On Friday, Feb. 19, representatives from all levels of government and wildlife researchers will be holding a lecture at the Boca Grande Community Center from 2 to 5 p.m. on island wildlife. Nancy Douglass, a regional biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be there, and she is hoping to answer some hard questions that have arisen in the last few years. “We have timed this lecture to happen right before shorebird nesting season for a reason,” she said. “There has been some anxiety within this community in the last year or so about the birds, and we want everyone to come who has an interest, whether legal, biological or procedural.”

Marianne Korosy, the outreach coordinator for the Florida Audubon Society Shorebird Habitat Project, agreed, and said that any confusion should be put to rest by the wide range of officials that will be present at the meeting. “Everyone has a right to stand up, ask some hard questions and set aside any concerns they may have,” she said. “We have a few basic presentations we want to give, but more importantly we have set aside time for a question-and-answer period afterward. We really want some dialogue.”

Through a grant funded by the state, the Florida Audubon Society is expanding their services to include setting up volunteer programs that will assist local agencies in protecting shorebirds and sea turtles, as well as to provide education for visitors and residents. “This is a two-year project we are working on,” Korosy said. “We’re working with FWC, and with Beth Forys, who is a professor from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. We’re trying to make our principal focus within the project to be local government outreach, and to get volunteers who are interested in our wildlife to assist them in protecting shorebirds. It’s a perfect time for it, too, with our economy falling short. Many agencies that normally monitor the beaches are short on funds, and we are hoping to present them with some skilled and committed volunteers.”

For more information, continue reading the article at the Boca Beacon.