Wheeler poses for a picture while working for Hot Sports Charters.
Auburn College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment alum, Evan Wheeler, has been named one of six 2024 Hospitality Heroes of Pensacola, Florida.
Wheeler, from Fairhope, Alabama, graduated from the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) after earning his master’s degree in wildlife sciences in 2019.
Every year, Visit Pensacola rewards its outstanding hospitality and tourism team members who provide remarkable service to the industry. In recognition of Wheeler’s work within the community, he was recognized as a Hospitality Heroes of Pensacola, where he currently resides.
Having spent his collegiate years studying longleaf pine planting density and management and its effects on the balance between timber stand structure and wildlife habitat quality, it was natural for Wheeler to continue his post-graduate career focused on wildlife biology.
Wheeler is an inshore fishing guide and captain of Hot Spots Charters located in Pensacola Beach. He is also the founder and owner of Tall Pines Tight Lines LLC, a company dedicated to helping private landowners “envision and achieve land management goals and grow their resources stewardship.” Through his work with Tall Pines Tight Lines, Wheeler specializes in wildlife habitat enhancement and ecological restoration.
He assists private landowners with understanding the current condition of their properties and helps them develop comprehensive management plans to meet a suite of objectives. Wheeler explained, “I help them develop comprehensive management plans to meet a suite of objectives. Landowner interests commonly include habitat enhancement and increased hunting opportunities for white-tailed deer, eastern wild turkey, and northern bobwhite, as well as general ecological well-being and property aesthetics.”
Wheeler and his company also offer on-the-ground land management services such as prescribed burning, invasive species control, forestry services, heavy equipment work and more.
Wheeler shows students demonstrations at Shoreline Park.
While reflecting on his time as captain of Hot Spots Charters, Wheeler stated, “I have the incredible opportunity to take people from all walks of life to experience a multitude of fishing opportunities that the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola Bay, and associated estuaries provide.”
Inspired by this work, Wheeler was recognized by the City of Penscola for his recent volunteer service at an educational event for Gulf Breeze middle school students held at Penscola’s Shoreline Park, where he taught the students about boating safety and the physiology and ecology of fish species and other marine organisms.
Wheeler also encourages the next generation of CFWE students, if they are struggling to find their path forward, to explore new activities that might help them discover their potential career interests. As many CFWE students would agree, Wheeler added: “Get outside, travel and grow your own vegetables. Eat squirrels if it comes to it.”
“I realized at a very early age that I belong outside, preferably on the water, and then spent my life creating opportunities to build a career around my passions and minimizes the proportion of time it seems like work,” said Wheeler.
At the end of his current fishing season, Evan Wheeler will be pushing his career to a new level as he begins his journey as a real estate agent. “In all aspects of my career and life, I genuinely strive to embody the Tall Pines Tight Lines slogan, ‘LAND OR SEA, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME,’” said Wheeler.
(Written by Kendall Wilkes)
