15th Annual Everglades Day Festival Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Saturday February 8, 2014 8am to 4pm rain or shineSaturday February 8, 2014 8am to 4pm rain or shine

WORKSHOPS WITH LIVE PYTHONS AT EVERGLADES DAY in the Pavilion:

11am Ed Mercer PYTHON HUNTER ***** 3pm Jenny Novak PYTHON PATROL

11 am: Ed Mercer will present: “Burmese Pythons, Invasive Snakes in the Everglades”

 Ed Mercer will discuss the origin of the Burmese Python problem and a few of the programs put in place by the Fish & Wildlife Commission to help the removal of these pythons from the Everglades. He will demonstrate the growth rate of the python by comparing a juvenile python caught in the Everglades this past October and a full grown python. Mercer will also be talking about and exhibiting two other exotic snakes that are occasionally being found in the Everglades and rural areas.

 Edward Mercer is a licensed Burmese Python pet owner and volunteer Python Hunter for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission. “I’m not a biologist, or a herpetologist and I don’t work for any government agency. I’m just a regular guy that is passionate about big snakes have owned and handled Burmese Pythons for the last 15 years and my pets are a big part of my family. (In 2008, the state of Florida passed a law that Burmese Pythons can no longer be bought, sold, or bred and that current owners are permitted to keep their pythons until they expire but can no longer acquire any more.) When python sightings began to hit the news, I jumped at the chance to use my experience handling large constrictors and volunteered to help remove them from the Everglades. In June of 2010, my Python Hunter license was approved and I began my search. After a steep learning curve and walking many, many miles I have been able to successfully remove 45 pythons from the Everglades. I have appeared in documentaries airing on the Travel Channel, Univision, Dan Rather Reports, Fox News and several international channels along with interviews from several major news agencies.”

 3pm: Jenny Novak will present: “Python Patrol Detector Training”

 The Python Patrol Detector Training program will teach people how to recognize and look for Burmese pythons and other exotic snakes. This workshop is for those who want to learn how to identify native and nonnative snakes and how to correctly report sightings to FWC, but aren’t prepared to capture these invasive snakes themselves.

 Jenny Novak is the Python Patrol Coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. She has worked as a biologist for FWC for the past 15 years, 8 of which have been spent working with exotic species. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Wildlife Science. At FWC, she has worked as a conservation education specialist, field biologist, and special projects leader. While at the Tallahassee headquarters, she also was an adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College. She recently relocated to south Florida to take on the role of Python Patrol Coordinator. Before joining FWC, she spent several years as an adjunct instructor at Auburn University and Columbus State University.

 Novak’s passion for education and background in wildlife science make for a lively and interesting program. Come and learn about the pythons that now call the Everglades home, and discover how you can help stop the spread of destructive exotic species in Florida.

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In partnership with the Audubon Society of the Everglades, Friends of the Loxahatchee NWR, U.S. Fish& Wildlife Service, Palm Beach County Cultural Council, PBC Commission,