Sam Shine, retired CEO of Samtec, has given the people of the Big Bend region an amazing gift --- 6,200 acres of pine land property that abuts St Mark's National Wildlife Refuge on its north side. All the water that flows across St Mark's comes through this property. The land has a market value of about $9 million, but to those of us who cherish the Big Bend as it is, this land is priceless.

Dan Frisk, our Complex Manager, said "It rarely happens that we get large tracts of land, especially land that’s already started to be restored. And, since it joins our property, we now own all the land from the gulf up to the coastal highway. So that’s pretty cool."

You can read more about it in this press release:
https://www.fws.gov/southeast/articles/a-shining-example/

Clint Wynns' wildlife murals on the bridges along the Dixie Mainline were defaced last weekend.  The Friends submitted an article to the Dixie County Advocate in an effort to catch the vandal(s).

Earth Day at the Refuge, championed by board member Bob Lewis, is featured in the first issue of The Link. The Link is an electronic newsletter highlighting outstanding events and programs by Friends groups around the nation. Great event Bob!

​Last year Alan Davidson decided to spend his work-sponsored volunteer days at the Refuge and wrote this wonderful post about it. Another year flew by and Alan was back in May to work with Debbie Meeks on the Dixie side trimming branches along secondary roads and picking up litter. 

​As they worked Alan told stories about his life growing up in the area and coming to Suwannee while Debbie filled Alan in on current town and Refuge events. They found a couple of surprises, a big serene pond off the Natural Pine Forest trail and a gator chillin' under the surface of a smaller pond.

Your cell phone's location service and a downloaded PDF map is all you need with offline maps apps like Avenza. Daniel Barrand, Refuge Forester, made this PDF of the Lock-Shingle Paddling trail that makes it easier to explore our Refuges. Look for more offline PDF maps in the future.
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We had a great time meeting and chatting with neighbors and nature lovers about the unspoiled area we love.

Almost 80 Dixie County 5th graders celebrated Earth Day at the Refuge. Some grownups came too.

The Friends booth will be part of the first ever Suwannee Spring Art Festival on Saturday, April 21, where we will spread the word about our wonderful Refuges. Hope to see you there.

Earth Day began in 1970 to focus attention on conservation of our natural resources. Come celebrate the 48th Earth Day as Friends of the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges presents three informative expert presentations: April 20th, 2018, 9:15am - 12:00pm
Location: Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge Office Complex, Highway 347 at 16540 NW 31st Place, Chiefland, FL 32625.

Free. All welcomed.
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Our three experts cover marine mammals, fisheries, and the health of our rivers
9:15 - “Marine Mammals and Marine Debris”, presented by MacKenzie Russell of University of Florida.
10:15 - “How FWC Manages Marine Fisheries”, presented by Hannah Healey of Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
11:15 - “Water Quality Monitoring - How, Where, When, and You”, presentation by John Quarterman of the WWALS Watershed Coalition (Suwannee Riverkeepers)
Attend one or all presentations. Other nearby recreational opportunities include the River Walk, Tram Ridge Trail, and Shell Mound.

Travelers on the Dixie Mainline, one of the favorite trails on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, can now enjoy new bridge murals by Old Town resident Clint Wynns.

Wynns, a 66-year-old former professional chainsaw carver always wanted to paint murals to enhance the Mainline bridges. He hunts in the Refuge every day from archery through regular gun season and is always looking for ways to help out on the land he knows so well. Yet he hesitated because he thought a mural would attract graffiti and didn’t want to waste his time. When Debbie Meeks decorated one of the bridges with an alligator painting last year—and it went unmolested—he decided to try.

Clint says his ideas just come to him. “Hogs and deer because that’s the Refuge. Then there are turtles, a manatee, and an alligator. Someone suggested an otter so I added one.”

He cuts templates out of thin luan plywood. This technique shortens the amount of time he spends on the bridge. First he tapes up the inner shape and paints the background. Then he reverses the template by taking down the inner shape and protecting his painted background with the surrounding plywood sheet while painting the animal. Once the whole painting is dry he ties both pieces of the template together which allows him to spray paint the cut line for a dark outline without hand tracing. 

"So many people have stopped while I was working—all classes of people—to tell me how much they appreciate what I’m doing. Kids get out to look and I show them how they can help.” Clint says.

More murals are needed. You can adopt a bridge by calling Larry Woodward, Deputy Refuge Manager, at 352-493-0238.

With an estimated 150-170 attendees, good weather, great food, a flash sale of logo merchandise, and the all-time favorite speaker, University of Florida archaeologist Dr. Ken Sassaman, the March 10 event met and exceeded all our expectations.

We all know Shell Mound, or so we think!

However, as our featured speaker, Dr. Ken Sassaman of the University of Florida, may change our minds about what we think we know. He has amazing new information for us about this site in our backyard, on our own Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. A few of the amazing details --

• Shell Mound was a portal into another world for the people who lived here in the centuries before the arrival of Europeans; they regarded it literally as a gateway to the underworld.
• The sand dune on which Shell Mound stands was formed by strong southwest winds during the last Ice Age. It is oriented to the winter/summer solstice. Because of that orientation, it was an annual ceremonial gathering place for peoples from all over the southeast . . . and it was a sacred burial place for centuries.
• The people who lived here and hosted these huge annual gatherings, practiced oyster mariculture and used fish trapping to sustain the abundance needed to feed the crowds who came.

Much of what you learn will be new to you. If you want to prepare your mind for this brain-adventure, read the draft of the new guide, Shell Mound: A Portal into Another World before you come.

 The Nominations Committee has set a Slate of Officers and Directors. It will be presented to the members for a vote at the Annual Meeting on Saturday March 10. Terms of office extend from annual meeting to annual meeting. The dates in parenthesis indicate the year when a term will expire at the annual meeting. Short profiles of each current and proposed  Board member are on the Board page of the website.

President: 
Bill Dummitt (2019)
President Elect:
John McPherson (2019)
Past President:
Russ Hall (2019)
Treasurer:
Mackenzie Russell (2020)
Secretary:
Ed DeHaan (2019)
 
Directors
Presented for Re-election
Libby Cagle (2020)
Debbie Meeks (2020)
Margy Van Landingham (2020)
Presented as New Board Members
Bob Lewis (2020)
Miriam Wiley (2020)

Directors Whose Terms Continue for Another year
Jim Hoy (2019)
Debbie Jordan (2019)
Dan Kline (2019)
Kit Lane (2019)
Doug Maple (2019)
Roger McDaniels (2019)
John Thalacker (2019)
Linda Tyson (2019)
Directors Leaving the Board
Peg Hall
 Maria Sgambati

Famed nature photographer, Clyde Butcher has been visiting and photographing our Refuges. As  announced a few weeks ago, he visited Cedar Key March 3 and promised he will be doing more work here in the future.

Several of us were clearing the new section of the Shell Mound trail today, preparing for the Friends Annual Meeting. To our surprise, a group of Road Scholars showed up. Maybe we are not as far off the main trail as we think we are!

Refuge staff assisted the State archaeologist in the removal of human remains recently discovered on Seahorse Key.

The Refuge staff continue the planning and research to determine the best way to restore hydrology across the Lower Suwannee Refuge into the Gulf. The natural flow was altered decades ago by timbering. Restoration would likely be a significant enhancement to habitat for the local wildlife, fish, and shellfish populations.

Longtime refuge hunter and part-time refuge mural painter, Clint Wynn, has been adding beauty along the Dixie Mainline. Thanks from all of us, Clint.

Now that the weather has warmed up and we’ve had rain, we should start to see flowers blooming in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge!  On our walk last month, the only flowers we saw blooming were tiny violets.  Even so, there was plenty of bird activity and we even saw butterflies, including one monarch trying to nectar on a tiny violet!

If you have any questions or would like to meet us in the refuge rather than Cedar Key Town Park, please email me at donna.kreft@gmail.com or call me at 352-543-6738.
 
I hope to see you Friday!

SEATING/TICKETS: Seats are free for the lecture, but limited because of the room’s size. Reserve your seat and get your tickets by visiting Eventbrite.com. Both venues are handicapped assessable. Street parking is available.

• SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 3, 2018:
  
  • LECTURE AND BOOK SIGNING Cedar Key Community Center, 809 6th Street, Cedar Key, FL
    
  • 1:30 pm Book Signing by Clyde Butcher at the Community Center
    
  • 2:00 pm Lecture by Clyde Butcher
    
  • OPENING RECEPTION Cedar Key Arts Center, 547 2nd Street, Cedar Key, Florida 5 – 7 pm Enjoy light refreshments and Clyde himself.
    
• SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 4 – APRIL 30, 2018:
  
  • GALLERY EXHIBIT Cedar Key Arts Center, 547 2nd Street, Cedar Key, Florida 10 am – 5 pm daily Butcher’s exhibit will be open in the Arts Center Gallery.

Post Cleanup Update
Friends Peg Hall, Jay Bushnell and Debbie Meeks helped volunteers Charlie Adkins and Carolyn Nobbs pick up litter along CR 347 that borders the Refuge on the Levy county side. The group collected 20 bags of litter. Later that week Charlie and Carolyn finished the entire 9 miles of roadside and totaled 77 bags.

Original Cleanup Announcement
Friends are needed to pick up litter along 9 miles of CR 347 that border the Refuge on the Levy county side.

• Meet at Refuge Headquarters at 10 am or find us on the road
• Wear bright clothing
• Bring gloves if you've got some 
• Trash bags and grabbers are provided