Protect the Panther!
What:
Ham radio operators contribute to wildlife preservation and conservation by setting up and operating a shortwave station spreading the word on-the-air to reach as many as possible of their 2,000,000 colleagues worldwide. The symbolic focus is the diminishing Florida Panther population and its ever shrinking habitat.
Why:
They, like most Floridians, want generations to come to experience Florida’s natural history firsthand at Florida’s Wildlife Areas and State Parks.
When:
Around the clock from 1 pm Saturday, February 21st through 1 pm February 22nd.
Where:
Everglades Youth Conservation Center at the
Corbett Wildlife Management Area.
12100 Seminole Pratt Whitney Rd, WestPalm Beach, FL33412
Who:
Volunteers from the
Wellington Radio Club and the FWC, and co-sponsored by the
Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
The Public is invited.
DIRECTIONS:
From the flashing light at Northlake and Seminole Pratt,
go north on Seminole Pratt about 2 miles.
Look for Corbett sign before the bend in road.
Make left into Corbett and briefly stop at Stop sign.
Continue straight… bearing to the right until the YOUTH CAMP sign.
Then at the “Y” road split, stay right. Continue short distance to parking area.
Special Event: Protect the Panther
Radio Club Commemorates the Last Sighting of
the Florida Panther in the Corbett Wildlife Management Area
Wellington, 2/7/15 – The sighting of a Florida Panther last occurred about 30 years ago in Corbett. That elapsed time without a single sighting symbolizes the environmental and developmental changes that have occurred in South Florida in recent decades. It’s one of many indicators that with development, the need for greater wildlife and environment protection has become ever more necessary.
For years, Wellington Radio Club members have volunteered with the Florida’s Fish & Wildlife Commission at Corbett and now at its re-vitalized EvergladesYouthConservationCenter. Its members will help promote the theme of preservation and conservation by setting up and operating a “Special Event” shortwave station at the ConservationCenter.
The radio amateurs hope to raise consciousness about those themes by contacting their colleagues worldwide on the airwaves. In fact, the station they will operate has already been assigned a special FCC call-sign: “W4P… Whiskey Four Panther”. The weekend of February 21st and 22nd, for 24 hours straight, they will inform as many of the two million hams and shortwave listeners as possible of the role the FWC plays in managing Florida’s wildlife and especially protecting native, endangered species.
This is believed to be the first such “Special Event” station setup in a Florida wildlife area, although National Parks and Wildlife Areas have hosted such activities in recent years.
Larry Lazar, Radio Club President and longtime FWC volunteer pointed out that even though he couldn’t show his grandchildren a live Florida panther at Corbett, he would at least want to be able to have them experience a piece of Florida’s natural history. “It would be great if I could say Seminoles lived in this type environment and even take them to a burial mound”.
“This year, we are excited to call the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida a supporting sponsor for the event” states Lazar. The FWFF provides assistance, funding and promotional support to contribute to the health and well-being of Florida’s fish and wildlife resources and their habitats.
“Florida is like no other place on Earth! And working together with the Wellington Radio Club, we can further communicate and share our fish and wildlife resources locally, nationally and globally, so they survive and thrive for current and future generations” said Judie Gibson, the Director of Development for the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida. “30 years is a long time for a panther siting. Saving threatened species such as panthers is crucial. It’s up to us to do what is necessary to ensure we don’t lose them forever, so getting the word out over the airwaves means so much.”
Wellington Radio Club members will man their station from 1PM Saturday through 1PM Sunday and the public is invited to observe their operation during daylight hours.
For more information on the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, visit www.wildlifeflorida.org.
To stay up-to-date with latest news, join WFF Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WildlifeFoundationofFlorida.
For more info, contact
Larry Lazar, President
Wellington Radio Club
(561) 385-2986