Well, this is my opinion and some of my thoughts.

In one of the wildlife management areas that I have hunted in, there are check points. Everything that is killed has to be photographed, weighed, and documented. For example, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, I shot a hog a few years back and he was weighed, photographed, and it was documented.

If you give out a bounty license to people who apply and pay for one, if done properly, and with some thought and input from people, it could work.

First, designate certain weekends for bounty hunting. Don't set it up as to where people can go at their own convienence without check points and supervision. This will help stop the fraud that is associated with bounty's.

Second, establish check points, both coming in as well as going out. When you come in, you sign in, when you leave, you sign out. If someone's vehicle is inspected uppon arrival, they can't hide anything. Now, people might say, who is going to man the check points. Well, the herp community has said that they will help any way they can to help clean up the ENP. Maybe we could get volunteers from the herp community or even alternate between the licensed bounty hunters to monitor themselves. But somneone from FWC would have to be present somewhere to over see it all, and officialy document everything .

Third, you sent an amount for each invasive species. I don't think a cat's bounty should be as high as a burm bounty. Cats are easier to find, and if they were the same people would just load up on cats. Burms seem to be the main focus, so set their bounty higher. For example, $5.00 for a cat, and $50.00 for a burm. Regardless of animal, set a price for it. All animals must be destroyed. What you do with the dead animal is up to you, the bounty hunter. Have a disignated disposal location. No one is going to want to keep a dead cat. But someone will keep a hog, so they could clean it right there and take the meat home. Wild hog is pretty good. Some people even eat snake meat, and use their hide for leather.

If people really want to clean up the ENP, you can't single out one species over the other. I happen to like cats and I like all snakes. But it has to be viewed as a clean up project, or restoration project, so it may not always be a pretty picture, but the bottom line is, it must be done, like it or not.

If everone put their heads together, I believe a system could be designed, and work well. Lets all think of ideas and give them to USARK, they seem to be helping us the most. And if you are not a member of USARK, then join now.

What do you think?

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