Amendment 4:The Conservation Land Amendment Continues on bottom opage 3. by Eric Draperuring the height oFlorida’s now diminished boom, nearly a square mile a day oopen space was converted to development. Our state c ontinues to grow at a pace where we ace the imminent loss omany othe places that make Florida a specialplace to live. With this loss we are seeing wildlie habitat ragmented into ever-smaller pieces. Our water resources are also at risk as we lose recharge areas and wetlands to development. Conservation groups including Audubon have long consider ed public land acquisition a key tool or maintaining wildlie habitats and water resources. Und er Florida Forever we had hoped to buy and protect as much as a million acres oland. However , growth, competition or land, and a weak dollar have undermined our conservation goals. So, recently state conservation groups started looking at new strategies or land conservation. “How,” we asked, “could we persuade private landowners to protect wildlie and water resources without buying their land?” Other states have answered this question by providing incentives or private land c onservation. A primary incentive is to exempt property taxes on land that is managed or environmental benets such wildlie and water resources. Private landowners protect and manage some oFlorida’s best wildlie habitat. Some have placed large parcels oland in permanent protected status with conservation easements. Others use their land primarily or the benet ow ildlie, water resources and outdoor recreation but retain all rights including the right to develop the land. To encourag e private stewardship owildlie habitat and water resources, Florida’s leading conservation groups including The Nature Conservancy, the Florida Wildlie Federation, and Audubon have worked to crat and support Amendment 4 on the November 2008 ballot. Amendment 4, known as the Conservation Land Amendment encourages conservation without spending tadollars.n Amendm ent 4, iapproved by 60% othe voters, willdo two things: Exempt land that is p ermanen tly set aside or •conservation rom all property taxes. Allow land that is being used or conservation •purposes but which hasn’t been permanently set aside to be t axed according to its co nservation use. n Amendment 4 will benet the Florida Panther, the Florida Black Bear, many bird species and special places such as the Florida Everglades and will help protect our water resources. n Amendm ent 4 holds great promise to supplement public land acquisition programs such as Florida Forever by providing incentives to private landowners to conserve their land and manage the land or conservation purposes. Conservation easements have recently become a popular way oprotecting land. Sometimes conservation easements are placed on land as a way to keep it rom being developed. In some cases this is done by amilies wishing to preserve their land or uture generations without acing the pressure odividing or selling their land. In some cases government buys conservation easements as a way to preserve environmental land without having to undertake the expensive chore omanaging the land or public use. D Oct. – Nov. 2008 Vol. XXXV No. 3
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October-November 2008 Skimmer Newsletter Francis M. Weston Audubon Society
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8/9/2019 October-November 2008 Skimmer Newsletter Francis M. Weston Audubon Society
uring the height o Florida’s now diminished boom,nearly a square mile a day o open space was
converted to development. Our state continues togrow at a pace where we ace the imminent loss
o many o the places that make Florida a special place to live. With this loss we are seeing wildlie
habitat ragmented into ever-smaller pieces. Our water resources
are also at risk as we lose recharge areas and wetlands todevelopment.
Conservation groups including Audubon have long
considered public land acquisition a key tool or maintaining
wildlie habitats and water resources. Under Florida Forever wehad hoped to buy and protect as much as a million acres o land. However, growth, competition or land, and a weak dollar
have undermined our conservation goals.
So, recently state conservation groups started looking atnew strategies or land conservation. “How,” we asked, “could
we persuade private landowners to protect wildlie and waterresources without buying their land?”
Other states have answered this question by providing
incentives or private land conservation. A primary incentiveis to exempt property taxes on land that is managed or
environmental benets such wildlie and water resources.
Private landowners protect and manage some o Florida’sbest wildlie habitat. Some have placed large parcels o landin permanent protected status with conservation easements.
Others use their land primarily or the benet o wildlie, waterresources and outdoor recreation but retain all rights including
the right to develop the land.
To encourage private stewardship o wildlie habitat andwater resources, Florida’s leading conservation groups including
The Nature Conservancy, the Florida Wildlie Federation, and
Audubon have worked to crat and support Amendment 4 onthe November 2008 ballot.
Amendment 4, known as the Conservation LandAmendment encourages conservation without spendingta dollars.
n Amendment 4, i approved by 60% o the voters, will
do two things:
Exempt land that is permanently set aside or•
conservation rom all property taxes.
Allow land that is being used or conservation•
purposes but which hasn’t been permanently set aside
to be taxed according to its conservation use.
n Amendment 4 will benet the Florida Panther, the
Florida Black Bear, many bird species and special places
such as the Florida Everglades and will help protect our
water resources.
n Amendment 4 holds great promise to supplement
public land acquisition programs such as Florida Forever
by providing incentives to private landowners to conserve
their land and manage the land or conservation purposes.
Conservation easements have recently become a
popular way o protecting land. Sometimes conservationeasements are placed on land as a way to keep it rom being
developed. In some cases this is done by amilies wishingto preserve their land or uture generations without acingthe pressure o dividing or selling their land. In some cases
government buys conservation easements as a way topreserve environmental land without having to undertake
the expensive chore o managing the land or public use.
D
Oct. – Nov. 2008
Vol. XXXV No. 3
8/9/2019 October-November 2008 Skimmer Newsletter Francis M. Weston Audubon Society
Rose will lead us to look or migrants at one o thebest places along the upper Gul Coast. We will spendsome time at the Sargents’ bird banding station.
Expect some moderate walking in sand. There will be a
small admission ee at Ft. Morgan. Bring a picnic lunchand drinks or the day. Insect protection (repellant,long sleeves or layering, etc.) is always a good idea.
Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the Big Lots parking lot locatedon the east side o Navy Blvd. south o Highway 98 inWarrington. We will return by mid-aternoon.
Saturday, October 25, Ed Ball Nature Trail NativePlants. James Burkhalter will lead us on an autumnwalk to observe the many native plants along the EdBall Nature Trail at the University o West Florida. The
trip will also include a visit to the Michael I. CousinsHerbarium, which has over 20,000 plant specimens.
Expect easy walking. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the parkinglot in ront o the Target Store located near the
intersection o University Parkway and Nine Mile Road.We will nish by noon.
Saturday, November 8, Ft. Walton Beach SprayFields Birding. Bob Duncan will lead us around andthrough the spray elds, adjacent ponds, and orested
areas in search o the many species o birds thatwinter in this area. Expect moderate walking with
possibly some wet conditions. Plan to eat lunch in arestaurant. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the shopping center
parking lot across the highway rom the Gul BreezeHospital entrance. We plan to return by mid-aternoon. Saturday, December 13, Solutia Wildlie ReugeBirding. Dana Timmons and Sharhonda Owens will lead
us through the Solutia Wildlie Reuge in search o wintering birds. Expect some moderate walking. Longpants and closed toe shoes are recommended. Since
all transportation within the reuge will be in vehiclesprovided by Solutia, we need to know the number o
participants. So, please preregister by calling Danaat 850-934-4521 (home) or 256-505-1143 (cell) by
Wednesday, December 3. Leave your name, phonenumber and number o participants in your party.Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the parking lot o Solutia’s
Neighborhood Park located let o the entrance roadbeore reaching the main gate. We will nish by noon.
There is a nice picnic area available or those who wishto bring a lunch.
March 22-27, 2009, Nebraska’s Platte River Birding. Morris Clark will lead us on a birding trip to
witness early spring on the Great Plains. We expectto experience tens o thousands o Sandhill Cranes
and view both Greater Prairie-Chickens and Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying at close range. I you are
C A L
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Chapter Meetings
Pensacola Junior College, Main Campus, 7 p.m.Baroco Science Center, Room 2142. Guests welcome!
Thursday, October 23. Sharon and JVO Weaver willshare their love or dragonies. They will show how
benecial dragonfies are and display stunning naturephoto studies o them. Sharon is going to help usunderstand how easy it is to build a simple pond to
attract these beautiul creatures into our backyards.
Thursday, December 4. Dr. William Denny willpresent “Determining Relationships amongHummingbird (Trochilidae) Species in theUnited States.” Dr. Denny’s project entails thecollection, isolation, and sequencing o DNA rom
U.S. hummingbird species to determine geneticrelationships. His research is unded by the Hummer
Bird Study Group and the University o South Alabam
Don’t orget this will be our annual holiday event.
Please bring your avorite dessert to share with thegroup. Maybe someone will make banana ice cream.
Board of Directors’ Meetings(open to all members)
Thursdays, 7 p.m. Nov. 6, Dec. 11, and Jan 8 at theBaskerville-Donovan Building, 449 West Main Street,
Pensacola.
Other Eventsn October 4 – 17. Fall Banding Session. Fort
Morgan, Alabama. Daily banding sessions open to thepublic and ree. There is a ee or entering the State
Park where the banding station is located.n October 9, 14, & 23. Classes in the PanhandleHabitat Series. See News & Views or details.n October 11 – 12. Munson Community HeritageFestival. See Aug-Sep Skimmer.
n October 16 – 19. Annual Alabama CoastalBirdest Bird and Conservation Epo. See News &
Views or inormation.n October 18. Open House at the Roy HyattEnvironmental Center. See mwaudubon.org orinormation.
Field Trips interested in participating, please send Morris Clark
an email at [email protected] or call 968-5498 assoon as possible and leave your name, email address,
and phone number. There will be space limitations anreservations will be held in the order they are received
The trip itinerary will be available in November andees will need to be paid in December.
8/9/2019 October-November 2008 Skimmer Newsletter Francis M. Weston Audubon Society
In other cases, land has been placed under conservationeasement as mitigation or unrelated impacts on wetlands
and other habitat. Conservation easements are almost alwayspermanent, and enorceable restrictions on the use o theproperty are written into the deed.
Some landowners manage their land or water and wildlie
benets but don’t want to sacrice their property rights byplacing a permanent conservation easement on the land.
In these cases the land may be taxed or its developmentpurpose, which is a signicant disincentive to private wildliemanagement. Even heavily used agricultural land gets more
avorable tax treatment than rural land that is not armed.
Amendment 4 would remedy this by allowing landownerswho enter into a ten-year wildlie habitat management program
on a parcel o signicant size to be taxed as though the landwere used or growing pine trees or some other low intensity
agricultural use.
These tools combined could lead to the preservation and
management o wildlie habitat in the millions o acres. WithFlorida growing so ast, we need tools in addition to Florida
Forever. That is why more than 70 conservation groups,
including many Audubon chapters, have endorsed Amendment4, the Conservation Land Amendment.
I approved by 60 % o the voters in November, Florida’s
birds and other wildlie will have gained one more tool to keepour land and water special places or the uture.
Visit the Amendment 4 Web Site at: amendment4forida.comVisit the Florida Forever Web Site at: dep.state.f.us/lands/
acquisition/FloridaForever/aq.htm
Eric Draper, Policy Director, Audubon o Florida [email protected] Draper was recently recognized by
National Audubon or his 13 years o
service and successul advocacy to protect
birds and the environment. The Callison
Award recognizes exceptional creativity,
cooperation, persuasion, patience and
perseverance in promoting the Audubon
mission on all levels. National Audubon President John Flicker said
that ‘Eric is the most infuential environmental advocate in any state
capital in the country.’
Fo the Cente b y J i m b r A d y
It is my pleasure to introduce our Audubon naturalists
who are working at the Roy Hyatt Environmental
Center this year. Jennier Hale-Butera continues as
our senior naturalist, having changed her name late
last spring ater her marriage to Frank Butera. Welcome
back, Jennier.Our new sta member, Andrew Harley, joined us in
September. He has submitted his biography to help us get
to know him. Welcome Andrew.
“I grew up in the mountains o western North Carolina
and attended school at Appalachian State University. Ater
graduation and a tour as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Toms
River, NJ, I worked as an environmental educator at several
outdoor schools in the Midwest and North Carolina. With
the education stipend rom AmeriCorps, I enrolled again in
school, briey in a fsh and wildlie management program
at a community college beore beginning a MS degree in
biology at Western Carolina University. In December o last
year and with education on hold, I moved to Minnesota
to reunite with an old ame, Candice Lavelle. It was the
smartest thing I ever did up until the day I married her.
When the EPA hired Candice, we packed up and moved to
Gul Breeze where we enjoy the beautiul weather and try
hard to spend as much time near the water as possible.”
birds of prey aswildlife amassadors.As we resume our
National Fish and
Wildlie Foundation
grant-supportedprogram o outreach
to the students at low-
perorming schools
in Escambia County,
we enter a new area
o responsibility...the use o birds o prey as wildlie
ambassadors. FMWAS jumped into this project with both
eet. First, we took custody o two Eastern Screech Owls
that will be used in our bird programs. Second, Jennier
Hale-Butera presented a workshop on Raptors in Education
that was attended by 14 participants interested in
volunteering or some aspect o the care o the birds and
their use in school programs. By this action, we are able to
have live birds at the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center or
the frst time in over 5 years. We plan ollow up workshops
later this all to provide our volunteers with in-depth
inormation on Screech Owl biology, husbandry issues, and
handling techniques.
Jennifer Hale-Butera and Andrew Harley at the Hyatt Center.
8/9/2019 October-November 2008 Skimmer Newsletter Francis M. Weston Audubon Society