The week of December 17, 2004
County OKs lizard roundup
A Clearwater group's plan to humanely capture feral iguanas on Boca Grande on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 18 and 19, was approved by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners Tuesday, Dec. 14. But the assistant manager of Gasparilla Island State Park said no one has applied for a permit to round up iguanas there.
"They absolutely need a permit to do this on park property," said John Aspiolea. He had spoken with Misty Nabers, executive director of the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association, which is sponsoring the roundup by Scales and Tails. But Nabers didn't mention the name of the group or give Aspiolea a date for the roundup.
"I asked her to submit the information so we could consider giving them a permit. I haven't had any contact after that," Aspiolea said. A permit for the roundup must be issued by Ken Alvarez, the District 4 biologist at Oscar Scherer State Park in Sarasota County.
To issue a permit, Alvarez said he would need a letter stating in detail who would be removing the iguanas, on what dates, how they would be removed and what would be done with them. "I don't like the idea of giving them to reptile collectors," he said. "I don't want iguanas from Gasparilla Island becoming a problem somewhere else."
Once a permit was issued, the park manager would be responsible for compliance, Alvarez said.
Scales and Tails director Jamie Mitchell has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
The Lee County board's decision left open the question of whether other groups who might want to trap the nuisance reptiles would have to receive the same permission – including the county's own Animal Services.
The commission's action was needed because, by a 1983 Lee County ordinance, Gasparilla Island is a wildlife sanctuary, and the commission must specifically authorize any action that would disturb wildlife or its habitat on the island.
Scott Trebatoski, director of Lee County Animal Services, attended Tuesday's meeting. He privately expressed doubts about whether the roundup will be successful. Animal Services personnel who came to the island last week found they couldn't get any closer than 20 feet before the iguanas dived into their burrows.
Trebatoski said Animal Services is studying how to address the iguana problem methodically and scientifically, by collaborating with biologists at a local university.
The iguana issue was a "walk-on," an agenda item raised at the last minute. The agenda revision recap sheet didn't mention Scales and Tails. "Provide direction and/or authorization to Lee County staff to proceed with activities for the removal of iguanas from Gasparilla Island, as such area is becoming grossly over populated with the non-native reptiles," it read.
When the item came up on the agenda, Trebatoski went to the podium, ready to answer any questions the commissioners might have. Ignoring Trebatoski, commissioner Robert Janes, who represents the island, launched into a brief re-cap of complaints about the iguanas he heard at a Nov. 17 meeting on the issue, sponsored by the GICIA.
Janes said the iguanas were introduced years before the protective ordinance was enacted. "They're taking over the island," he said. "They're aggressive and affect a number of endangered species."
According to Janes, Scales and Tails had already received permission to collect iguanas from lands owned by the state, the GICIA and 20 local property owners. The group would domesticate the iguanas, then place them with reptile collectors, he said.
Janes asked the commission to authorize what he called "humane taking" by Scales and Tails to avoid violating the ordinance. The vote was unanimous, in favor of the resolution.
Trebatoski sat down, unheard and apparently unnoticed. "I was there to answer questions, not to be the point person," he said afterward. "But I thought it would be more broad than what it ended up being."
Trebatoski said his intention was to alleviate the need to go to the board every time a different group wanted to trap iguanas. But that may have been exactly what Janes had in mind.
"We don't want to let everybody and his brother to come in," Janes said later. "This is a very selective group, they seem to know how to do it.
"You just don't want somebody to come out there that doesn't have experience in handling iguanas. They're a non-native species, but we don't want them treated inhumanely. Scales and Tails has a good-sized operation going up where they are."
Asked why he hadn't called on Trebatoski, Janes said "We have data that backs up the blue sheet. There was really no need to ask him any questions, I don't know what more he could tell us."
Trebatoski said afterward he didn't mind being overlooked. "We don't believe the ordinance applies to exotic wildlife," he said. "I wanted to clarify everything, but I'll discuss it with the county administration. We all want to see some reduction in the number of iguanas out there."
http://www.bocabeacon.com/story.htbml?number=712
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