My son Gabe and I closing the storm shutters on September 9th in preparation of Hurricane Irma. September 12th, cutting up one of a. number of large pines that fell in the Cedar Key house yard after hurricane Irma came through. Here is a very large Oak that fell at Gabe's house during the height of the storm....fortunately falling away from the house. With archery season opening in the Nature Coast /North Central Florida this weekend after hurricane Irma came through less than a week ago and some areas rivers still rising, how, and where can archers hunt this weekend, the opening weekend of archery season????
the FWC website has a long, long list of closed Wildlife Management Areas due to hurricane Irma and as of today, the one I want to hunt Saturday is closed with no indiction of when it will open or how and when it will be determined......might be a nice idea for the FWC to let us know a little more about who, where, and how those decisions are made. I went and looked for myself at one of the WMA's this evening and apart from the locked gates, there is no reason I can see to keep it closed this weekend. Even if there are some places where roads or trails are blocked with fallen trees, or impassible with water there is clearly lots of areas that are not and plenty of walk in areas available. I drove by and the check station and three parking areas I saw had no standing water and it's just two days after Irma passed. I wonder if FWC will reach out to the local folks to understand the actual conditions or perhaps even ask them for help in clearing roads and trails? The hunters I know would be glad to pitch in. Many of us have been clearing debris from WMA trails and roads for years because that is one of the small things that stewardship and giving back means. One last soap box observation: There is now a large and growing disconnect between government on many levels and those of us that access public lands. I hear and sense that there is also a growing distrust in how the government (government on all levels, local, state and federal) manages public lands. I don't see it as a distrust of the people we see and know that are on the ground, working in the WMA's, struggling to ensure the public has access to quality wild places, these are some of the finest people I know. I see the distrust being placed, rightfully so, at the highest levels of the State and Federal government leadership, or lack there of. There needs to be a significant effort made by all of us to engage before the divide gets any larger. In closing, I'd like to ask you to consider supporting a group I think is important in the effort to keep public lands open: Back Country Hunters and Anglers. Check them out here: http://www.backcountryhunters.org
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January 2020
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