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Can't we get along? With gators, that is
Public meetings seek a way for Floridians and large, toothy reptiles to co-exist in harmony.
Jay Hamburg
Sentinel Staff Writer
March 28, 2007
Whether you see one in your backyard, living in the wild or depicted at a University of Florida sporting event, alligators can seem a terror lurking in the bushes, an awesome creature in need of protection or a symbol of team spirit.
That list also includes a source of food for those who like the taste, and exotic leather for those who like the look.
But for some of the 35 people who turned out in Orlando on Tuesday night for a public meeting on ways to co-exist with alligators, the sometimes-ferocious reptile seemed to be a source of both pride and commerce.
"We need alligators," said Jim Brown, president of the Lake County Airboat Club. "They help make the environment beautiful."
Alligators help keep the ecosystem in balance by hunting some of the animals that eat the eggs of wading birds. Public education can lessen fear, Brown said.
"If you understand it, you won't be afraid of it. It can harm you," Brown said.
"But they can live along with us."
Last year, three people died in Florida from alligator attacks. About 25,000 alligators were killed or taken from the wild under state permit.
Tuesday's meeting was one of 14 being held around the state by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to gather opinion to fashion a policy for dealing with alligators.
That might include extending their protections as a threatened species in Florida or allowing them to be hunted like deer or turkeys.
Phil Walters, a professional guide in Tampa, said that hunters would help work for the preservation of the animal and its environment because they don't want to see it disappear.
Having faced extinction once, the alligators have thrived in Florida and are estimated to have a population of 1 million and growing.
Ann Wettstein Griffin said that trapping alligators and removing them to a crowded, unnatural environment "goes against God."
The Lake County woman urged the officials to "try to think about the animals."
Ultimately, the meetings stem from an inevitable clash between two growing populations (alligators and humans) in a state where new roads, retail centers and homes are displacing the reptiles from their usual haunts.
"I would like to see the alligator protected," said Robert Wright Sr. of Leesburg.
"It represents Florida. Gators are our heritage in Florida. It's what makes us Floridians."
Tuesday's meeting at the offices of the Florida Department of Transportation was the first of three in Orlando.
Tonight's public meeting will focus on hunters' concerns. Thursday's meeting will discuss how to ensure the alligators' continued survival.
Both will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the same location as Tuesday's meeting, 133 S. Semoran Blvd.
Harry Dutton, program coordinator of the state's alligator management program, said that Tuesday's meeting in Orlando was one of the largest turnouts.
He said officials will review the comments and prepare recommendations to be posted on the agency's Web site by the end of April.
The commission's board will vote on changes in June.
Jay Hamburg can be reached at
jhamburg@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5673.
