The makeup of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been in the news lately.

The Tampa Bay Times reported this week that Gov. Rick Scott is appointing members to the commission based, it seems, primarily on their support of the Republican Party, not any overriding interest in wildlife management and conservation.

I’m willing to reserve judgment on how the new appointees work out until after I see them in action.

It has been a long time since there has been an FWC commissioner with a background in biological science.

But the FWC staff has a large corps of subject matter experts on all aspects of wildlife conservation management and they bring that information to commissioners for policy decisions. As long as the staff can make a good case of the decision and commissioners are willing to listen, the professional background of commissioners may be less important.

How those policy decisions are made and carried out is important to the future because of the challenges the state faces from population growth, natural resource impacts and changing outdoor recreation preferences.

It is probably relevant that at FWC’s last meeting earlier this month in Gainesville, commissioners were provided with a comprehensive overview of the history of wildlife conservation and management and its future challenges.

One big issue will involve how wildlife management and conservation will be funded in the future in Florida.

Despite claims by the old guard that hunters and anglers carry the funding load for everyone else, the figures don’t back that up.

I addressed that issue in a recent column in The Ledger.

The problem is the only way to fix the funding issue is either through legislature or through a constitutional amendment, though that would ultimately require approval by the Florida Legislature to implement, as we learned through the current Florida Forever funding debacle.

That will require political support and perhaps having politically connected appointees on FWC could help the cause if they’re so inclined.

Here’s more on the root of the opposition to Tampa Electric’s plans to expand solar energy farms in southwest Polk County.

The original word circulated among county officials was that the protest was about a facility five miles away from the area where the anti-solar signs were going up.

But it seems that information was misleading.

Here’s the rest of the story.

TECO is planning to contract for a second facility closer to the rural residential areas of Bradley and Chicora, near or bordering Albritton, Bethlehem and Chicora roads.

It would cover 417 acres spread among a group of separate tracts and generate 74.9 megawatts. According to the narrative in TECO’s initial application this plan would allow the utility to avoid falling under the provisions of the Power Plant Siting Act, which applies to facilities generating 75 MW or more.

The project will require approval of a conditional-use permit from Polk County.

To hearing date has been set.

The tentative schedule is to have the solar farm in operation by early next year.

Sierra supports solar energy because it provides cheaper, more environmentally-friendly energy that reduces the generation of greenhouse gases that affect climate change.

Colt Creek State Park may be the beneficiary of wetlands mitigation work that is required for six Florida Department of Transportation projects in Sumter and Hernando counties, according to a report scheduled to be presented to the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board Tuesday.

The agency will meet at its Tampa office.

This is part of a required annual report FDOT makes to the water management district.

The report also made it clear that its possible an approved private mitigation bank may be the ultimate beneficiary of the mitigation work if credits are available in the Withlacoochee River Basin.

Generally, the mitigation must occur in the basin in which the impacts occur.

This was probably predictable.

In recent months officials in Lake Alfred and Bartow put the skids on plans for solar energy farms within their jurisdictions.

In both cases the local officials—absence any evidence—said they were hesitant to allow solar farms where Tampa Electric proposed them because it could affect the value of nearby residential developments.

Now this solar-as-threat-to-home-values sentiment has crept into a rural area in southwest Polk.

Just before TECO was planning to hold a groundbreaking ceremony featuring local dignitaries for its planned Payne Creek solar farm near Streamsong Resort, area residents began receiving anti-solar farm literature and some “Stop The Solar” yard signs were popping up in the area.

In the meantime, the groundbreaking was put off until next fall. The official reason was scheduling conflicts.

TECO officials say they are still planning the project, which is under review by Polk’s planning staff.

In the meantime, county officials are working on a response to the anti-solar campaign.

Polk commissioners have directed county staffers to come up with a new approach to selling the new curbside recycling system.

Last year Polk solid waste officials made major changes to the system—no glass, almost no plastic, fewer kinds of paper–and created a public backlash.

The main problem was that the changes were poorly communicated and even after it was clear there were problems, solid waste officials stubbornly refused to improve.

That problem was pointed out in this blog, and a separate column published in The Ledger.

That led to a work session earlier this month in which commissioners said this situation has to change.

That’s because some residents had become so confused or disgusted by the new recycling rules that they quit recycling even though they generate plenty of material to recycle.

Watch for a new recycling information campaign soon.

The Orange County Commission voted this month to increase impact fees significantly to keep up with growth and land costs.

One significant increase was in park impact fees, which are now $1,544 per new home, compared to only $178 in Polk County. Orange County officials said the fee increase was justified because of rising land prices to purchase new parks to serve the county’s growing population.

Polk, by contrast, has purchased land for new parks, but one site in the Lakeland suburbs has remained undeveloped for several years because of lack of funds.

The Polk commission’s five-year moratorium on impact fees and the modest impact fee schedule that was adopted since the moratorium ended still leaves a deficit, it seems.

Organizers of a Women’s Walk in Highlands County Jan. 20 are seeking participants from the region.

The event is planned on the anniversary of the women’s march in Washington D.C. last January.

It will occur around key intersections along U.S. 27 in Avon Park, Sebring and Lake Placid from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

The Avon Park event will be held at the Highway 64 intersection, which is the road leading to downtown Avon Park.

Participants are encouraged to bring signs. One of the issues organizers want to emphasize is environmental justice.

Following the walk, the group plans to hold a rally at the Women’s Club of Sebring, 4260 SW Lakeview Dr. at 12:30 p.m.

For more information, contact Barb Wells at Barbwells85@gmail.com .