Florida Future of Hunting Summit
John Fuller, Executive Director
The Future in Hunting in Florida, Inc.
In anticipation of the 2005 Summit on the Future of Hunting in Florida, funding of approximately $80,000 was raised through donations to the Florida Wildlife Foundation. In August of 2005, more than 200 stakeholders convened in Orlando for a two-day summit on the Future of Hunting in Florida. The summit identified many issues and growing challenges that hunters face. Those challenges include rapid urbanization and development, decreasing numbers of hunters, and a shrinking portion of public and private land accessible to rewarding hunting opportunities. Beginning in January of 2006, the Steering Team from the Summit retained the services of an attorney (whose fee was paid for through the Foundation) for the purposes of creation of a permanent organization to promote and defend hunting. The Steering Team continued to meet monthly, and on June 14, 2006, “The Future of Hunting in Florida, Inc.,” was incorporated. The Steering Team is now the Board of Directors for the new, not-for-profit corporation. The new Board has continued to meet monthly: corporate bylaws have been adopted, a trademark and federal employer identification number have been obtained, and the corporation has been duly registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Also, application is being made to the IRS for not-for-profit status pursuant to s.501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The overall goals of The Future of Hunting in Florida, Inc., (FHF) are:
- To promote public awareness of and support for hunting;
- To initiate programs to protect and improve habitat and management of game animals; and,
- To promote the preservation of the hunting tradition.
The organization has several short-term goals for 2007-08. FHF intends to sponsor a series of meetings throughout Florida to further facilitate the recommendations which arose from the original summit. FHF also intends to sponsor and support the Florida Youth Hunting Program. These two and three-day hunts pair a mentor with a youth and an accompanying adult for the purpose of teaching hunting safety and ethics while experiencing a real hunting opportunity. The hunts provide youth, and the adult, with an initial, positive, safe, and educational hunting experience, where basic skills and values are instilled. The hunts also provide youth a basic understanding of practical conservation methods and encourage wildlife habitat enhancement, conservation, and management. Volunteer/mentors are taught how to teach ethics, safety, and conservation.
Long-term goals of the organization include expansion of membership and membership participation in workshops Involving the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, additional regional and statewide meetings of the hunting community and other stakeholders, and further growth in the number of hunts offered through the Florida Youth Hunting Program.
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