An idea first proposed by the Florida Audubon Society nearly 50 years ago has gained momentum through the recent proposal of an Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area announced by Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar.

In October, 1962, Florida Audubon Executive Director C. Russell Mason and Audubon board member George Heinzman dedicated a large part of Florida Audubon’s “Florida Naturalist” magazine to the announcement of an agreement between 59 cattle ranch landowners and Florida Audubon to establish “Cooperative Bald Eagle Sanctuaries” on their property extending from the City of Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee. In all, some 600,000 acres of land were covered by the voluntary agreements. Each rancher agreed to protect Bald Eagles and Eagle

Nests on their property and to aid Florida Audubon in the monitoring of the eagle population. The project, supported by the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and other agricultural trade groups, marked the beginning of an important cooperative effort that substantially succeeded in its mission. Today, the nation’s greatest concentration of active Bald Eagle nests is located on the ranchlands from Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee.

Charles Lee, Director of Advocacy of Florida Audubon, stated that “The Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area proposal offers the opportunity to bring permanence to this voluntary conservation effort, and to fairly compensate ranch land owners for the protection of their land in perpetuity. The harmony between wildlife conservation and the stewardship of ranch owners has, overall been extraordinary over the last half-century”.

Audubon believes that the best tools for the establishment of the new National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area involve easements which leave ranchers with ownership of the land and compensate them for development rights. “As far as we are concerned, almost all of the ranchers have proven that their land management has been instrumental in protecting some of Florida’s most important wildlife Habitat, stated Lee, “We now must find an economic mechanism to prevent this land from going under the blade of the bulldozer when development pressure returns after the current recession is over. Compensating ranchers to make conservation commitments permanent, and to help restore wetlands to store water in the Headwaters of the Everglades is clearly the right thing to do”.

Audubon members are encouraged to turn out for the public meetings, beginning with the one tonight in Kissimmee.

Date	Meeting Location	Address
1.26.2011 Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm	Kissimmee Civic Center	201 East Dakin Ave Kissimmee, FL 34741
2.4.2011 Friday 6:00-9:00 pm	Sebring Civic Center	355 West Center Ave Sebring, FL 33870
2.9.2011 Wednesday 6:00-9:00 pm	Okeechobee High School	2800 Hwy 441 N Okeechobee, FL 34972
2.10.2011 Thursday 6:00-9:00 pm	Vero Beach High School Main Campus Cafeteria	1707 16th St Vero Beach, FL 32960