K-9 handlersand their dogs, o prescribed freequipment and about wild turkeytelemetry. Other activities includ-

ed fshing and archery.In Central Florida, the Ridge

Rangers volunteer program also

hosted a National Public LandsDay event at Lake Blue Scrubconservation site in Auburndale.Work ocused on supporting the

reintroduction o scrub lupine,an endangered plant speciesound only in Central Florida.Over a thousand scrub lupines

have been planted at Lake Blue

Scrub in two experimental plots.On this day, eight Ridge Rang-

ers volunteers and 18 Girl Scouts

and adult leaders spent the daymaintaining these plots by re-

moving encroaching vegetation.Juliet Rynear, biologist rom BokTower Gardens, gave an onsite

presentation to the Girl Scouts on

the scrub lupine project and theresults o the experimental plots.

By Jessica Ireland and Bill Parken

Every summer during June and July, the Fish

and Wildlie Institute Stock Enhancement

Research Facility in Port Manatee partners withangling clubs and nonproft organizations to host

several fsh camps at the hatchery to educatechildren o all ages about marine stock enhance-ment in Florida and how to be ethical anglers.FWC volunteers assist by organizing the events,

rigging rods,teaching atskill stationsand provid-

ing valuable

expertise oncatch-and-re-

lease fshing.This year, fshcampers romthe Florida

Aquarium,St. Pete Pier

Aquarium,

Florida Sherris Youth Ranch, Hillsborough

County Children Services and the Blooming Place

or Kids participated in these events.Volunteers rom the Anclote Key Anglers Club

have been organizing special-opportunity fshingevents at the Stock Enhancement Research Facil-ity or the past our years or oster children romBlooming Place or Kids. This summer, 22 volun-

teers contributed a total o 184 hours.The anglers club received a grant rom Fish

Florida to provide children with ree rods, reelsand tackle boxes to take home. They also gathered

donations rom local companies and ood vendors

to provide drinks and lunch, and even paid or thetour bus that transported children to and rom

SERF. These volunteers deserve special recogni-tion or all o their hard work or and dedicationto the children! For more inormation on the StockEnhancement Research Facility fsh camps, con-

tact Gina Russo at 941-723-4505 [email protected].

By Gina Russo

Photo by Liz Sparks, FWC

Volunteers spruce up the grounds at the Joe BuddAquatic Education Center.

Photo by Gina Russo, FWC

A young lady shows off her juvenile tarpon caught

during a fshing event at the Stock Enhancement

Research Facility.


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The 2010 Proessional Tarpon

Tournament Series provided

an opportunity or the Florida

Fish and Wildlie Conservation

Commission (FWC) and Fish

and Wildlie Research Institute(FWRI) sta and volunteers to

draw blood and take DNA sam-

ples. The samples help research-

ers evaluate how stressed the

tarpon are at the time o release

by measuring the response o

various blood chemistry levels

relative to non-tournament

tarpon.

All current tarpon research is

directed at evaluating the eectso catch-and-release fshing on

tarpon to eectively educate an-

glers on the best practices to en-

hance the survival and ultimate

conservation o the species.

During three weekends in

May and June 2010, teen volun-

teers Sam Roberts and Jeremy

Forbes awoke in the dark to be atthe beach beore sunrise. Tarpon

research can involve hours o

sweltering hot boredom ollowed

by minutes o organized chaos.

But when you have a fsh to sam-

ple, you have to be ready to get

the job done, so volunteer assis-

tance to do just that is invaluableto the project. Through the help

o dedicated volunteers, FWC-

FWRI tarpon research studies

have been able to gain much

inormation on this important

recreational fshery.

I you are an avid tarpon

angler and are interested in vol-

unteering to take DNA samples,

visit http://research.mywc.com/

tarpon or call 800-367-4461 ora kit.

By Kathy Guindon

Tarpon troopers take on the heat

New FWC conservationvolunteer program

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In memory ovolunteerKathleen Tuck

Fish and Wildlie ResearchInstitute (FWRI) volunteer Kath-

leen Tuck passed away at her

home in Cedar Key on July 21.

She was 57. Tuck received the

2009 FWRI Volunteer o the

Year award or her contribution

to horseshoe crab studies, which

she researched and monitored

with unfagging enthusiasm.

She was a driven environmen-

talist, and was especially de-

voted to teaching children aboutconservation. Tucks amily has

established an account at the

Drummond Community Bank in

Cedar Key or donations or a

permanent horseshoe crab edu-

cational exhibit to be developed

in her memory.

Photo by Kathy Guindon, FWC

Tarpon research staff and volunteers prepare to taketarpon DNA samples.

The FloridaFish and Wild-

lie Conservation

Commission hasestablished a newconservation vol-unteer program in

the west centralFlorida area: theBrooksville Ridge

Volunteer Program. Volunteers

work on FWC and other pub-lic and private lands in Pasco,Citrus, Hernando, Sumter and

Levy counties. Volunteers whohave a passion or conserva-tion and the environment canhelp by working with scientists

and land managers to removeinvasive plants, prepare landsor prescribed burns, assist withhabitat enhancement and land

management activities and

participate in

wildlie re-search as a cit-

izen scientist.Current proj-ects includeRed-cockadedWoodpecker

research, rareinvertebrate

studies and invasive plant man-agement, and additional projects

are soon to come.I you are interested in vol-

unteering or have a conservation

project that could utilize the helpo volunteers in the BrooksvilleRidge region, please contact

Annemarie Hammond, Brooks-

ville Ridge volunteer coordinator,at 352-754-6722 or

[email protected] Annemarie Hammond

Photo by Annemarie Hammond, FWC

Volunteers operate land management equipmentto maintain fre lines and critical habitat onconservation lands.

FWC Volunteer Newsletter Fall 2010

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