Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges - Home

Cedar Key Public Library Lecture Series

1/8/2020

Many of the presentations at the Cedar Key Public Library are on topics of interest to Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges. Below is a list of those scheduled as of January 6, 2020.

Note the talks on Manatees on Jan. 9, Bats on Jan. 23, Brazilian Pepper control on Jan. 25, and GOMMAPS on Jan. 27. All are Refuge-related topics. The GOMMAPS presentation is sponsored by the Cedar Keys Audubon Chapter and presented by Jeff Gleason who is headquartered at the Refuge.

Schedule of 2020 Presentations

Details on GOMMAPS Talk

Call for Volunteers

1/8/2020

During the upcoming, busy visitor months, we would like to have two shifts of volunteers at the Refuge headquarters Welcome Desk each day . . . from 10 to 1 and from 1 to 4. Could you help? The January calendar is below, updated as of 1/8/2020. Contact Bill Dummitt at friends@friendsofrefuges.org

Vista Project Update

1/8/2020

Vista is a 14-acre area remaining of the land where Cummer Industries had its headquarters, a sawmill, and an executive retreat. It is located near Refuge headquarters. Friends life members Richie and Sandra Smith and Linda Roe Alexander donated the property to the Refuge in 2011, with a life tenancy agreement. The property includes several iconic structures that the consultants are now evaluating for restoration potential and, possibly, for eventual public access.

The history of the Lower Suwannee Refuge is integrally linked with the timber industry of our region. The Refuge was established in the late 1970s to protect the wild plants and animals that depend on the healthy habitat of the Suwannee watershed. Much of the land that is now the Refuge had previously been lumbered.

With funding from a grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources, Friends hired the architectural firm Bender and Associates to conduct historical research and perform a structural assessment on the Vista property.

The consultant's historian has toured the residence, has been locating and reviewing pertinent materials, and has been meeting with people who have inside knowledge of the property.

In January, Friends will receive its first report from the consultants. It will include the historical data and measured drawings of the site and buildings.

The family is making the Vista property available for Friends members to visit during the afternoon of the Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 29.

Nature Walk Planned

12/31/2019

On Monday January 6, Friends life member Donna Thalacker will lead a nature walk on the Barnett Creek Loop Trail at the Lower Suwannee NWR. The trail is on high ground and Donna expects it will be dry. It is a 3-mile round trip walk in one of the prettiest parts of the Refuge. One mile will be along Barnett Creek Road and the remainder of the walk will be behind the gates along a broad grass pathway through mostly hydric hammock. If you are interested in joining the walk, please let Donna know. You can email her at donna.kreft@gmail.com

A group will car-pool from Cedar Key Park. Gather at 9:30 a.m. Leave at 9:40 a.m.

It would be good to wear long pants, long shirt, comfortable walking shoes and bring along insect repellent. As anywhere in this area, the no-see-ums can be a problem if there is not a good breeze. Ticks can be expected, although they are not usually too bad in this area of the Refuge.

Solstice Gathering a Near Washout

12/23/2019

For the third year in a row, the sunset hid behind thick clouds at Shell Mound on winter solstice. Heavy rain threatened and held off. The rain threat did not stop the Friends Gathering. We still enjoyed our cookies, hot herb tea, and guided walk on the Shell Mound trail.

Shell Mound was built on one arm of a U-shaped, parabolic dune formed in the last ice age. Palmetto Mound, a now-destroyed native American burial site, was located on the other arm. The dune aligned with the winter and summer solstices, making it sacred ground and a marvelous place to celebrate the longest and shortest days of the year.

The native Americans who lived and gathered at Shell Mound to honor their ancestors also probably had many years with no visible sunsets. We will be back to share their special place.

Winter Solstice Gathering - Saturday December 21

12/14/2019

Friends members and other Shell Mound enthusiasts will gather again this year on the Shell Mound To walk the interpretive trail and to share the sunset at Winter Solstice. the guided walk will start at 4:30 from the parking lot at the pier. Sunset is at 5:39 P.M. It has been blustery and foggy the past couple of years. Here's hoping for a lovely evening this year. But even blustery is mystical as we watch the sun over the end of the parabolic dune where much earlier people buried their dead and celebrated the Solstice.

Read about last year's Stormy Gathering here.

When Do I Renew my Friends Membership?

12/14/2019

Almost one-third of the members of Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges are Life Members. Their memberships do not expire.

Until a year or so ago, the Annual Memberships of the other two-thirds of Friends members expired at the end of the calendar year.

Friends changed that system about a year ago and now Annual Memberships expire one year after the member joins or renews. Friends sends you an email reminder when it is almost time to renew and greatly appreciates both Life and Annual memberships.

What About End-of-Year Philanthropic Gifts?

And, Friends also greatly appreciates the gifts that members send in December's traditional "giving season." Last year, in addition to trail guides, brochures, interpretive panels and lots of other activities, membership dues and philanthropic gifts went to help support tracking of "our" Swallow-tailed Kite, "Suwannee".

You can make a donation by check to Friends of Refuges, P. O. Box 532, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or online here.

More Mowed Trails to Explore

12/14/2019

More trails are coming. For several years, because of the shortage of staff and equipment, the Refuge managers had to allow some wonderful areas on the refuge to grow back and become inaccessible. Finally the heavy equipment has become available and the staffing shortage has eased a bit. Hurray for visitors!

Preliminary surveys are complete of an area south of the South Entrance to the Nature Drive off County Road 347. It includes pine forest and pleistocene era dunes. Using mechanical and herbicide applications, all the roads that have historically been maintained are being reclaimed. Watch for more information here and in the Friends News Brief.

This cat can clear brush!

Bylaws Update Coming

12/13/2019

The Friends Board has been working over the past year on an update to the bylaws. Proposed amendments will be taken to the Membership for approval at the annual meeting on Saturday, February 29. To date the significant changes being considered by the Board include:

The addition of anti-discrimination language which should be in our bylaws for purposes of getting government grants.
Annual memberships will start on the date of dues payment, rather than on January 1 of each year. This will work better with the membership software that Friends now uses.
The way of counting the members of the Board of Directors is clarified with the minimum number set at seven and the maximum number at 17.
The quorum for a Board meeting is increased from four members to 6 members.
The timeline for the nominating committee to present a slate to the Board is changed to better reflect actual practice, i.e., the slate to be presented to the Board no later than the January meeting, with the slate approved by the Board going before the Membership at the February annual meeting.
A conflict of interest policy is added to comply with Florida law.
Security provisions are added to deal with passwords and email addresses each year when there is a transition to new officers.

For a draft of the bylaws showing all changes, please contact John McPherson, jkmcpherson@att.net, 352-317-7431.

Atsena Otie

12/12/2019

Atsena Otie had a facelift this week! The Brazilian Pepper Eradication crew of Friends volunteers and Refuge staff members attacked a summer's worth of growth of the invasive shrub. It is nigh onto impossible to work on Atsena Otie in high mosquito season. But now, the island is amenable to being groomed and helped to fight off the invasion of the pepper plants. The crew went out early with a boat that could approach at low tide and had made significant progress by the time more staff members arrived at high tide with mowers and other heavier equipment.

The path to the cemetery is now almost twice as wide, brush has been cut in the cemetery as well in preparation for an archaeology project which is described in the next post, calling for volunteers.

The Refuge is open daily from dawn to dusk.

The Refuge Manager Andrew Gude can be reached by text or phone at 703.622.3896.

Hunting Information from the Refuge Manager

The print version of the 2019-2020 Hunt Regulations Brochure is now available at Refuge headquarters. For a digital version,
Click on the photo below.

For Information about getting a Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge Hunt Permit and a Deer Bag Report, Click Here

To Apply for a Permit to Hunt on the Lower Suwannee Refuge,
Click Here

For a copy of the Deer Harvest Log, Click Here

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The official government Refuge websites
CEDAR KEY NWR
LOWER SUWANNEE NWR

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