EcoFlorida

It’s been a tradition for me for many years to take the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend and go camping. My husband works a regular weekday-type job, so with this day off, it gives us a chance to go camping somewhere for a long weekend. January’s weather can be testy, but at least it’s not broilingly (is that a word?) hot.

This year, our planned camping trip fell through for a variety of reasons. We had reservations to camp at a Florida state park. I called ReserveAmerica the day we were supposed to arrive. I figured if I canceled my reservation, the campsite could be given to someone else — that’s all I was trying to do.

But the reservations agent told me she recommended against canceling because not only would I pay for the campsite that night (that’s ReserveAmerica’s policy if you cancel the day of), but I’d also get a $10 cancellation fee.

So I said, all right, how about if I cancel tomorrow night’s reservation? I had two nights.

The reservation agent said she couldn’t do that and again recommended against canceling.

So here I was, trying to do the right thing by putting my campsite back into the system for another camper — only to be told I’d be socked with additional fees.

Penalized for trying to do the right thing.

Just wanted folks to be aware.

If you need to cancel a reservation, try to do it as soon as possible to avoid having to pay for a campsite you won’t be using.

A bald eagle was shot and killed in Manatee County, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports, while a man in Okaloosa County has been charged with shooting and killing a Florida black bear in 2006, the Northwest Florida Daily News has said. Both species are considered threatened by the state of Florida.

I think it must be really hard for wildlife officers to investigate crimes like these. After all, many times, these species aren’t in populated areas where someone might have seen the shooting. Investigators definitely have their work cut out for them. It’s telling that it took more than a year to find the bear’s killer.

I am disappointed that the Daily News story didn’t elaborate about how the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found the bear’s killer. And I’m disappointed the bald eagle that was shot was the male half of a mating pair just about to hatch their eaglets.

Disappointed, all around.

I think this coming Friday, Jan. 18, is Florida’s state arbor day, if I’m not mistaken. I haven’t seen anything about it in the news, but I wrote it on my calendar and thought I’d mention it.

A couple years ago, The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recommended planting native Florida trees. That’s what my family plans to do to replace some trees that didn’t make it through Wilma — more than two years ago! I know, I know — we’re way behind. I guess we were just hoping some of the trees would pull through, but they didn’t.

Visit FloridaYards.org for Florida-friendly landscaping tips.

Image from Florida DEP

That’s what many people say when kittens are born.

When Florida panther kits are born, though, panther researchers have a lot of work to do to track the species, according to the News-Press.

The article points out that last year was a record for the number of kits born — 43 — even though it was also a record for the number of panther roadkills — 15.

More Florida panther stories from last year are in the article, too.

I just came across a new blog/site called Green Mom Finds. It focuses on eco-friendly items like organic baby clothing, tableware without harmful chemicals and lead-free alternatives to things like lunch boxes and toys. If you’re a parent, it’s definitely worth a bookmark and an add to your blog reader.

Speaking of blog readers, do any of you have EcoFlorida in a blog reader?

Gosh, I almost missed this festival because it’s typically in the fall. But this year, the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival takes place in just a few weeks, Jan. 23-28. I spoke at this festival a couple years ago, exhibited a couple years before that, and was a visitor a couple years before that. I think it’s one of the best birding festivals in the state. If you can get to the Titusville area during this time, you would have a good time at the festival.

Whew, this is bad. What started as a controlled burn/prescribed fire in Polk County became a wildfire that got out of hand. It created visibility problems on I-4, apparently causing a 50-car pileup and three deaths, according to sources like Tampa Bay’s 10 and the Associated Press.

Clearly, I’m not any kind of a fire expert, but I am surprised that any kind of controlled burns are being done during what’s considered our dry season — especially after our wet season supposedly wasn’t as wet as it should have been.

I’m not sure if I have posted about geocaching before, and I realize geocaching may be on the fringe of nature travel, but it’s great fun and a unique way to explore trails. People who are familiar with this high-tech treasure hunt done with a GPS device know the slogan “Cache in, trash out,” so good geocachers do indeed help the environment.

I just happened to come across this brochure by the Charlotte Harbor and Gulf Islands tourism development council that promotes geocaching — but not in just any old way. Tourism businesses got together to put goodies in official tourism board geocaches to get travelers out and exploring the county. I haven’t seen another tourism board do this before, so this is innovative.

Does this mean geocaching has gone mainstream?

Thank goodness the holidays are over! Maybe now I can post a bit more regularly….

Just wanted to say for now that the Big O Birding Festival is coming up in a few weeks. (That’s the Big O as in Okeechobee.) If you are interested, make plans now to go.

Man, this holiday season is keeping me waaaay too busy. I just wanted to post a quick update about the manatee status I recently blogged about. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to keep manatees on the state’s endangered species list, the Bradenton Herald and other sources reported. Apparently, Gov. Charlie Crist also wanted manatees to remain on the state endangered list (as they are on the federal endangered list).