If you enjoy hunting or freshwater fishing and you live within driving distance of Milton, you’ll want to mark down Aug. 23 on your calendar.

Wildlife Expo 2008 will at the Pensacola Junior College Milton campus that day and will run from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. There’ll be six sessions offered during the day, and participants will have their pick of attending one of three seminars offered during each session.

The sponsors of the event are the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Services (IFAS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Alabama Department of Conservation, Buckmasters, National Wild Turkey Federation, National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited and other organizations.

“Our goal is to get outdoors men and women and landowners together from North Florida and South Alabama and for them to have the opportunity to interact with wildlife professionals,” said Rick Williams of IFAS. “We hope that at the end of the day, all the parties can take away things they can apply, whether it’s managing food plots or managing their lands for deer, turkey, quail or even waterfowl.”

A few of the seminar topics are: food plot preparation and blends; field judging white-tailed deer; managing native vegetation for wildlife; keeping deer on your property; how to use game cameras properly; turkey hunting for beginners; and cooking wild game. Demonstrations will also be available on tree stand safety and archery.

Williams said there’ll be a special emphasis on kids with sessions covering ATV safety, shooting safety and poisonous plants and animals. One of the speakers will be 11-year-old Zac Cooper, a local young man and the son of Santa Rosa County taxidermist Chad Cooper. Zac’s hunting skills have become well known, and he’s featured in his own segment on television’s Outdoor Channel.

The cost to attend Wildlife Expo 2008 is $5. Those under 16 will be admitted free. The first 75 people through the door receive a T-shirt.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the Bo Johnson Center on campus. For more information, contact Rick Williams or Robin Vickers with IFAS at 850-983-5216.