Here is the update.

Dr. Bill Kern is still working on the testing materials for DACS-I believe the Department is working on a timeline sometimes in the summer of 2012 to begin testing and issuing Limited Wildlife Certificates. -

Allen Fugler Jr , Executive Vice President at Florida Pest Management Association February 16, 2012

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Attn:  Florida Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators

Limited Pest Control Licensing Is A Go

For Florida Wildlife Removal Operators

September 2011 Yesterday I got a call from Jeff Wood an operator on the Wildlife Pro Network that local DACS (Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and the State has put out a brochure you can get a copy of by contacting your locals DACS office. The document is not available yet on the state DACs publications page .

http://www.freshfromflorida.com/publications.html .

So your gonna need to call for the nearest location.

- Robb Russell

Main Office Line:

850-410-3800

Consumer Services Hotline:  
1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) – Florida only
1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832) – En Español
850-410-3800 – Calling from outside of Florida

I also got a call today from our local DACS office and was able to confirm licensed will be mandatory for anyone who engages in commercial trapping of wildlife using non-chemical methods, including traps, mechanical or electronic devices, and exclusionary techniques to control commensal rodents (rats & mice). The state asks that you don’t delay until the last minute and register now!

Chapter 482 Excerpt:

¹482.157 Limited certification for commercial wildlife management personnel.—

Here are some examples of back links we are giving some of our earliest customers back on our new pest control web site.  http://pescopestcontrol.com/about/back-links/

The thewildlifpro.com site was also built on our last four years interest in our podcasting programs .

http://www.majesticseo.com/reports/site-explorer/summary/thewildlifepro.com?oq=www.thewildlifepro.com&IndexDataSource=H

“As the project was going on, more and more manatees were showing up at Fanning Springs. We went from two to four manatees to eight or 12,” said Ron Mezich, who works on manatees and aquatic habitat at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). “Fanning Springs may feel cold to us, but it is 70 to 72 degrees, and for manatees in wintertime, it is a warm-water refuge. Manatees can’t survive for long in water below 68 degrees.”

The recently completed project to remove sediment from the springs was a cooperative effort among the FWC, The Nature Conservancy and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which manages Fanning Springs State Park.

From early November 2011 through early January 2012, underwater cleaning of the springs was done by a scuba diver using a hand-held device resembling a giant vacuum cleaner. Hand cleaning was the preferred method to minimize disturbance to the springs’ waters and preserve any artifacts found in the removed sediment. Park staff and volunteers sifted through more than 500 cubic yards of removed sediment and found boards and an ash rake from a former sawmill on the site, as well as coins like a liberty half-dollar and buffalo nickel.

With the project completed, Fanning Springs is 2 to 3 feet deeper in some areas and able to provide additional habitat for manatees to escape winter’s cold. Recently, Florida manatees have been hit hard by cold weather, with documented manatee deaths due to cold stress at their highest levels, including 112 cold-related manatee deaths in 2011, 282 in 2010, and 56 in 2009. Previously, manatee deaths due to cold stress averaged 30 per year.

“Conservation of warm-water habitats like Fanning Springs is critical to the long-term conservation of the manatee, and a priority for the FWC and our partners,” Mezich said. “Florida’s springs provide warm-water habitat for about 20 percent of the manatee population.”

Mezich said the recent observation of more manatees migrating into Fanning Springs was probably attributable to the weather getting chillier, limited access of boats to the springs during construction, and improved access to the springs for manatees.

Fanning Springs is a major attraction in a small rural community. Fanning Springs State Park is a hub of the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, and local residents and visitors come here for swimming, snorkeling and boating. The FWC encourages visitors to come to the park to see if manatees are using this warm-water refuge. While you are there, the FWC recommends doing your manatee observations from the park’s dock and boardwalk. Boats of all types entering the springs during winter months can disturb and discourage manatees from using this warm-water site when it is most important to their survival. The springs also are prime habitat for mudfish, freshwater flounder and turtles.

Fanning Springs is a second-magnitude spring, producing less than 65 million gallons of water daily. Historically, though, it was a first-magnitude spring, the largest class of springs, with a flow of up to 100 cubic feet of water per second, as recently as the 1990s. The spring’s sediment problems were caused by erosion from its banks, when they were used by people coming there to swim and recreate. The park staff restored vegetation to stabilize those banks, preventing further erosion.

“We’re taking the spring run at Fanning Springs back to a more historic depth contour. Sedimentation caused it to become too shallow,” Mezich said.

To support manatee conservation and research, Floridians can purchase the “Save the Manatee” license plate. Information is available at www.buyaplate.com. To learn more about manatees, go to MyFWC.com/Manatee.

To plan a visit to Fanning Springs State Park, see www.floridastateparks.org.

To find out more about the Fanning Springs restoration, go to The Nature Conservancy’s website at www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/howwework/saving-manatees-through-springs-restoration.xml.

FWC Chairman Kathy Barco, along with Vice Chairman Kenneth Wright and commissioners Brian Yablonski, Charles Roberts III and Aliese P. “Liesa” Priddy were on hand to receive the award.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the Commissioners and staff of the FWC,” Barco said. “It is a reflection of our excellent partnership with the NWTF and the commitment we hold for proper management of wildlife habitat and preservation of our hunting heritage.

“We are thankful to be working side by side with the membership and staff of NWTF to build a lasting conservation legacy that will be appreciated and enjoyed by many generations to come,” Barco added.

The NWTF has given the Land Stewardship Award each year since 1994 to forestry and utility companies and organizations for excellence in land management, partnerships and NWTF project support. The award recognizes those who have done outstanding work to benefit natural resources through land stewardship and partnerships.

The FWC faces the daunting challenge of managing more than 5.8 million acres of public hunting land in a state that expects to double its human population in the next 50 years. The FWC has worked with the NWTF on many projects, including:

• Establishing a cost-share program in 1994 that has put more than $2.2 million into habitat enhancement across 470 projects throughout the state’s public wildlife management areas and state forests, impacting over a million acres to date.
• Providing approximately $375,000 to support NWTF cooperative positions, including two biologists and one youth hunting program coordinator since 2006. These positions have fostered the generation of another $3 million of cash match and $2.5 million of in-kind match to impact more than 650,000 acres of public and private lands habitat.
• Providing more than $100,000 of in-kind value through the Florida FWC Private Lands Program in support of NWTF landowner outreach and education, which have reached more than 1,500 landowners representing more than 250,000 acres since 2006.

“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has helped create a sustainable and healthy future for Florida’s fish, wildlife, water and habitat resources and has forged an incredibly productive relationship with the NWTF,” said James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., NWTF chief conservation officer. “Florida FWC’s partnerships with the NWTF have enabled us to improve wildlife habitat throughout the state and help pass along our hunting heritage to the next generation.”

The NWTF is a nonprofit conservation organization that works daily to further its mission of conserving the wild turkey and preserve the state’s hunting heritage. Through dynamic partnerships with state, federal and provincial wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations across the country, investing more than $372 million to conserve 17 million acres of critical habitat for all types of wildlife.

If you have never heard any of Ron’s podcasts before this will be his 24th Podcast with us . You can listen to a collection of all of  Jonesies podcasts here.

This will be our first Thursday podcast of the 2012 Podcast Season !!

I know of Don LaFountain and he was an early registrant on The Wildlife Pro Network but have never had the pleasure to have a discussion with Don and personally looking forward to this Thursday Nights Podcast.

Ron and Don plan on talking about the business side of running a commercial beaver management company like Don’s company. Integrated Wildlife Control offers comprehensive beaver control services. With over 20  years [1992] of experience we are able to offer expert assessment and education regarding beaver conflicts as well as a variety of options for immediate and, more importantly, long-term resolution. We specialize in full management plans for beaver conflicts, offering trapping and habitat modification with all necessary permitting. Culvert protective fences and pond-leveling pipes are often cost-effective and long-term solutions to beaver-related flooding.

Don and Ron will be joined by Bob Noonan, former WCT Magazine Editor and veteran Beaver Trapper in Maine, Beaver Trapper  Beaver Man Kirk Dekalb of Moultrie Ga, Trapper  Mike Page of New Hampshire now Florida,  and the promise of more beaver trapper veteran guests.

Web Site

Total wildlife control services for Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties, NJ

We provide complete solutions to any nuisance wildlife problem you may encounter. We trap, prevent, control, eliminate most any nuisance wildlife problem or concern including the following species, bat , bird, groundhog, moles,pigeons, raccoon, squirrel, skunk ,sparrows, starlings, woodchuck, most any wild animal or bird.

Cherryhill Morrestown Glassboro Mt Laurel Mt Holly Monroeville

New Jersey Statewide bat and Bird Removal Services

We can help you solve , or improve most any bird control concern. Just a few of the many nuisance bird species we can help you with are blackbirds, buzzards, chimney swifts, crows, doves, ducks, geese, pigeons, ravens, starlings, swallows, sparrows, woodpeckers, turkey, vultures, and most any nuisance bird IAW local, state and federal laws. We are state licensed in New Jersey and fully insured for Atlantic County, Bergen County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Essex County, Gloucester County, Hudson County, Hunterdon County, Mercer County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Morris County, Ocean County, Passaic County, Salem County, Somerset County, Sussex County, Union County, Warren County, NJ

Meet Ron Jones

The Squirrel Man

Coons, Squirrels

& More Coons

Marketing In Today’s Times

Kicking Back

& Talking Squirrels

Understanding Skunks

And Their Removal

Q&A On Squirrel Removal

Night Time Predator Hunting & Calling 1 of 2

The Proper Use Of Deer Scents