Florida Fishing Licenses

I just looked to see if I would need a fishing license to go fishing from a bridge or land mass? It turns out I don't, for now.

As of right now, there is no need for a license, saltwater or freshwater, if one is fishing from a permanent bridge or mass of land. Unfortunately, on August 1st the standards are changing where each person wanting to fish, whether it is on land or in a vessel, will be required to carry a fishing license.

Licenses are relatively inexpensive and prices are $17.00 for an annual saltwater license and $32.50 for an annual freshwater/saltwater combination. The website all of the recreational and commercial sporting license requirements for the State of Florida are posted at:

http://myfwc.com/license/LicPermit_RecreationalHF.htm#SWF

Don't Litter!

Upon entry into this Colloquium class, I knew not to throw things out the window but I never understood the full extent of the problems it could create.

I have always been told not to throw things out because of the harm they would cause to wild life such as fish and turtles getting caught in six pack can holders and birds getting caught up in fishing line. But I had never really thought about what happens to the trash that just sits on the side of the road untouched by any wildlife.

In this class, I have come to realize that these articles of waste that one might throw out the window eventually will ferment into the soil and spread toxins that can prevent the growth of healthy plant life and an unhealthy environment for wildlife.

So next time you are riding down the road with an empty coke can, put it in the cup holder until you get home. It will not hurt to dispose of it properly but it will do a great deal of damage to the environment and it's inhabitants including us.

Visiting Downtown Fort Myers

Our trip as a class to downtown Fort Myers was very eye opening to me as a newer resident to Lee County. I have not had a chance to make it downtown, and from what I had heard from other students, it was extremely boring with nothing to do. I found this information to be completely wrong.

We arrived at Centennial Park on the morning of Thursday July 9th. I was taken away by the view of the Caloosahatchee River and the farmers market that was set up under the U.S 41 bridge. I have driven over this bridge many times but I never knew anything significant was under it.

As we walked through Centennial Park, we were introduced to the statue of three gentleman sitting around what would be a campfire. The three people are icons to Fort Myers and the world. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. This sculpture is iconic to the area because of the presence these three men created in their time in Fort Myers and globally.

The class was then told about the battles during the Civil War that took place and prior to my previous ideas, Fort Myers was part of the Union, therefore acting as a safe haven for slaves and Native Americans.

The shops and the atmosphere were amazing. Downtown Fort Myers has so many little cafes and art exhibits it is a hotbed of culture for the area. There are theatres such as the Edison Theatre and shops that offer housing arrangements and art work.

After this field trip, I find myself wanting to go back and find out more of what there is to do in downtown without the time constraints of a class.

"Stormy Weather" by Carl Hiaasen

"Stormy Weather" is by far one of the best works of fiction I have read in a while. Carl Hiaasen does a wonderful job painting a picture of what happened after Hurricane Andrew. Many people were affected and not only the people who made their lives in South Florida. In this book, a couple from New York is on their honeymoon but one thing lies in the way: Hurricane Andrew. The obstacles they face and the people they meet are key to the satirical methods used in this book.

I would recommend this book to anybody wanting to laugh at spontaneous meetings between characters and their difficulties coping with the storm. "Stormy Weather" has opened my eyes to what could have really happened in the aftermath of the storm being that I was to young to truly understand the problems caused by the hurricane.

Kayaking on the Estero River

Earlier this summer, I went kayaking on the Estero River with my girlfriend. We got a two person boat because we both knew I was going to do most of the rowing. As we got everthing together, I realized just how black the water in the river was. I found myself wondering, "What is causing this"? Is the black water attributed to bottom which might be composed of a dark soil or pollution?
As we paddled our way down the river, we went under the U.S 41 overpass, and it was gross to see all of the trash that had been thrown in the crevasses of the bridge. Soda cans, cigarette butts, and glass bottles, among other things.
The Estero River is a waterway that flows into the Gulf. All of this trash that I saw, and the trash that I didn't see such as chemicals from the industries in the area. All of this will eventually flow into the Gulf and ruin marinelife and our lives full of recreation in the ocean. Fish will die at a quick rate and eventually become scarce. Some examples are game fish such as snook and snapper that live in the mangrove and foster their young there.
I enjoyed this trip so much but it scares me to imagine a picture of none of these waterways being functional in anyway other than a method of disposal for waste.

Efforts of Golf Courses to Protect the Environment

Nowadays, many golf courses are putting their foot forward and attempting to lighten the damage they are doing to the environment. By using reclaimed water to irragate the lush greens and fairways that, especially in South-West Florida, make the area such an attraction for tourists and locals alike.

Many golf courses are now starting to only fertalize once a week to delay the process of the fertilizer contaminating the soil and other resources such as natural lakes, streams, and most importantly, the aquifer. They are also instututing more strict rules on the chemicals that can be used in the fertilizing process such as chemicals that contain phosphorous and nitrogen.

As an implement to using less chemicals and water, Mediterra Golf Course is using empire zoysia discovered in Brazil to fight the effects of drought and dry weather.

With efforts such as these coming from the golf community who thrive on beautiful landscapes and green, lively grass, we can all afford to do something to reduce our contaminants into the soil, thus protecting so much more than meets the eye.

My trip to Alabama

This fourth of July I went to Alabama to visit my grandparents and cousins. We had an amazing time on the Coosa River on the boats and shooting off fireworks. But what did we do with all of the waste that we created from the festivities?

During the barbeque we used a lot of plastic containers and they do not have an established recycling program where we were, so we gathered up a few trash bags and brought all of the recycling back to Fort Myers to make sure our landfills did not suffer from our plastic and metal wastes.

All of the fireworks that we shot off during the occasions we made sure did not make there way into the river. The Coosa River is not the most pure river in the world, and we made sure to pick up all of the paper wrappers and dispose of them properly.

The Coosa River and Alabama are so pretty to me and I would hate to see them go to waste. The scenery is pristine and natural. So I feel we helped with a little fraction of the conservation of the environment and I hope others did too on the Fourth of July.