PELICAN PRESS
YourObserver.com
THURSDAY, august 4, 2011
parachutists’ plea
By Rachel Brown Hackney | Managing Editor
Skydivers request restriction change
oversight
by Robin Roy | County Editor
Jordyn Parcel
When the County Commission last year amended the county code to restrict certain activities on the beach, it stipulated that parachuting would be allowed by permit only. After recent public comments decrying the policy, the commission has agreed to reconsider it. More than a year after the Sarasota County Commission amended rules to regulate skydivers’ landings on local beaches, a plea from aerial enthusiasts has prompted the commission to take another look at the matter. In June 2010, the County Commission approved numerous changes to Section 90 of the county code regarding beach activities. The revised code prohibits parachuting, paragliding and landboarding, unless an individual has applied for and received a permit for the specific activity. A Feb. 1 email from Rob LaDue, a Parks and Recreation Department supervisor, noted, “Staff recommended that (skydiving) be regulated with a permitting process in order to ensure that the sport would protect public safety, abate liability to the public, protect public resources (e.g., protected native habitat and listed species) and ensure that a conflict did not exist with other scheduled events, crowded tourist seasons or municipal laws that may also apply … ” He added that representatives of local group Suncoast Skydiving began talking with county
staff in September 2010 about the permitting process. Several issues went unresolved, LaDue added, including the necessity of a $1 million general liability insurance policy for landings on the beach. During the July 26 County Commission meeting, Steve Michael appeared on behalf of Mike Swain, of Swain Film and Video, to ask the commission “to reconsider making parachuting illegal for no compelling reason.” Michael had signed up to read the statement during the public comment portion of the meeting because a speech impediment would have made it difficult for Swain himself to deliver the remarks, Michael said. Swain’s statement pointed out that he had made almost 2,600 skydiving jumps in the Sarasota area over the past 47 years. “My main contention,” Michael read, “is that prohibiting parachuting from taking place on county beaches and parks was done without due cause … With the current law in place, we have been asked to work with the Parks and Recreation Department to implement a permitting process. This has
BIG MAC ATTACK
proven to be impossible because of unnecessary restrictions and unobtainable insurance requirements.” Swain attributed the county code change to several misconceptions. The first, the statement said, is that skydiving is dangerous. “Hundreds of thousands of skydives, both sport and tandem, are made every year all over the world and the safety record is enviable,” Michael read. “Any experienced and licensed skydiver has the skill to land safely and accurately on an open area such as a beach or a park without endangering the public or themselves.” Second, Michael read, “I imagine when most people think of the beach on a crowded day, they envision a horizontal view with wall-to-wall people under the hundreds of colorful umbrellas. However, if the same location is viewed from above, you will see that people naturally congregate near the water. Behind that is always a huge empty area of high dry sand devoid of people … even on the most crowded day … Skydivers land where people aren’t — period.” In his own, separate com-
ments, Michael told the commission he had walked one recent day from Casperson Beach all the way to Casey Key, stopping to speak to concessionaires, restaurant managers and the public. “I found absolutely no person who had anything bad to say about skydiving,” he said. Michael added that the Sarasota County Convention and Visitors Bureau often includes skydiving scenes in promotional material. Moreover, he said, visitors who skydive in the area take videos home with them to show friends and relatives, spurring more tourism interest. “It’s a tremendous free advertising system for the county,” Michael said. Following the public comments that afternoon, Commissioner Jon Thaxton said he would like staff to contact the local skydiving group to discuss the matter. He recalled, he said, that parachuting was put on the list of prohibited activities on the beaches primarily because of worries about county liability in the event of accidents. Perhaps the skydiving group could suggest a means, other than by permit, for the county to allow parachuting again.
by Robin Roy | County Editor
Egret addicted to fast food
The same cattle egret has been visiting a McDonald’s for more than a year, because customers were regularly feeding it. Now wildlife officials are warning people the diet could harm the bird. The average cattle egret dines on insects and lizards, but one of the birds has become hooked on McDonald’s french fries, thanks to customers at the restaurant franchise on U.S. 41 near Stickney Point Road, where the bird has been hanging out regularly. Employees at the fast-food establishment say the same cattle egret has been visiting their McDonald’s location for more than a year, but last month its visits became much more frequent. “Since July, it’s like he works here,” joked Manager Fernanda Lima. The egret has two favorite resting spots — an outdoor table, where it can stare through the window at two indoor tables filled with diners, and on the ground outside the front door. The bird has been visiting the restaurant every day, because customers feed it. French fries are the snack it wins most readily through its begging. Lima said one senior citizen bought a small order of fries each day specifically to give the bird. “(The customer) came one day during breakfast, when we didn’t have fries, and he said, ‘The bird’s not going to be happy with me today,’” Lima said. As frequent feedings made the egret more comfortable around humans, restaurant employees began to fear it
Robin Roy
The cattle egret appears to try to guilt customers inside a McDonald’s into feeding it by staring at them through the window. The bird has been meeting great success with its ploy. would get hit in the parking lot, because it freely weaves in between cars. The restaurant’s owner called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to see if it would take the bird to a safer location. The agency refused but asked the owner to post a letter on the restaurant doors, warning patrons that the
bird would die if it is fed an unnatural diet. Since that note went up a few weeks ago, Lima said fewer customers are feeding the bird. As a result, the egret is visiting less often. Is it going to the Burger King a couple of blocks away? “Hopefully, not,” Lima said with a laugh.
Warning letter Please Help: Florida Fish and Wildlife has asked that we discourage patrons from feeding the cattle egret. This bird will become sick and die on an unnatural diet. The bird’s natural diet is bugs, lizards, etc. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Deer Prairie Creek
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North Port
JORDYN PARCEL Nearly 200 acres of the vacant county-owned property called the Jordyn Parcel is being used as cattle-grazing land. The Jordyn Parcel is just north of Interstate 75 and south of Myakka River State Park.
Cattle ranchers to watch over land Sarasota County is gauging the merits of a pilot program that gives ranchers the opportunity to let their cattle graze on property owned by the government. County commissioners are expected next month to receive an update on a pilot program they authorized, which is intended to better manage the 35,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land the county owns. Advocates of the cattle-grazing program, which is six months old, say it is working well. “(The county) wanted to show that cattle grazing could help us with (property) management and provide a needed source of cattle-grazing agreements with the county,” said Belinda Perry, a natural resources manager with the county. The three-year pilot program calls for cattle ranchers to bid on placing up to 35 cattle on a plot of county land and agree either to pay a fee or perform in-kind services on the property. A single rancher has his cattle grazing on 190 acres of land, known as the Jordyn Parcel, in the county’s Deer Prairie Creek site, which is near the Carleton Reserve, close to North Port. In exchange for the opportunity to let his animals feed there, the man performs tasks such as keeping the trails mowed and monitoring exotic species. But according to Perry, the most valuable service the ranchers will perform is providing security. “He’s an extra set of eyes,” she said. “Anytime you have vacant land, you can have poaching, vandalism, joyriding and unauthorized trail-making.” According to a 2008 survey of its 35,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land, the county determined only about 600 acres were suitable for cattle grazing. For that reason, that activity will most likely not be a significant revenue generator for the county, so land management will be the program’s most important goal.