To All;
Okay, this event is passed but they are still writing articles about me at my tender young age of, I think, about 39. They may have gotten it wrong in the article. Just wanted to share it with all of you.
Roger
Naturalist and
author to share experiences exploring nooks and crannies of Ocala forest
Florida master
naturalist Roger Fulton. (rogerfulton.com)
Elira BenavariCorrespondent
Naturalist Roger Fulton will speak at a
meeting at Trout Lake Nature Center.
EUSTIS — Roger Fulton
knows his way around the 607 square miles of the Ocala National Forest.
Fulton, a master naturalist and author, will share his
experience of hiking and biking more than 130 miles of forest trails and his
trail guidebook "Hiking Trails in the Ocala National Forest" at 6
p.m. Friday at Trout Lake Nature Center, 520 E. County Road 44.
Fulton, 68, who lives half of the year in Cortland, N.Y., and
the other half in DeLand, loves nothing more than sharing his love for the
outdoors and helping others safely explore the miles he treks. He will share
photos and experiences of what he has discovered along miles of trails in Ocala
— from the lakes and prairies to the abundant variety of wildlife in the
forest.
Prolific writer
"Down here there is a lot of public land, but just try to
find it," said Fulton, who started his explorations in Florida in the
1990s after retiring from a career as a N.Y. State police captain. "When I
first came here the first hiking book I bought had a 46-mile hike and I knew I
could not do that and realized most ordinary people could not do it
either."
Fulton decided to use his prior police experience in formulating
outdoor books for ordinary people spotlighting hikes listed that were no more
than five miles in length. He has now written 125 field guides in a portable
and easy-to-use format for hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, wildlife
viewing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and golfing in many parts of New
York plus Central and Northeast Florida. The guides are patterned after
Fulton's old spiral-style police notebooks.
"Most I have written about are in conservation areas that
have 1.5-mile trails and are normally easy in Florida because most of the
terrain is flat."
During Fulton's criminal-justice career, where he also achieved
a doctoral degree, he wrote a number of successful management books, the first
in 1988, "Common Sense Supervision," which is still in print and is
translated in five languages.
'No need to panic'
Now Fulton loves nothing more than traveling, leading nature
tours and educational power-point presentations to make sure outdoor
enthusiasts are equipped with proper gear such as weather-appropriate
outer-wear like boots, hats and rain-gear, the ability to know what to do when
encountering wild animals and how to read trail markers and, above all, having
a course laid out before starting an outdoor adventure.
Fulton's book, "Safe in the Woods," is one he
particularly recommends for readers as it delves into what to do when things go
wrong out in the woods.
"There is normally no need to panic, and the most important
thing is to have plenty of water," Fulton said. "It is the elixir of
life."
For more information on this and more Friday-night naturalist
programs, call 352-357-7536 or email tlnc.director@gmail.com.
Although the program is free to attend, donations are requested. For more
information about Fulton, see rogerfulton.com and
rogerfultonoutdoors.blogspot.com.
