by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Duval County might redefine “gator country.”
Duval is one of four counties in the state not included in Florida’s statewide alligator harvest program, but that could change.
Pursuing an alligator management unit in Duval County was discussed at Wednesday’s Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting.
In addition to alligator hunting, the commission also discussed reopening shellfish beds in Duval County and approved an ordinance for irrigation design standards.
Commissioner Scott Shine inquired about how to include Duval County in the state’s alligator harvest program.
“We are one of a few counties that don’t issue the permit and we have one of the highest incidences of nuisance alligators,” said Shine.
An alligator may be considered a nuisance if it is at least 4 feet long and poses a threat to people, their pets or property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Shine also reported that 140 nuisance alligators were taken from Duval County last year. A trapper certified through the state is called in to remove the alligator if it is classified as a nuisance.
“It’s a commercial hunter that removes the alligator and harvests it for the meat and its hide,” said Shine.
Being included in the state’s harvest program could help decrease the occurrence of nuisance alligators, said Shine.
Hunters can purchase permits to hunt alligators in the nearby counties of Alachua, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns. The hunting season for alligators is Aug. 15 to the morning of Nov. 1.
Currently, Duval is one of four counties not included in the program. The others, Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe, are in the state’s southern tip.
“We try to exclude incorporated areas, so there isn’t hunting inside city limits,” said Steve Stiegler, wildlife biologist with the Florida Alligator Management Program, in an interview after the meeting.
“The problem with Duval and Miami-Dade is that the entire county is incorporated, so they weren’t included. In Broward, there really is no place to hunt alligators besides the Everglades and that is already a management area,” he said.
“In Monroe County, any part of the county not in the Florida Keys is either a national park or national wildlife refuge,” he said.
There are two types of management units. One encompasses a water body and the other is a countywide area with exclusions for public safety.
Although Shine was told at the commission meeting that he could seek support from a City Council member to develop an ordinance, the matter could be handled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Stiegler.
“It can be done. We will have to make some exclusions to keep people safe, but we are looking at it at this time,” said Stiegler.
“It would have to be approved when we assign units, so we would have to have our ducks in a row by the beginning of April,” he said.
The start of April is when applications are accepted for permits to hunt alligators in the management units. The permits are assigned through a random drawing and the number of available permits is based on harvest quotas developed by the wildlife commission.
In other discussion and action at the commission meeting, Shine was appointed to head a shellfish subcommittee after the commission was asked by area commercial fishermen if it could assist in reopening the shellfish beds in the area.
The beds have been closed due to water salinity levels and the inability to continuously monitor the water quality after a barge collided with the monitoring station.
“It’s not an easy process to open those beds back up,” said Dana Morton of the City’s Environmental and Compliance Department. “It will probably require at least a year’s worth of data.”
Ten testing points have been set up and there are plans to have up to 30 throughout the area.
Morton was pleased with the numbers so far as the department tests for salinity, turbidity and fecal coliform.
“For what we normally see in Duval County, these were good numbers,” said Morton.
The commission also approved an ordinance for irrigation design standards for single-family residential property owners.
Mark Shelton of the City Planning and Development Department provided information on the latest proposed changes to the City’s zoning code that would require “Florida-Friendly” landscape practices and irrigation design standards for new single-family residential development.
“The changes encourage water conservation, help to improve aesthetics and promote a diversity of plant life,” said Shelton.
“The changes allow irrigation plans to consider soil, slope and other characteristics in order to minimize wastewater. They also allow the use of micro-irrigation and provide multiple rain sensor options,” he said.
Geoffrey Sample of the St. Johns River Water Management District spoke in support of the ordinance.
“We look at it as a positive step forward,” said Sample.
Ordinance 2011-74 calls for “Florida-Friendly landscape practices and irrigation design standards for new single-family residential development consistent with state law and the City of Jacksonville 2030 comprehensive plan and irrigation systems designed for lowest water quality feasible.”
The commission voted 8-0 in favor of the ordinance and it will be sent to City Council for a vote.
The next meeting of the waterways commission is March 9.
356-2466