As our group stepped further through the waist-deep tea-stained waters within the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Larry Richardson, a retired biologist from the Refuge, assured us that the resident female alligator had not been observed for several months. Some Fellows began to feel exploratory bites beneath the cool, opaque waters from either curious resident fish or submerged tree roots come to life. Still, all members of our party continued forth through the murky waters. As we progressed through the swamp, we passed scores of propagated ghost orchid seeds, all produced from a single seed pod capable of producing millions of seeds. The ghost orchid is a notoriously difficult species to propagate from seed and the plants we saw, buoyed by burlap to resident tree trunks, were a test to see if the plants could be grown to maturity in the field from seed extracted in a greenhouse setting. As other wild orchids looked down upon our gathering, we continued listening to Mr. Richardson's tales of the infant years of the Refuge, including conducting prescribed burns when the total refuge staff included two people! 

As one group explored the swamp by foot, others explored the Refuge by swamp buggy, guided by the Refuge's Project Leader, Kevin Godsea, who discussed the current challenges of managing the property, including native cabbage palm encroachment and invasive species. The field trip gave us first-hand perspective on the habitat and challenges involved with the focus of the NRLI session, the recovery of the Endangered Florida Panther.

 

 

Bill McKinstry
Land Management Program Manager
Suwannee River Water Management District
 

Bill was born and raised in the rural settings of Levy County by two wonderful parents and is a lifelong Episcopalian. He is a devoted husband to his beautiful wife Teri and a passionate father for his daughter Faith. Teri and Bill are also excited and patiently waiting for the birth of their son Taylor later this year.

 

He obtained his bachelor and master degrees from the University of Florida in forestry and other environmental related sciences. Previous careers as a private consultant, wildlife biologist for the State, County employee, and a researcher have molded his path and provided him the opportunity to work all over Florida. Today he leads and coordinates the planning and implementation of land management activities and emergency management operations for the Suwannee River Water Management District.  

 

In his free time he enjoys exploring the outdoors, visiting both coasts, fishing around the islands of Cedar Key, cooking, traveling, and learning about bygone eras. This desire to learn about history came naturally and early in his life. His family was one of the original families to settle Alachua County which sparked a great interests in history but, to the dismay of his wife, it has caused a room in their house to be overrun with historical literature on Florida. He is a proud Christian, family man, friend, freemason, and land manager who currently resides in Lake City, FL.

 

 

Jess Sutt
Wildlife Refuge Specialist
Southwest Florida Gulf Coast Refuge Complex, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Jess Sutt is a 2011 graduate of Warren Wilson College with bachelor's degrees in Conservation Biology and Environmental Education. She holds an MS in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences and an Environmental Communications certificate from the University of Florida, where her human dimensions research focused on stakeholder engagement and conflict management within the goliath grouper fishery. Since finishing her studies in 2014, Jess has worked as Wildlife Refuge Specialist for Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges in the Naples, FL area. Outside of a rewarding career, she most enjoys biking, camping, gardening, just about any water activity, and spending time with her family of two dogs, a snake, and a pot-bellied pig. 

  

Vanessa Bessey
Environmental Administrator
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Water Policy

 

Vanessa has a B. S. in Chemistry from the University of Central Florida and is an Environmental Administrator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Office of Agricultural Water Policy (OAWP). She is responsible for overseeing field staff activities for operations in south and southwest Florida. The main mission of the OAWP is to assist agricultural producers with our Best Management Practices (BMPs) program. This includes performing on-site assessments and identifying BMPs to improve water quality and to reduce water quantity used on the operation. Vanessa considers herself lucky to work with such amazing people and to get to learn something new every day. Prior joining the OAWP, Vanessa was the Environmental Resources Director for St. Lucie County

 

Vanessa lives in Okeechobee with her two sons, Jake 16 and Luke 12, and dog Annie. In her spare time Vanessa Loves to craft, go picking, and hunting.

 

Wes Seitz

Public Hunting Areas Biologist

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 

Wes Seitz is Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC's) Public Hunting Areas Biologist for the South Florida region, a position that assists in coordinating recreational programs on nearly 2 million acres of land held in the public trust. For more than a decade he has enjoyed working with South Florida's diverse stakeholders and understands the importance of public participation in conservation. Wes has also facilitated agency rulemaking resulting in over 220 rule changes, many of which represent an increase in recreational opportunity or an important measure to protect public resources. Wes holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science from the University of Florida.