September 2011 The Employee e-Newsletter of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Serves Them Right Shining Stars Employee Milestones

In this issue...
New Commissioner
Charles "Chuck" Roberts began his term Sept. 1... [more]

Habitat & Species has new director

Eric Sutton comes to us from Southwest Florida Water Management District... [more]

Salt Lake WMA and the power of partnerships

The Florida scrub-jay will reap the benefits... [more]

FYCCN expansion
Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network is making progress on many fronts... [more]

FWC and social media

Using Facebook, Twitter, etc. to deliver our messages... [more]

New email system coming next year

OIT, division/office reps working to ensure a smooth transition... [more]

New Commissioner
Charles "Chuck" Roberts is the FWC's newest Commissioner. Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to a term beginning Sept. 1. The 58-year-old Tallahassee resident has been the president of C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. since 1976. He served on the governing board of the

Northwest Florida Water Management District from 1989 to 2001. He also was director of the Florida Transportation Builders' Association for 20 years and chairman from 1996 to 1997, as well as the director of the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida for 10 years. He was appointed to serve on the Liberty County School Board for one year in 1978. Due to a prior obligation, the new commissioner will not be able to attend the Sept. 7-9 Commission meeting in Naples, but he will be at the November meeting in Key Largo. Commissioner Roberts' 5-year term expires Aug. 1, 2016.
Commissioner Roberts (Courtesy of Executive Office of the Governor)

Top of page

Habitat & Species has new director

The Division of Habitat & Species Conservation has a new director. Eric Sutton joined the FWC family Sept. 2, coming to us from the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), where he was Director for Land Resources. "The FWC has worked closely and constructively with him and SWFWMD staff on many cooperative projects over the past several years," said executive director Nick Wiley in announcing the appointment. "We are looking forward to having him join the FWC family and the excellent team of professionals in HSC." Eric's educational background is in zoology/wildlife; he has degrees from Murray State University in Kentucky, the University of Kentucky and the University of South Florida. Eric will be relocating his family from Dade City to Tallahassee. Top of page

Salt Lake WMA and the power of partnerships

By Adam Kent, Habitat & Species Conservation Dave Turner knows the value of partnerships. In his role as lead biologist on Salt Lake Wildlife Management Area, Turner has built relationships within and outside the FWC to improve regional land management. Even scrub-jays from Salt Lake are getting into the cooperative spirit as the area produces young jays. One dispersing Salt Lake jay paired with a jay from neighbor St. Johns Water Management District's (SJWMD) Buck Lake Conservation Area, while another youngster has paired with a jay from Brevard County's nearby South Lake Conservation Area. The federally threatened Florida scrub-jay, the state's only endemic bird species, is important as both a flagship and umbrella species for scrub. These points haven't been lost on Turner. He has coordinated with the Brevard Nature Alliance, scrub-jay expert Dr. Dave Breininger and the FWC's scrub-jay coordinator, Craig Faulhaber, on adaptive management of scrub. The FWC's Wildlife Conservation Prioritization and Recovery process identified inter-agency cooperation as important to regional recovery of scrub-jays. To follow up, Regional Conservation Biologist Alex Pries drafted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Salt Lake and Brevard County that allows WMA staff to work on adjacent county lands and vice versa. The SJWMD also helps out on the WMA. In return, Salt Lake staff help at Buck Lake and have maintained roads

Dave Turner admires the restored scrub at Buck Lake Conservation Area. (FWC photo by Craig Faulhaber)

and installed low-water crossings there. The Florida Forest Service also cooperates by helping Salt Lake burn to meet fuel-reduction goals. Overall, partnerships make the regional management picture a success to both Turner and the jay's enjoyment.

Top of page

FYCCN expansion
The Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network (FYCCN) is growing. The network now includes eight "Wild Outdoors" hubs - including facilities like the Beau Turner Center and Ocala Youth Camp - and 35 "Near Outdoors" centers - sites closer to home, like a fishing pond, pier or birding trail. (See a map of network locations.) Progress is being made on many fronts. Facility improvements are under way and programming is going strong. Here are a few examples: Ocala Youth Conservation Center (YCC) has new pavilions in the shooting sports and fishing areas, landscaping upgrades, dining hall improvements and new roofs. Fishing kayaks, saltwater fishing rigs and wildlife viewing supplies have been placed at several Wild Outdoors hubs. Flying Eagle YCC conducted a very successful youth hog hunting experience as its pilot program. Everglades YCC piloted the Charlie Pierce Day program - an overnight field trip experience with outdoor recreational activities as well as conservation education sessions. Twelve CPD programs are scheduled for the school year at Everglades YCC, and the program will be expanded to several other sites. Seven Wild Outdoors hubs hosted week-long conservation education camps this summer. More than 2,000 kids participated in comprehensive, hands-on programs that link the benefits of conservation with the fun of naturebased recreation. Other programs are being developed to enhance offerings at each partner site, and the number of youths reached with quality programming is expected to soar in the coming years. Learn more at FYCCN.org.
(FWC file photo)

Top of page

FWC and social media

By Alicia Wellman, Community Relations
(Note: This overview is the first in a monthly series of articles about the FWC's use of social media tools. Next month we'll focus on Facebook.)

There's no denying the prevalence - and power - of social media in today's society, and the FWC is making

increasing use of it to deliver its conservation messages. Our social media platforms include the "Big 3" - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We also have a presence on Flickr, LinkedIn and Google+ with more accounts being developed. More than 750 million people use Facebook. The main FWC Facebook page (MyFWC) has over 7,000 people who "like" it. It offers news briefs, videos, photos and event information. If you have a personal Facebook account, visit the MyFWC page and click on the "like" button. Everyone who likes our page will receive FWC status updates in their news feed which, in turn, helps the agency spread messages to more people. Twitter has over 175 million registered users sending over 200 million tweets every day. The FWC has two main accounts, each targeting a distinctly different audience. Our primary account - @MyFWC - has over 2,000 followers. Its approach is more business-like for sharing Commission news. Our newest account is @MyFWClife. It has a conversational, "water cooler chatter" style. It's only 5 months old and already has over 700 followers. YouTube is our distribution system for videos. Go to YouTube.com and search "MyFWCvideos" for the agency's portfolio - or follow this link. We often use links to our YouTube videos on our website, Facebook and other social media outlets. Social media is an integral part of the FWC's customer-service strategy, a portal for direct communication with people both inside and outside the agency. Links to our sites are found at the bottom of any page on our website. If you have any questions or stories from your division or office that you would like to include in the FWC social media program, please email Alicia.Wellman@MyFWC.com or Jessica.Basham@MyFWC.com. Top of page

New email system coming next year

Earlier this year, the Legislature directed the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology to consolidate email systems for all executive-branch agencies, including the FWC. This means we will move from our current email environment, maintained by the Office of Information Technology (OIT), to a system hosted and maintained by a contracted vendor. Plans and schedules are being developed, and the FWC most likely will be migrated in March or April 2012. It's early in the process, but here are a few preliminary details: The new service will be predominantly Web-based, meaning that you will use your Web browser to access your email instead of Outlook. Current and archived email messages will move to the statewide system; the FWC will retire its existing system. The new email system availability is highly resilient and is contractually obligated to 99.9-percent uptime.

How will this affect our mailboxes? Your new mailbox using will save all of the following from your current mailbox: Calendar events Contacts User-created folders Server-based mail-processing rules Mailbox-access permissions, including delegate and send-on-behalf-of All of the historical emails for the FWC will be migrated to the new system. An FWC team is working out details with the vendor and will provide updates as more information becomes available. What should email users be doing now? OIT advises that we continue our normal email maintenance, including deleting email messages and objects that are no longer required. No other preparations are necessary just yet.

Whom do I contact for questions? OIT has developed a SharePoint site with information and schedules. Division/office representatives are working with OIT to exchange information in preparation. Your division/office representative will keep you informed, and OIT will send periodic updates as well. Top of page

Serves Them Right

Citizens and FWC customers were so impressed by the following employees, they told us about it through the "Praise an Employee" page of MyFWC.com/Contact: Lt. Ben Allen, Officer James Cooley - "...I had an injured bird on my property...followed up several times to assure me...to see if the bird survived the injury...thank Lt. Allen and Officer Cooley for their dedication to their jobs and the citizens of Putnam County." Brenda Brand (L&P) - "She was absolutely a breath of fresh air with regards to getting my business settled with the FWC. I can't say enough about her knowledge and professionalism." Jessica Carroll and Carrie Jones (FWRI) - "...made up an incredibly educational package and sent the materials to our education department...also approachable and courteous when answering my general fish questions...Their gesture and actions go beyond the duties and responsibilities of their position." Officer Matthew Ervin - "...I was in the wrong and deserved the ticket. What I want to comment on, was the very friendly, professional manner in which the Officer conducted himself..." Katie Hughes (L&P) - "...She was very patient and solved my problem very quickly...also very friendly...rare to have someone help you who is extremely knowledgeable and also has such a pleasant demeanor." Officer Kathy Jackson - "...checked our camp at Porter Pond late at night...For a single officer to patrol areas such as this requires bravery and dedication...we appreciate her and all your officers..." Richard Johnson (L&P) - "...This is my first venture in commercial fishing so I also had a TON of other questions, and he helped me with EVERYTHING. I think he is an amazing asset to FWC..." Lt. Antonio Kilpatrick - "...made a difference in my knowledge concerning regulations and peace of mind...We need this guy in the White House and our troubles would be solved..." Officer Brandon Lasher - "...my trailer got stuck...he checked our gators, equipment and license and then offered to help us pull my trailer out of the mud...great to deal with people like this and I certainly appreciate his help." Rhonda Levay (HGM) - "...Rhonda was the first to help me and talk to me...very happy, she helped me very much." Tamarra Macklin (NW Region, OED) - "Helped me submit for a disabled hunting/fishing license & answered my questions." Officer Matt Webb - "...I had misidentified a juvenile greater amberjack for an almaco jack. Officer Webb went over in detail the specific characteristics of both and other similar species to give me the knowledge to identify them more accurately in the future...was extremely professional..." Cindy Whittington (L&P) - "Cindy did a fantastic job helping us with whatever we needed while you were gone. Always very pleasant and accommodatingit was really great working with her." Jan (?) (Sea turtle volunteer) - "She was a very friendly person. We had a lot of questions about sea turtles, she answered all of them. One day she let us help her stake one of the new turtle nests!" Unknown - "I want to thank ALL of the employees that responded to the call of a "lost hunter" on Aug. 20 at OK Slough WMA...The organization, effectiveness, promptness, professionalism and kindness was all so overwhelming...I truly thank everyone for a job well done and for all the hard work and dedication..." Top of page

Shining Stars

Florida Wildlife magazine picked up five awards from the Florida Magazine Association at its recent conference in Lake Buena Vista. FMA is the largest state magazine association in the nation, and the "Charlie Awards" honor publishing excellence in various categories. More than 70 Florida publications submitted over 670 entries for evaluation by judges from across the country. Here's a rundown of Florida Wildlife's award-winning work: Charlie Award (1st place) - Illustration: "Life of a Hawk," Nancy Tome (July/August 2010 issue) Silver Award - Illustration: "Alligator," Ed Takacs (July/August 2010) Silver Award - Service Feature: "It Takes a Village to Rescue a Baby Bald Eagle," Sandy Beck (May/June 2010) Silver Award - Single, Original Color Photo: "Red Mangroves at Sunset," Paul Marcellini (January/February 2011) Bronze Award - Overall Use of Photography

"Life of a Hawk" by Nancy Tome

"Red Mangroves at Sunset" by Paul Marcellini "Alligator" by Ed Takacs

Top of page

Milestones
Editor's note: The FWC has a great many non-FTE employees, and they deserve recognition for reaching 5year milestones too. Unfortunately, the system doesn't keep track of such statistics; but we don't want that to stop us. If you know of a non-FTE employee about to reach a 5-year milestone, please have his/her section leader notify the Inside Job by email. Congratulations to the following employees, who reach 5-year milestones of employment with the FWC in September. Numbers in parentheses indicate total state service, if different.

35 Years
Daniel Dobbins - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Stanley Kirkland - Executive Director's Office/Community Relations (35 years, 3 months)

25 Years
Ruark Cleary - Habitat & Species Conservation Timothy O'Meara - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (32 years)

20 Years
Cynthia Byrd - Law Enforcement Cindy Hoffman - Executive Director's Office/Human Resources (29 years, 4 months)

10 Years
Justin Allen - Law Enforcement James Bevan - Law Enforcement Edward Brown - Law Enforcement Carl Butler - Law Enforcement (16 years, 9 months) Guy Carpenter - Law Enforcement James Cooley - Law Enforcement Patrick Corley - Law Enforcement Nicole Dunham - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Travis Huckeba - Law Enforcement Charles Mallow - Law Enforcement Allen Martin - Freshwater Fisheries Mgt. Butler Maynard - Law Enforcement Hope McGregor - Law Enforcement Pamela Paul - Finance & Budget Claudia Plummer - Finance & Budget George Price III - Law Enforcement Darrin Riley - Law Enforcement Jessica Rivera-Gutierrez - Executive Director's Office Beverly Sauls - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Rama Shuster - Law Enforcement Daryl Sickafoose - Law Enforcement Troy Starling - Law Enforcement Darral Thomason - Law Enforcement Albert Wass de Czege - Law Enforcement Charlie Wood - Law Enforcement Andrew Zamonis - Law Enforcement

5 Years
Barbara Almario - Habitat & Species Conservation Tiffany Black - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Janell Brush - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Cheska Burleson - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Ryan Caillouet - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Joseph Eskay - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Nancy Hodgson - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Kerry Maxwell - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Lucas McEachron - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Grant McLaughlin - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Maria Puchulutegui - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Natalie Tinnie-King - Law Enforcement

Top of page