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Glades Herp Farm owners found guilty

Yeah, this entire thread from the beginning was pretty much skating the edge of being a "BOI-type" post, of which I do not care to have on this site. And it got further over the edge as more posts were added as replies. I really do NOT want this site to follow in the footsteps of the BOI on FaunaClassifieds, but then on the other hand, this IS a discussion forum, is it not? So the line is necessarily gray dividing what I will and will not allow here. And as can be seen, sometimes that decision might have to be made ex post facto as the DIRECTION itself of the thread makes itself known.

I think most people here know that I abhor closing, much less deleting, posts or threads, but I will leave it up to the main contestants as to whether this thread, in it's entirety should stay or go. This is NOT the BOI, so I am not bound by my own rules concerning retention of posts made on this site as I am over "there".

So you guys make the call. Has the cut been sutured well enough to allow it to heal by itself, or should the limb be removed?
 
Ok Michael. Thank you, just remember opinions and what you said are different. What you said was not stated as an opinion... it's like saying Charles Manson is kind of not a murderer.

If you look at the 'reward' poster you will also notice all of the other things about it is illegal to kill, hurt or take this Endangered Species. Then we have all the stuff about Rattlesnake Roundups and what harm they really cause. The entire area has that stuff up and how you must have a permit to have Venomous Species and we use them for education..... all that stuff. It is sad that you somehow were able to take a negative out of all this attempt to educate.

I am reactive because you were so off base and was rather shocked to even see it posted.

Thank you - - Kevin
Honestly, I opened my mouth out of a personal bitterness towards an aspect of our hobby, and a bitter taste that I felt about those signs, as I was reflecting on them. My insinuation was arrogant, and my opinions were mishandled. As a person, I do have that problem, and I do need to own up. I tend to overdo my opinions when I feel ganged up on, and that's simply not the way men deal. I should keep my business better managed, and speak straight to the source. I could make a thousand excuses as to why I feel I was right, or how other members and I have disagreed before, and why I was just venting..

None of it would be appropriate.. hell, I got rid of Facebook, stopped watching TV and made several other changes, to avoid this world of "I think this, I think that", and I'm no better. This is not sarcasm, or a false apology. If I can move on from this forgiven, I'd really appreciate it (and no.. I didn't get any death threats or anything like that). My sincere apologies, Kevin. I'm too young to start getting stuck in my ways. And if you accept my humble cheers, I'd be a happy dude.
 
Well, I am glad to see that explosion has been tamped down a bit.

A thing that I wanted to mention to Michael is that I have a flier from the 80's when the US Forestry Service was providing monetary rewards for confirmed sightings of spotted owls. It also gives elevation levels... If I can find it when I get home I will scan it and post it. it is a really neat piece of history that I feel lends aid to the "offering money for dens" stance.

Money talks in this world, and if offering cash allows for the further discoveries of areas that can possibly be set up as conservation areas, then I am all for it.
 
The "reward' thing basically helps filter out the ENDLESS non-sense about Yeah...I saw one..here and there. It is kind of like, put your money where your mouth is kind of thing. It did in fact help us(fish and Game) locate another possible population and has also given us some good leads. Essentially, we use it as a filter!

I have only paid once!

EMG
 
At the end of it all, it's Kevin's deal. He oversees these things, and very well might be just as p*$$€d as I'd be if he had someone misinterpret those signs as a pet shop thing, and capture the snakes themselves. Kevin's a grown man, and has lots of work (I'm sure), so I need to take into account that everyone who truly cares about reptiles is not always a naturalist by profession, and they must use tactics to accomodate a different world. And that includes not always having the time to find the best help, or having to use ideas that can have an immediate impact.

My idealism is clearly not the consensus on the way we should better the natural world, and my idealism could be wrong. I'd like to have specialists cover these dens like small army bases (w/o guns), and give no indication that these are open to the public to go to and disturb (no bikes, 4 wheelers, dogs, nets, backpacks.. no one). But until I can get those resources for myself, I just should keep my opinions and disagreements to myself, and take Kevin at his word that this is a small but important tactic in preserving these habitats long term.

Anyways, I don't need to hijack this anymore.. But I feel better having spoken my peace, and I appreciate you people with the patience to allow a situation to turn around, as opposed to encouraging it..
 
The "reward' thing basically helps filter out the ENDLESS non-sense about Yeah...I saw one..here and there. It is kind of like, put your money where your mouth is kind of thing. It did in fact help us(fish and Game) locate another possible population and has also given us some good leads. Essentially, we use it as a filter!

I have only paid once!

EMG
Quickly.. my problem was never that I believe you're simply using these to get rich. But money talks to people, and there are some fools out there. I remember hearing about a 'friend' running over a few rattlesnakes near a pond with his bike.. now, 99.9% chance they were Northern Water Snakes, but the intent for humans to kill snakes is almost instinctual, especially rattle snakes. My ultimate concern, a few young, stupid people spend a weekend drinking and searching the area for some dens.. and like stupid, young people they report the cave for a reward, and return on their own terms for an extra prize. My worry, the second these places are discovered by humans, they are doomed to fail.

I won't act like I was as reasonable the 1st time around.. I hope this better sums up that for me.
 
and I appreciate you people with the patience to allow a situation to turn around, as opposed to encouraging it..

Maybe counterintuitive, Michael, but not humanly impossible.

Note, Aaron, I was involved in red-cockaded woodpecker conservation in the summer of 1979.
People were encouraged to report nest sites, and we 'briefly invaded the sites' to mark off specific radiuses as 'note and stay away from here' areas.
 
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Note, Aaron, I was involved in red-cockaded woodpecker conservation in the summer of 1979.
People were encouraged to report nest sites, and we 'briefly invaded the sites' to mark them off specific radiuses as 'note and stay away from here' areas.

You know, I believe that I spotted one of those guys on my grandparents property back in the mid 90's. Biggest woodpecker that I have seen to date. Every time I go back to visit I spend time in the woods around their house looking up in the huge cypress and pine trees on their property, hoping to see one again so I can better identify it.
 
The red-cockaded woodpecker is a little guy. We have them here, particularly in Goethe State Forest. (Rich333, we should go there some time). You're thinking of the pileated woodpecker, which are crow-sized, and fairly common, in Florida, and where I used to live in Minnesota. (Super-good woodpecker film is Ghost Bird, on Netflix).
 
Ah, yep Nanci, that's the one!

I remember thinking it was an Ivory Billed when I was a kid, because it was so big.
 
I think the ivory bill is only slightly bigger. The easy key, if you think you've seen an ivory bill, is the white wingtips. One problem is, there are pileateds with abnormal amounts of white. You can't really say the ivory bill is definitely still around until there are repeated independent sightings with the bird well-seen, with more field markers than just the white wingtips. I'd like to believe they still exist, though.
 
I think the ivory bill is only slightly bigger. The easy key, if you think you've seen an ivory bill, is the white wingtips. One problem is, there are pileateds with abnormal amounts of white. You can't really say the ivory bill is definitely still around until there are repeated independent sightings with the bird well-seen, with more field markers than just the white wingtips. I'd like to believe they still exist, though.

I like to think they still exist as well. And from now on when I go visit my grandparents I will be taking my camera with me into the woods, in case I see anything... I pretty much photograph whatever animals and plants I find that I think look cool...LOL
 
I did research with Red-cockaded Woodpeckers when I lived in Florida for two years. We used to use swedish ladders to check the cavities and do necessary repairs to the artificial ones we put up. My job was to remove all the snakes from the cavities when we would do the pre-nesting season sweep. Every one of the snakes I removed were corn snakes. We used to also find flying squirrels up in there. We would use a camera called a peeper and those poor little squirrels would be scared to death, shivering from fear when we would put the camera in there...
 
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