Keeping garbage out of the paws of bears has been a little easier for some folks in Franklin and Wakulla counties in the Panhandle, thanks to Waste Pro. In June 2009, the company purchased 200 bear-proof containers to help residents keep trash away from bears and other wildlife. Waste Pro soon found the demand for the cans far outstripped what it had to offer, so it recently ordered an additional 200 bear-proof cans, which are now available to residents.

"Once people with our bear-proof cans started talking with their friends and neighbors, it wasn't long until we handed out our last can and had to start a waiting list," said Candace Clemons of Waste Pro in Eastpoint.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) conducted a survey of the residents who used the first batch of bear-proof cans offered by Waste Pro, as well as businesses that use bear-proof dumpsters. Approximately 60 percent of the respondents had bear conflicts 1 to 7 times a week before using a bear-proof device. After using bear-proof devices, 73 percent of respondents said their bear conflicts dropped to once every 6 to 12 months. More than 95 percent of respondents were satisfied with the bear-proof cans and dumpsters and were likely to recommend them.

"It is clear when people have access to bear-proof cans and dumpsters, it can significantly reduce bear conflicts," said Dave Telesco, the FWC's bear management coordinator. "Bear-proof dumpsters are widely available; unfortunately, bear-proof residential cans are not."

The FWC hopes that Waste Pro's success in offering bear-proof residential cans will encourage other waste-service companies to offer them throughout the state where humans live in close proximity to bears.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 1, the FWC received more than 3,800 calls concerning bears; almost 40 percent of those were to report bears getting into garbage. In Wakulla County, 56 percent of the calls were to report bears in garbage.

"The high percentage of calls involving garbage shows we need to work closely with waste-service providers and local governments, as well as residents to reduce conflicts that result from bears coming into neighborhoods," Telesco said. "The more waste-service providers that offer bear-proof cans, the fewer bear conflicts we will have."

Unsecured garbage attracts rats, feral cats and dogs, and raccoons, all of which can carry disease and become a public safety hazard.

While wildlife-resistant containers are an excellent tool in reducing conflicts, the cans are expensive, and they are often not available for individual purchase. It falls to the waste-service provider to take on those extra costs to offer some relief to their customers. Waste Pro voluntarily ordered the wildlife-resistant cans and began distributing them to interested residents in Franklin County on June 1, 2009.

Because of the added costs for these containers, Waste Pro is charging $5 per month in addition to the regular monthly service charge.

"We've made an investment in this community to help them with their bear problems," said Ralph Mills, regional vice president of Waste Pro. "We're pleased we can work with the FWC and our customers to provide the tools they need to deal with the situation."

People can minimize or eliminate bear conflicts by securing attractants such as garbage in wildlife-resistant containers and by removing or cleaning up other attractants in the yard. If followed, these simple changes can be successful in protecting the health of Florida's diverse wildlife and its residents.

The FWC is working with waste-service providers, such as Waste Pro, and local governments across the state to implement cost-effective solutions to this shared problem.

For more information on wildlife-resistant containers and to find out what you can do to avoid bear conflicts, go to MyFWC.com/Bear. Franklin and Wakulla county homeowners interested in the wildlife-resistant containers offered by Waste Pro can call 850-697-8800 or visit their website at www.wasteprousa.com.

With just a few weeks remaining in the year, 2010 has proved to be a tragic one for boating accidents. So far, there have been 76 boating fatalities, a 24-percent increase from this time last year. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants Florida boaters to reverse this trend.

"The most unfortunate part about these statistics is boating fatalities are usually preventable," said Capt. Tom Shipp of the FWC's Boating and Waterways Section.

While the FWC patrols Florida's waterways and strongly promotes boating safety year-round, this year's higher number of fatalities prompted an increased emphasis on prevention. At least 41 of the 76 deaths were due to drowning, and the FWC has some advice about that.

"One of the best ways to prevent a drowning is simply to wear a life jacket," Shipp said. "Boaters don't always expect to find themselves in the water, but if they do, a life jacket can save a life."

There is a variety of life jackets available to boaters. New styles are much smaller, lighter and more comfortable to wear than the traditional vest-style life jacket.

"The 'belt pack' is worn around the waist. A 'suspender' style is also available," said Brian Rehwinkel, outreach coordinator for the FWC's Boating and Waterways Section. "These types of life jackets are inflatable, and some models activate automatically if the wearer falls into the water."

While a few unusual accidents have occurred this year, the majority are similar to those of recent years. They involve boaters failing to pay attention to their surroundings, neglecting to wear life jackets and operating at high speeds.

"We strongly urge boaters to follow safe boating practices," Shipp said. "Pay attention to the weather and your surroundings, make sure your boat and motor are in good working condition, check all safety equipment before embarking, and don't drink and operate a boat."

The FWC also encourages boaters of any age to take a boating safety course. To find a course or more boating safety information, visit MyFWC.com/Boating or call 850-488-5600.

There's finally a chill and a certain festiveness in the air as most of us try to take time off from work to enjoy spending quality time with family and friends and reflect on the passing year. Children will be out of school on winter break soon, and while the holiday season is upon us, so are several traditional hunting opportunities.

The second phase of waterfowl and coot season comes in statewide Dec. 11 and runs through Jan. 30. In addition to the usual hunting license and permit requirements, duck hunters also must have a Florida waterfowl permit ($5) and a federal duck stamp ($15).

The daily bag limit on ducks is six, but you need to know your ducks before you pull the trigger, because there are different daily limits for each species. For instance, within the six-bird limit there may be only one black duck, one mottled duck, one fulvous whistling-duck and one canvasback.

Only two of your six-bird limit may be pintails, redheads or scaup, and three may be wood ducks. And you may have no more than four scoters and four mallards (of which only two may be female) in your bag. All other species of ducks can be taken up to the six-bird limit, except harlequin ducks.

The daily limit on coots is 15, and there's a five-bird limit on mergansers, only two of which may be hooded.

When hunting waterfowl, hunters may use only non-toxic shotgun shells. In fact, it's illegal for hunters even to possess lead shot when waterfowl hunting. Only iron (steel), bismuth-tin and various tungsten-alloys are permissible.

For something different, try woodcock hunting. Woodcock season runs Dec. 18 – Jan. 16. Woodcocks are excellent game birds because they hold well for pointing bird dogs and provide a challenging shot when flushed. The daily bag limit is three.

The third phase of mourning and white-winged dove season opens Dec. 11 and runs through Jan. 9. The daily bag limit is 15 birds.

From November on, shooting hours for all migratory birds are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. You must get a no-cost migratory bird permit where you purchase your hunting license before you hunt any of these birds, though.

The only firearm you can use to hunt migratory game birds is a shotgun, no larger than 10-gauge. Shotguns must be plugged to a three-shell capacity (magazine and chamber combined). Bows also are legal.

Retrievers and bird dogs can be useful in hunting migratory game birds. Artificial decoys, as well as manual or mouth-operated bird calls, also are legal and essential gear for duck hunters.

You may hunt migratory game birds over an agricultural field, as long as the crop's been planted by regular agricultural methods. However, don't even think about "sweetening" the field by scattering agricultural products over it – or anywhere near it – or you could wind up in serious trouble. It doesn't matter if you aren't the one who scattered the bait. If you knew or should've known that such bait was present, you're accountable under federal law.

Some other things you can't do while hunting migratory game birds include using rifles, pistols, crossbows, traps, snares, nets, sinkboxes, swivel guns, punt guns, battery guns, machine guns, fish hooks, poisons, drugs, explosive substances, live decoys and recorded bird calls, sounds or electrically amplified bird-call imitations. It is also against the law to shoot from a moving automobile or boat and herd or drive birds with vehicles or vessels.

Bobcat and otter hunting season is Dec. 1 – March 1, and there's no daily bag or season limit on either species.

Like foxes, bobcats may be chased year-round with dogs, but possessing firearms during the closed season, between March 2 and Nov. 30, is prohibited. On a few wildlife management areas, bobcats and otters may not be taken, so please consult the specific area brochure before you hunt.

Whether upland bird hunting with friends and family, shooting ducks on the pond with your favorite lab or taking that big bobcat as he slips up behind an unsuspecting fawn, December has the hunting opportunities you're looking for.

Here's wishing you happy holidays and a successful hunting season. If you can, remember to introduce someone new to our great sport. As always, have fun, hunt safely and ethically, and we'll see you in the woods!

Several years ago, Wayne and Julia Shewchuk moved from southern Florida to the 30 acres outside Pinetta that they named Serenity Acres Farm. It was their dream to develop the acreage into a viable farm, where consumers would have access to organic, pesticide-free products.

They are well on their way.

With help from an organization called WWOOF USA (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), WWOOF hosts, like Serenity Acres Farm, offer room and board and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles to volunteers in return for their labor.

Arielle, one of Serenity's current four "wwoofers", helps with the feeding and milking of the farm's 24 goats. She helps with the cooking, care of the chickens and may even get involved in fence building..

The goats require milking twice a day and produce about three gallons of milk, which is turned into everything from ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and soap. (All products, except the goat's milk soap, are labeled "Pet Food - Not for Human Consumption" due to State regulations (not federal.)

There is a plethora of other animals on Serenity, including ducks, chickens, cats, as well as, guard geese (Lucy and Mohawk), and two guard dogs to watch over the goat herd.

Julia and Wayne plan on expanding an orchard of pears, to include peaches, plums and olive trees. And a vegetable garden is in production.

Wayne, who has his own water hydrant business, is distributor for Richie Industries (a manufacturer of automatic livestock waterers) covering Florida, Alabama and Georgia. He spends much of his spare time as a volunteer with the Pinetta Volunteer Fire Department.

In her spare time, Julia competes in endurance horseback riding (distance riding). The season started in October with rides in Florida, Georgia and Alabama..

"The first weekend in December, O'Toole's Herb Farm will be hosting an "Organic Day" with various vendors", said Julia, "I will have many of our products available then." "Hope to see you".

You can contact Wayne and Julia thru their website www.serenityfarmfl.com.

Robert "Tres" (pronounced "Tray") Ammerman has been hunting alligators in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) annual statewide alligator harvest for the past seven years. But, it wasn't until the last day of this year's season that the Pine Hills resident hit the jackpot and took what he would later learn is the state's longest documented alligator, breaking a 13-year record.

"That was the second luckiest day of my life; the first was when I married my wife, Janette," said Ammerman, a licensed practical nurse at Florida Living Nursing Center in Apopka.

The official measurements put Ammerman's gator at 14 feet, 3 ¬‡ inches long and 654 pounds. The previous record for length was held by a 14-foot, 5/8-inch alligator taken from Lake Monroe in 1997 by a nuisance-alligator trapper. The heaviest alligator on record weighed 1,043 pounds and was taken from Orange Lake in 1989. It was also taken as a nuisance gator.

This record gator, however, was taken by a hunter drawn for the FWC's Statewide Alligator Harvest Program.

"It took 13 years to break the previous record, but I'm sure there's an alligator out there that will break this one," said Steve Stiegler of the FWC's alligator management program. "When and where it will happen is the only question."

Stiegler said the FWC will be sending Ammerman a letter certifying his record alligator.

Ammerman and his two hunting partners – Sam White, his neighbor, and T.J. Schauf, his nephew, just back from fighting the war in Afghanistan – took the gator just after midnight on Nov. 1 from the Lake Washington area of the St. Johns River in Brevard County.

The trio headed out late Halloween night in Ammerman's 14-foot johnboat equipped with an 8-horsepower motor. They weren't out long before he spotted the large alligator, although at the time it was hard for him to know just how large it was.

"We slid up on him face-on – it's real hard to tell their size from that angle. As we got to within about 3 feet of him I could tell he was big, and just as he dipped into the water, I threw my harpoon and hit him where the neck and head come together," Ammerman said.

The gator took off, but attached to the harpoon was a float and about 50 feet of line. That's when Ammerman, White and Schauf got the ride of their lives.

"The line was spinning off my buoy," he said. "He pulled us around the lake for aboaut 45 minutes before we tried to work him up to the side of the boat."

Ammerman lost a large alligator earlier this season in the same lake when he and his buddies tried to bring the gator in before it was tired out from pulling them and the boat around the lake.

"We didn't want to make that mistake again," he said.

Despite pulling the boat for 45 minutes, the alligator still had plenty of fight when the men finally brought it to the boat.

"He death-rolled and knocked my boat around; it got pretty exciting," he said.

But finally they subdued the big gator, towed it to shore, and entered the record books.

November means the 2010-11 huntin' season's in full swing. In this month's column, I cover most everything you need to know about general gun, fall turkey, quail and gray squirrel, snipe and the second phase of mourning and white-winged dove season.

The first thing you need to do is pick up a $17 Florida resident hunting license. Nonresidents pay $46.50 for a 10-day license or $151.50 for 12 months.

If you plan to hunt one of Florida's many wildlife management areas (WMAs), you'll also need a $26.50 management area permit, but don't forget to study the brochure for the specific area you plan to hunt because dates, bag limits and rules differ greatly from area to area.

You can get these brochures at tax collectors' offices and regional Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offices in close proximity to the WMA, or you can download them from MyFWC.com/Hunting.

You can buy your license and permits by calling toll-free 888-HUNT-FLORIDA or online at www.fl.wildlifelicense.comm. Have your credit card ready. You also can purchase them from tax collectors' offices and most retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies.

The general gun season runs Nov. 6 – Jan. 23 in Zone C; Dec. 4 – Feb. 20 in Zone B; and in Zone A. The second phase of general gun season runs Nov. 20 – Jan. 2. In Zone D, it starts Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25) and lasts four days until Nov. 28. Two weeks later, the season reopens on Dec. 11 and runs through Feb. 20.

Hunters can take bucks having at least one antler 5 inches or longer, but starting this year, anyone hunting deer in Florida must have the new $5 deer permit. On private lands, the daily bag limit for deer is two.

On private lands, hunters can take wild hogs year round with no bag or size limits. On most – but not all – WMAs, there's also no bag or size limit on wild hogs, and hunters can take them during any hunting season except spring turkey. Check the WMA brochure to be certain.

The highly anticipated antlerless deer season, often called "doe week," is Nov. 20-26 (Thanksgiving week) in zones A and C, and Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 (Christmas week) in zones B and D.

During doe week, the daily bag limit's one buck and one doe, or two bucks. You may not take two does in one day like you can during archery season, and spotted fawns are never legal game. And by the way, WMAs do not have an antlerless deer season.

If you hunt with deer dogs anywhere in Florida, special rules and registration requirements may apply, so call the FWC for details.

Fall turkey season in Zone A is Nov. 20 – Jan. 2. In zones B and C, it runs Dec. 4 – Jan. 30 and Nov. 6 – Jan. 2, respectively. And in Zone D, fall turkey seasons is Nov. 25-28 and Dec. 11 – Jan. 16. Only bearded turkeys and gobblers are legal game, and you must have a $10 turkey permit to hunt them. The bag limit's one bird per day, and a total of two during the archery, crossbow, muzzleloading gun and fall turkey seasons combined.

It's also against the law to hunt turkeys in Holmes County during the fall season.

Quail and gray squirrel season runs statewide Nov. 13 – March 6. There's a daily bag limit of 12 for each, but shooting fox squirrels is against the law.

Shooting hours for deer, turkeys, quail and gray squirrels is a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. All legal rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, bows, crossbows and pistols are legal for taking these resident game animals during the general gun, antlerless deer, fall turkey, and quail and gray squirrel seasons.

Snipe hunting in Florida ranks second in the nation in number of birds harvested each year, and the season runs Nov. 1 – Feb. 15 statewide. The second phase of the mourning and white-winged dove season also comes in this month and runs Nov. 13-28. Shooting hours for migratory game birds are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. The bag limit for snipe is eight; and for doves, the bag limit is 15.

You must get a no-cost migratory bird permit if you plan to hunt snipe, doves or any other migratory game birds.

The FWC even provides an online "Dove Hunters' Hotline," which gives up-to-date information on Florida's public dove fields. The address is MyFWC.com/Dove, and it's updated every Thursday throughout the dove season. Information includes dove densities, previous weeks' harvests and field conditions.

Whether small-game hunting with friends and family or hunting solo, going after that monster buck, boar hog or big tom, November brings loads of great hunting opportunities

Here's wishing you a happy Thanksgiving and a successful hunting season.

Tony Young's an avid sportsman and native Floridian. He's the media relations coordinator for the FWC's Division of Hunting and Game Management and lives in Tallahassee with his family.

Seven-year-old Landon Rye shot his first buck on Oct. 22.

Landon shot the three-point deer from 70 yards away, while he was hunting in Lake Park, Ga.

Landon's proud parents are Randy and Katina Rye of Lake Park, Ga., and his proud grandparents are Benny and Lonette Rye of Lee.

Landon and his father worked for weeks, constructing a family tree stand. His sister and mother and also hunt with him and his father.

Landon had been practicing shooting targets with his father for months.