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Some good local folk from my community are heading south for a big iguana rescue.

..Scott

Weekend iguana roundup slated for Gasparilla community
By CHARLIE WHITEHEAD, ckwhitehead@naplesnews.com
December 15, 2004

Misty Nabors says that the iguanas making their homes in the quaint upscale barrier island community of Gasparilla used to be "kind of neat." That was 20 years ago when a few of the scaly lizards could occasionally be seen on the south end of the seven-mile-long Lee County island.

Now, with perhaps more than 10,000 iguanas roaming the wilds — and yards, and alleys, and garages, restaurants and homes — it's not quite so neat.

"They're a nuisance," said Nabors, executive director of the Gasparilla Island Conservation & Improvement Association. "They were kind of neat to see when there was a small population. It used to be when I was a kid you had to go to the south end to see them. Now, they're all over."

Promotional literature has lauded the lizards as an interesting feature for tourists, calling them harmless and colorful, and even pointing out preferred viewing areas.

A recent survey done through a local community planning effort showed 79 percent of residents want the lizards controlled, however, and a recent community meeting drew nearly 200, all of them urging action. Some of those recommendations were less than humane, but the solution being launched this weekend is lizard-friendly.

Mark and Jamie Mitchell of Clearwater are lizard rescuers, and are headed to Gasparilla for an iguana roundup of sorts Friday.

"We're going to try to shoot for at least 1,000," Mark Mitchell said. "We have people who want them out of their houses, and we've got quite a few applications."

Those would be adoption applications.

The Mitchells trap or catch wayward lizards and snakes, care for them and adopt them out to new homes.

"We're reptile rescue people," Mitchell said. "We do it a lot."

But first the rescue effort needed the blessing of Lee County commissioners Tuesday.

In 1983, when the iguanas were still a quaint curiosity, the county designated Gasparilla as a wildlife sanctuary. It is illegal to "hunt, take or otherwise disturb" any wildlife.

County biologists say it's likely Mexican black spiny-tailed iguanas were turned loose illegally on the island in the 1970s. They found the environment friendly and flourished.

Unfortunately, they flourished in part because of the ample supply of food in the form of native species, feasting on the eggs of endangered sea turtles and sea birds. The omnivorous reptiles also hit plant life hard.

"Iguanas have multiplied and are literally taking over the island," Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes said as he proposed allowing an exemption to the sanctuary ordinance. "They're aggressive, and they're taking over from many native species."
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Scott Robert Ladd
1.0.0 Iguana (Rex)
1.0.0 African Giant Plated Lizard (Clyde)
1.0.0 Uro mali (Wizard)
0.1.0 Corn Snake (Amber)
1.1.0 Red-Eared Sliders (Jade and Emerald)
0.4.0 Homo sapiens (Maria, Elora, Becky, Tessa)
blog: http://chaoticcoyote.blogspot.com/

BOCA BEACON (Boca Grande, Florida) 17 December 04 County OKs lizard roundup
A Clearwater group's plan to humanely capture feral iguanas on Boca Grande on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18 and 19, was approved by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners Tuesday, Dec. 14. But the assistant manager of Gasparilla Island State Park said no one has applied for a permit to round up iguanas there.
"They absolutely need a permit to do this on park property," said John Aspiolea. He had spoken with Misty Nabers, executive director of the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association, which is sponsoring the roundup by Scales and Tails. But Nabers didn't mention the name of the group or give Aspiolea a date for the roundup.
"I asked her to submit the information so we could consider giving them a permit. I haven't had any contact after that," Aspiolea said. A permit for the roundup must be issued by Ken Alvarez, the District 4 biologist at Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota County.
To issue a permit, Alvarez said he would need a letter stating in detail who would be removing the iguanas, on what dates, how they would be removed and what would be done with them. "I don't like the idea of giving them to reptile collectors," he said. "I don't want iguanas from Gasparilla Island becoming a problem somewhere else."
Once a permit was issued, the park manager would be responsible for compliance, Alvarez said.
Scales and Tails director Jamie Mitchell has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
The Lee County board's decision left open the question of whether other groups who might want to trap the nuisance reptiles would have to receive the same permission – including the county's own Animal Services.
The commission's action was needed because, by a 1983 Lee County ordinance, Gasparilla Island is a wildlife sanctuary, and the commission must specifically authorize any action that would disturb wildlife or its habitat on the island.
Scott Trebatoski, director of Lee County Animal Services, attended Tuesday's meeting. He privately expressed doubts about whether the roundup will be successful. Animal Services personnel who came to the island last week found they couldn't get any closer than 20 feet before the iguanas dived into their burrows.
Trebatoski said Animal Services is studying how to address the iguana problem methodically and scientifically, by collaborating with biologists at a local university.
The iguana issue was a "walk-on," an agenda item raised at the last minute. The agenda revision recap sheet didn't mention Scales and Tails. "Provide direction and/or authorization to Lee County staff to proceed with activities for the removal of iguanas from Gasparilla Island, as such area is becoming grossly over populated with the non-native reptiles," it read.
When the item came up on the agenda, Trebatoski went to the podium, ready to answer any questions the commissioners might have. Ignoring Trebatoski, commissioner Robert Janes, who represents the island, launched into a brief re-cap of complaints about the iguanas he heard at a Nov. 17 meeting on the issue, sponsored by the GICIA.
Janes said the iguanas were introduced years before the protective ordinance was enacted. "They're taking over the island," he said. "They're aggressive and affect a number of endangered species."
According to Janes, Scales and Tails had already received permission to collect iguanas from lands owned by the state, the GICIA and 20 local property owners. The group would domesticate the iguanas, then place them with reptile collectors, he said.
Janes asked the commission to authorize what he called "humane taking" by Scales and Tails to avoid violating the ordinance. The vote was unanimous, in favor of the resolution.
Trebatoski sat down, unheard and apparently unnoticed. "I was there to answer questions, not to be the point person," he said afterward. "But I thought it would be more broad than what it ended up being."
Trebatoski said his intention was to alleviate the need to go to the board every time a different group wanted to trap iguanas. But that may have been exactly what Janes had in mind.
"We don't want to let everybody and his brother to come in," Janes said later. "This is a very selective group, they seem to know how to do it.
"You just don't want somebody to come out there that doesn't have experience in handling iguanas. They're a non-native species, but we don't want them treated inhumanely. Scales and Tails has a good-sized operation going up where they are."
Asked why he hadn't called on Trebatoski, Janes said "We have data that backs up the blue sheet. There was really no need to ask him any questions, I don't know what more he could tell us."
Trebatoski said afterward he didn't mind being overlooked. "We don't believe the ordinance applies to exotic wildlife," he said. "I wanted to clarify everything, but I'll discuss it with the county administration. We all want to see some reduction in the number of iguanas out there."
County OKs lizard roundup