I got this in an email from FWC. I wanted to make sure you guys down south saw it. (Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.) For immediate release: July 18, 2013 Contact: Diane Hirth, (850) 410-5291 Photos available on FWC’s Flickr site: Go to http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGUXpnw Help plan the future of Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area A 10-year plan for the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) will be presented Aug. 1, a Thursday, at a public hearing in Glades County. People are invited to attend the 7 p.m. public hearing at the Glades County Commission Chambers, 500 Avenue J in Moore Haven. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff will present the draft land management plan for FWC-managed portions of the Fisheating Creek WMA, and people are encouraged to comment and ask questions. Fisheating Creek WMA is a place full of history and wildlife, as well as outdoor recreation opportunities. Its Creek Indian name, Thlothlopopka-hatchee, means “the creek where fish are eaten.” The first known settlements occurred between 1,000 and 500 B.C., when early inhabitants known as the Belle Glade people built mounds and subsisted by netting fish and harvesting turtles, snakes and alligators. Today, Fisheating Creek WMA stretches for 40 miles in Glades County along the course of the only free-flowing tributary to Lake Okeechobee. Framed by bald cypress swamps and hardwood hammocks, the tea-colored blackwater creek shows off wild Florida and is critical habitat for native species such as panther, black bear and swallowtail kite. People come to Fisheating Creek WMA to paddle canoes or kayaks, watch wildlife, camp, hunt and fish. This is a place where hunters have a good chance of harvesting a prized Osceola turkey. “Fisheating Creek WMA was purchased in order to ensure the preservation of fish and wildlife resources, other natural and cultural resources, and for fish and wildlife-based public outdoor recreation,” said Rebecca Shelton, FWC land conservation biologist. “This draft plan will specify how we intend to do that.” All lands purchased with public funds must have a management plan that ensures the property will be managed in a manner that is consistent with the intended purposes of the purchase. Hunting and fishing regulations are not included in this plan or meeting; those are addressed through a separate public process. To obtain a copy of the draft land management prospectus for Fisheating Creek WMA, call Diana Kilgore at 850-487-7063 or David Alden at 850-487-9588, or email Diana.Kilgore@myfwc.com. For background on management plans and their goals, visit MyFWC.com/Conservation and select “Terrestrial Programs” then “Management Plans” for more information. -30- RS/DH/HSC
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