NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

December 30, 1997

CONTACT: Lt. Jim Huffstodt (561) 625-5122

 

WIN A DREAM TRIP AND HELP SAVE A LAKE

This is the last call for Florida sportsmen to win a turkey hunting and bass fishing trip of a lifetime, and help save an endangered lake in the process--Lake Trafford in Collier County.

A silent auction for the trip package is one effort to raise money for the lake restoration project.

Frank Morello, a fisheries biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), describes the hunting-fishing trip package as a rare opportunity for sportsmen. "The package is a community effort," Morello said. "The trip is being donated by Rex Properties, Lake Trafford Conservation Club, Lake Trafford Marina, Airboat Experience and the Seminole Indian Casino."

The prize trip includes:

  1. a three-day spring wild turkey hunt on Lake Trafford Ranch for the prized Osceola turkey, the most coveted of the wild turkey sub-species. Food and lodging will be provided.
  2. a guided fishing trip on Lake Trafford for largemouth bass, provided by Ski Olesky, local fish camp operator and guide.
  3. an airboat tour of the Lake Trafford shoreline provided by Airboat Experience.
"The winner of the silent auction will have the opportunity to see wild Florida up close and personal," Morello said. "The Lake Trafford Ranch abuts the shore of Lake Trafford and is part of the Big Cypress wilderness system.

"This beautiful patch of old Florida is rich in wildlife," he said. "This is home to the endangered snail kite, the bald eagle, a variety of herons and egrets, the occasional black bear and even a few of the remaining endangered Florida panther."

Organizers asked that auction participants make a minimum $20 donation. All monies will help fund the projected Lake Trafford Restoration. To Bid, print your name, address, birth date, daytime and nighttime phone numbers and bid amount on a 3x5 card or facsimile. Mail the card and a minimum $20 tax deductible Contribution for the Lake Trafford Project to: Lake Trafford Restoration, c/o Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 S. Meridian Street, Farris Bryant Bldg., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1600. Only checks and money orders accepted. Make payable to the "Wildlife Foundation of Florida/Lake Trafford". Bids will be accepted until midnight, January 15, 1998.

"Lake Trafford is especially important because it is the single natural lake located south of Lake Okeechobee," Morello said. "Over the years we have, however, seen a gradual degradation in the water quality and fish and wildlife habitat associated with the lake.

 

FISHERIES Home FWC Home