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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Brian Yablonski on how individual hunters can often do a better job at protecting the environmen...
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And individual succeed often in some unexpected ways consider for example.
How do you save animals conserve.
Protect endangered species well here in Florida other places too but.
Individuals are doing that in some unexpected ways for example Quayle.
Quayle have been vanishing in America and he declined by 80%.
But here in north Florida there are plenty of Quayle because.
Hunters.
Like to kill them.
Now it doesn't sound right how can that be so bring your -- is a Florida fish and wildlife commissioners here to explain how could it.
Well what a lot of people don't realize is that sometimes you have to hunt and animal.
To save an animal and that's particularly true in the case of this little six ounce -- we call Bob white Quayle.
Bob -- -- numbers here in -- Florida and south Georgia are so strong.
Because individual landowners.
With -- own money in their own resources driven by passion for hunting quail.
Have been protecting and conserving wild -- habitat for probably more than 100 years.
And they've done it to such a degree that they saved about 300000.
Acres of this while -- habitat and I know.
300000 acres -- doesn't mean a lot of folks out here but you're from New York.
Central Park.
300000 acres is 350.
Central park's lined up side by side just north of Tallahassee here.
All being saved by individual plan.
And so on this property they make.
How -- they say -- the court.
Well being intensively manage the land for quell habitat what we have outside of town here is at -- how long leaf pine.
And -- -- -- of these big stately pine trees and underneath the pine trees are these open -- -- of grass.
In order to actually manage for these -- -- -- you have to use fire and I know it's countering to do.
But fire is -- original and best wildlife management tool.
But it's very expensive when you try to burn in control weigh in here we do control burns.
To burn out the -- -- the grass is can grow so the Quayle can use the grass is for food and cover very expensive.
Hard for government to do because it is so expensive but for these landowners.
There will -- put everything into it.
And you -- small fires of the you know get a big fire later that kills all the way that's right you have a lot of dense underbrush if you don't burn.
And then you have these big wildfires to get out control -- we're seeing in the west.
And -- -- fish and wildlife commission isn't that your job to you preserve the -- gosh I wish we had the resources do it and I wish we had the incentive to do it as much as a private landowner.
I'm when these believers that private self interest.
Is a better incentive a lot of times than anything else because it matters -- you -- going in you know what you wanna do with the land and so UK and you you put all your energy into it.
And these private land owners they just like to hunt quail or they charge other people money to look Quayle primarily they hunt quail on their -- -- there are examples of -- winners actually do chart.
But for these folks this is a tradition that has gone back more than a hundred years these -- -- plantations were founded by.
The families that had relations with John.
Of the last century called Teddy Roosevelt that -- cowboy.
So these are these are these are families have been it's been in -- -- blood for generations.
-- they let other people goal in the early in the look at the -- you might.
You might get invited you might have you might be is not going to take -- not open to the public let's -- selfish pride events that doesn't sound good why but it the end of the day results matter and what matters here is that while Quayle habitats being protected.
And and -- been protected for all the right reasons.
In Texas ranchers conserve.
To make money.
Right that's right so in Texas we -- a case of hunters and ranchers that are actually saving animals that are already on the endangered species list.
And there are hundreds of branches in taxes that for years have been raising cattle and they made a business decision to switch to raising wild life.
And -- -- -- -- wildlife while pricing like antelope.
Exactly it's some native to America but some native to Africa Asia and Europe.
Animals that are disappearing and Africa Asia and Europe three animals and particularly there are three African -- cement our board works addicts and the Obama -- That are either extinct -- nearly extinct in Africa.
But guess where they're flourishing taxes deep in the heart of Texas.
They are flourishing because hunters are willing to pay 5000.
To 101000 dollars apiece to come and hunt the antelope in Texas so ranchers.
And landowners there have every incentive to husband -- species to grow those species to -- -- species.
So now we haven't nearly extinct species being brought back with that the federal government would be thrilled but it's well in order behind.
An animal is on the endangered species list you do have to get an exclusion from the federal government.
And initially the federal government granted exclusion because he didn't recognize the conservation value.
You know these these -- started with a few dozen antelope you know back in the 1970s today they've got 171000.
-- -- -- on their ranches and he's pretty effective.
But guess what animal rights groups didn't agree they sued as he -- they went to court it's been in court for a number years and and as of last week.
All the court -- he's really been exhausted and now these -- ranchers are going to have to go to the federal government to get a special take permit.
If they want to continue these -- Andy's take permits are not necessarily easiest things to get -- pretty cumbersome and what's going to happen.
Well you some other ranchers in -- believe in five years the numbers of antelope or declined by 50%.
And within ten years there may only be a few hundred left if any at all.
So when the politicians say.
Yes we can say the animals.
-- -- this is who would agree.
-- we'll thank you.
Fish and wildlife commissioner Brian people.
