NEWS-PRESS (Florida) 01 June 06 Trafford ban a bad idea
We're against banning alligator hunting on Lake Trafford in Immokalee. The state says the harvest is not harming the gator population, and that gators in the lake are growing more numerous.
Ski Olesky, a marina owner on the lake who conducts gator tours, wants the state to stop its alligator harvests there. He believes the gator population has declined over the past 30 years, and the current harvest is a threat to gator-oriented ecotourism on the lake. He has started a letter-writing campaign for a ban.
A gator decline would be a contrast with most of Florida, where the once-endangered reptile has rebounded to an estimated population of a million. In fact, gators now pose a growing threat to humans, another species that's expanding aggressively. The state was liberalizing gator hunting even before three fatal alligator attacks last month in the state.
Olesky is all in favor of killing nuisance gators, but he says the Trafford animals pose no threat, and that they blend well with and support human activity at the popular bass hole.
But the gator population on Trafford has to be managed scientifically, just as it must elsewhere. Uncontrolled populations in wild areas can spill over into places more populated with people.
Ecotourism of the kind Olesky practices is good for the environment and good for the economy. If we thought the gator harvest were threatening the gator population on the lake, we'd want to stop it too.
But the alligator is no longer endangered anywhere in Florida. It remains a "species of special concern," the lowest level of protection for imperiled species. Alligator hunting is an important component in management, which if anything has been a bit too timid in recent years. Hunting should be encouraged and expanded.
This year, the gator hunting season has been doubled in length, and will run from Aug. 15 to Nov. 1. About 4,300 alligator hunting permits will be issued in Florida this year statewide, including 32 for Lake Trafford, with two gators allowed under each permit. Only 255 alligators have been taken from the lake under the system in six years.
The colorful Olesky is one of our favorite Floridians. He is so devoted to the health and natural bounty of Lake Trafford. He and his late wife Anne were leaders in saving the lake from the nutrient-laden muck that had accumulated on its bottom, triggering algae blooms and fish kills. His concerns deserve respectful attention, but the state biologists are confident that these concerns are unfounded. So are we.
The hunt on Trafford should continue.
Gator Information
• For more on a letter-writing campaign to ban the alligator harvest on Lake Trafford, call Ski Olesky, (239) 657-2401.
• For more information about the statewide alligator harvest, go to wld.fwc.state.fl.us/gators
Trafford ban a bad idea