A birding milestone
August 11th, 2007 by admin
Question: Which outdoor activity has a greater economic impact in Florida, hunting or birdwatching?
Answer: According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s own numbers, the answer is birdwatching (what the FWC terms, “non-consumptive bird use”). Birdwatching generates more retail sales and supports more jobs than hunting.
But you wouldn’t guess that by looking at Gov. Crist’s new Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (see below blog entry). One commissioner is also a member of Safari Club International, a group of wealthy trophy hunters. Another new commissioner included in his application a photo of himself at home next to a bear skin rug. Our hope is that as hunting continues to decline in Florida, the FWC will change its focus and serve the majority of Floridians who do not need to kill animals to enjoy the outdoors.
If we were in the Governor’s chair, we’d appoint a birdwatcher to the commission. Someone like Tom Palmer, the Lakeland Ledger’s environmental reporter. This week, Tom announced that he has reached a birdwatching milestone: “I have seen 400 countable bird species in this state.” We’ve never even heard of a curlew sandpiper, so we’re pretty sure we’ve never seen one. But Tom Palmer has. He’s also seen a black-tailed godwit, a spotted towhee, a Western meadowlark, a loggerhead kingbird, a mountain bluebird, a south polar skua, a northern lapwing and hundreds of other bird species. There aren’t very many people who can say that. Congratulations Tom!