eNews
Vol 5 | No 4 | November 2012
Under the tent and in the field at Cherokee Plantation — almost 250 attended Fall Field Day
On Friday, Oct. 26, Cherokee plantation was the host of the 2012 Tall Timbers Fall Field Day during a perfect fall morning in the Red Hills of north Florida. During registration, almost 250 attendees checked out our sponsors' exhibits, and old friends mingled. A notable exhibit was by the Orianne Society, which displayed an Eastern Indigo Snake not often seen in the wild. Using the Indigo Snake as their flagship species, they work to conserve rare reptiles.
Under the tent Dr. Steve Conlin, the president of Gem Land Company, owners of the property, discussed the history and management goals of this premiere 7000-acre quail hunting property in northeastern Leon County that has a rich tradition dating back to the early 1900s. Cherokee, was originally part of Foshalee Plantation, when purchased by the Ingalls and Ireland families in 1944. In the mid-1960s the families mutually agreed to divide hunting operations creating Cherokee Plantation. Both Herbert Stoddard and later Walter Rosene, the fathers of quail management, worked and consulted with managers of Cherokee. Today's land manager, John Fuller, ensures that through careful management, Cherokee remains one of the top quail hunting properties in the Red Hills, along with excellent dove, duck and turkey hunting.
Also under the tent, Clay Sisson, Director of the Albany Area Quail Management program and Bill Palmer, Director of Research for Tall Timbers, discussed the outlook for the 2012/2013 quail hunting season — after covey call count surveys — it looks good! (See Quail Hatch article in this E-News edition.) Finally, Chris Worrell, Forestry Operations Administrator with the Florida Forest Service, discussed issues regarding prescribed fire for land managers.
On the field tour, Cherokee Land Manager John Fuller discussed a variety of management topics, adding a bit of wit and wisdom from his 35 years of experience working with the property owners. Topics included management of Cherokee's duck pond, farming operation, quail management, the impact of Foshalee Slough, and it's dove fields. During one of the stops, Dr. Eric Altom, with Eukanuba, discussed the importance of good health care and the right nutrition for bird dog performance.
The field day ended with a tasty lunch sponsored by Eukanuba. And finally, the winner of the raffle was drawn; the prize was a gift certificate from South Georgia Outdoors. We are very grateful to the Orvis Company, our presenting sponsor for the event and to our other sponsors for their support of Tall Timbers Fall Field Day. Our sponsors included: Orvis, Eukanuba, Plantation Security, Ag-Pro Boston, South Georgia Outdoors, Lister's Outdoor World, Jager Pro, Flowers Foods, Southern Forestry Realty, Wildlife Trends, American Wildlife Enterprises, Ward 1 Guns, LLC, Golden Service & Pine Straw, Bartlett Tree Experts and Covey Rise. We want to especially thank, Archbold Medical Center for providing the coffee to start our day.
All in all it was another beautiful day in the woods at one of the premier private shooting plantations in the Red Hills. On behalf of everyone involved, we thank the extended Ingalls family for sharing their beautiful property with such a large group of interested Tall Timbers members.
At left, Executive Director Lane Green, greets the crowd under the tent. This will be Lane's last Fall Field Day as the director of Tall Timbers, as he will be retiring at the end of the year. At right, Tall Timbers Research Director Bill Palmer in the field at Cherokee. Bill will be leading Tall Timbers in the future as the President and CEO of the organization.
At right, on one of the field stops, land manager, John Fuller, discusses management on Cherokee Plantation.
At left, Chris Worrell with the Florida Forest Service discusses the importance of smoke management for prescribed burners, and at right, Dr. Eric Altom with Eukanuba discusses the importance of good nutrition and health care for hunting dogs.
Fall Field Day attendees at field stop.
Left to right, Ellery Sedgwick, Redmond Ingalls, and Caren Sturges.
On the Wagons at Cherokee
Raffle winner Lori Terry with Research Director Bill Palmer.
