June 23, 2016 Yesterday I spent 9 hours witnessing a public hearing held in Eastpoint, regarding a second hunt of Florida black bears. While it was in many ways a very anxious day for me, I was absorbed and impressed with the speakers (I was Speaker # 66 and there were several dozen more behind me). I didn’t anticipate our collective courage and brilliance. When I first made a pitch to this Commission, in 1984, regarding a nongame wildlife program … Continue
Tag Archives: Florida black bears
Today, I offer you a guest post from Rev. Candace McKibben, my beloved friend and partner in all things ritual. The photos are by the always amazing David Moynahan. There’s more to come on bears, and restoring them to their deserved sacred status, but we feel satisfied with this start. This column appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat, Saturday, November 28, page 1C. The Sacredness of Life November 26, 2015 Rev. Candace McKibben About a month ago now, I was … Continue
Dear Friends: Many, many people are deeply disturbed by the hunt planned for the day after tomorrow. Many wonder what they can do, tell me they feel powerless. Sometimes I do, too. All I know is to stay engaged and keep talking. Don’t go numb. Call your local radio stations, TV stations, use your social networking skills. Call your legislators, yet again. Call your minister, pastor, rabbi. Ask them to speak from the pulpit. Send a letter to the editor. Go to … Continue
On a Sunday evening I went for a brief walk in some coastal woods with my friends Jean and Neil. And what did we come upon? So many people are seeing mothers with young cubs, 2,3,4 young cubs. Have each of us found some way to speak for the bears? Is there another phone call you might make, to someone who might know someone with power to affect this tragic unfolding? Here is what the writer Alice Walker says: “The … Continue
This article appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat yesterday. It’s a much shortened version of the column I sent you last week. Since it’s not available on line (and why not?? Ask for it!), I scanned it for you. Please send far and wide. Be their voice….. Share On: … Continue
On the last day of August, we paddled a clear forest creek, for pleasure. The current slipped my kayak around cypress knees and beneath the arms of tupelo gum, but my mind was wrapped around black bears: just days earlier, the state wildlife agency had voted to open a hunting season on them. As we left the woods, a black bear cub galloped across the dirt road in front of our car. The young animal’s hind legs seemed longer than … Continue
Last week I went searching for evidence of Florida black bears down along our coast. They are shy creatures, generally night-dwelling. I always watch for them, though, and as the poet Mary Oliver says “…everywhere I look on the scratchy hillsides, shadows seem to grow shoulders.” I walked in places I know they forage and walk. I found acorns they hadn’t yet eaten on the side of the road. I saw scat they had left in the … Continue