The granting agency, Florida Division of Historical Resources, has been reviewing Friends' plans for the Cook's House restoration and last week, they were approved! Window restoration started right away and a request for proposals for roof work and other repairs has gone out. Hooray! The window repair is being contributed as a Gift-in-Kind by Debbie Meeks, an expert in historical restoration as well as Friends" immediate past president extraordinaire. A few other Friends members with restoration skills will be working under her supervision to help with the 10 antique windows in the building. The Request for Proposals for the roof and miscellaneous work is on the homepage, as well as here. If you know any contractors who have the skills and might be interested in working on a meaningful project, please share the RFP with them.
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On Friday, February 9th, several Friends and other supporters met at Vista to plan how to design our Vista Camp Pollinator garden, as envisioned by those who attended the recent retreat of the Friends' board of directors. We looked over the magnificent space we have at Vista for our garden and tried to imagine the best possible presentation to delight and inform Refuge visitors. Claudia Larsen, of Micanopy Wildflowers, is our expert botanist and mentor. She is working on a 25 x 25 foot lay-out for the garden now.
The Friends can't wait to get our hands in the dirt and plant some plants. If you would like to be part of the work team, your participation would be much appreciated. We also need work time to build some picnic tables, chairs and fencing. And, we are wishing for donations to purchase native plants and the materials for the tables, chairs, and fences. When we know what we want and what they cost, we will add the specifics to the Wish List. With over 90 species of butterflies in the Refuge as well as all the moths, bees, and other pollinators, our garden will be full of different wonders every day. The picture, by Barbara Woodmansee, who is the Friends' Champion for this Vista Camp Pollinator Garden, is just to let everyone know that spring is here! Redbuds and plums are blooming and lunas are on the wing! Barbara will lead a Butterfly Walk on the Refuge on Saturday April 13. Save the Date. More information will be posted as the time nears. The researchers at the Avian Research and Conservation Institute named the kite whose tracker we helped sponsor Suwannee 22, because she was caught and fitted with her device in 2022. She is still calling home and is on her way back to the Lower Suwannee NWR from Brazil. Here is hoping for a successful nesting season!
We all miss the River Trail so very much! It was one of the most popular places to walk in the Refuge, and the most accessible trail to see the Suwannee River, before Hurricane Idalia destroyed the boardwalks. Refuge Manager Andrew Gude will need to apply for funds to rebuild the boardwalks from the regular maintenance funds within the National Wildlife Refuge System. He expects it will be years before our turn will come up in the queue. Friends are very impatient when it comes to our favorite points of Refuge access and helping visitors see and enjoy the River. With staff along to guide the discussion, board member John Thalacker studied the extensive damage to provide an assessment for Friends' possible action. It appeared that if a section about 35 feet long could be repaired, the boardwalk to the River overlook would be usable. Refuge staff members tore out the most damaged section to get a clear view of the underpinnings and better assess the safety of the remaining sections. Unfortunately, the damage turned out to be much more extensive than originally thought. Many of the 4x4 posts are nearly rotted through, so it is not possible to replace one section. The whole thing has to come down and be rebuilt. Now, we are back to the early understanding that our River Trail will be closed for years. What next? We are trying to find a way.
Wishes continue to come true!
We would especially appreciate another partner or two helping with the demonstration at the Annual Meeting of equipment to make outdoor activities more accessibility to people with limited mobility.
From time-to-time Refuge staff members hear from visitors about something that made the visitor concerned when they were hiking, biking, hunting, or otherwise enjoying the Refuge's peacefulness and beauty. Refuge managers have a mechanism for reporting incidents that might require a refuge law enforcement officer to check them out. The National Wildlife Refuge System has a relatively small number of law enforcement officers nationwide, while only a few refuges have a dedicated officer. Reports of visitor concerns on a refuge weigh heavily in determining the assignment of an officer to come and review possible or documented illegal activity.
Friends ask visitors to help gather and report data. These are ways we can all do that: Illegal activity or other incidents (list of illegal refuge activities)
Friends board members met in January for a strategic planning meeting at the Plantation on Crystal River. Refuge Manager Andrew Gude and Assistant Refuge Manager John Stark also attended. Though not all board members could attend, the majority did. The itinerary included a stop at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge and Friends Nature Store. We wanted to get an idea of what other Friends groups are doing for outreach. Well this facility is over the top and includes dioramas, interactive activities, and merchandise for sale all with the ever popular manatee themes. Friends staff exchanged information about our two chapters and board member Boyd Kimball took copious notes about the merchandising operations at the Nature Store. Next stop was the Plantation on Crystal River for a guided river cruise in search of living and breathing manatees. The weather was kind and as we cruised along the entertaining guides pointed out several manatees to the delight of all. Amazingly gentle giants. After the cruise, it was check-in time, preparation exercise for next day's meeting, an enjoyable social hour and then a nice dinner at the hotel. In the morning, it was time to get down to business, and boy did we. The meeting was kicked off by Friends President Ginessa Mahar. The agenda included revisiting our Friends mission statement to ensure we were spending our resources, time and effort on the key elements including providing advocacy, awareness, and physical support to the Refuges. We thought of it as a three-legged stool - that being a symbol of stability that brings balance to the user - if one leg's removed the stool fails. Following the introduction, Refuge Manager Andrew Gude summarized his priorities for the coming two years. Key items included completing a volunteer camper's infrastructure on the Vista Camp site, law enforcement guidance to staff and volunteers, more interpretive signage, ADA compliance, and trail repair and enhancements. Next came hashing out the nuts and bolts. An exercise called SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) was conducted to flush out how our Friends programs, projects and activities mesh with the mission. Examples of strengths included robust communications (website, newsbrief, brochures); weaknesses (not tapping into involvement of broader membership), opportunities (partnerships with UF, native plant society, and others), and threats (volunteer burnout). After a break, we divided into three groups (advocacy, awareness, and physical support) to come up with lists of actionable items. Finally, we wrapped up the meeting with a comprehensive list of actions that are considered priorities to both Friends and the Refuges, and are also achievable. These include:
I believe the participants in this meeting will agree it was time well spent. Friends budget covered the cost of the meeting room and board members paid for their own room and board including the river cruise. We're tired of referring to it as the Friends Outreach and Education Welcome Concession Trailer–what a mouthful!
Look for our soon-to-be-named outreach and education trailer at the Manatee Springs State Park Birthday Celebration on Saturday, January 20 from 10a-2p. If you miss us at Manatee, in the coming months we will be popping-up at various locations around the Refuge and in Cedar Key including the Cedar Key Museum near Rye Key. Maps and information about the Refuges can also be found on many Saturdays at our table location on the Cedar Key Welcome Center's front porch. Friends would love to have a few more folks come along and help greet visitors to the trailer. If you are interested, please email us.
Friends had to move its traditional Winter Solstice celebration from Shell Mound, where Hurricane Idalia damage and pier reconstruction made for too much disruption, to Cedar Key. Friends' president Dr. Ginessa Mahar welcomed many visitors who joined us at the park for hot tea, cookies, and a memorable presentation by Dr. Ken Sassaman, the Hyatt and Cici Brown Professor of Florida Archaeology at the University of Florida. It was warmer and less windy than the 2022 celebration!
Important, but Not Pretty, Work coming on the Grass Roads Lower Suwannee NWR roadside and overhead clearing is expected to begin in 2024. The Refuge received funding to reclaim roads, clear roadsides, and overhead trees on 70 miles of our grass roads ("behind the locked yellow gates"). After 44 years of ecological succession the forest has regrown with a vengeance. We need to reclaim the right-of-ways primarily for ease of access with equipment, for prescribed fire safety, but also to increase grasses and flowering shrubs for pollinators.
Like many of you, we are sorry to see how bare this necessary clearing makes the right of ways, but we know that, like prescribed burning, the clearing work will make the forest healthier and better for wildlife and visitors. While we encourage the contractors not to work during hunt seasons, they do have the prerogative to do so. Any questions or concerns, call/text/email me at Andrew_Gude@fws.gov or 703.622.3896. The 4th grade class from Anderson Elementary in Cross City headed to the Refuge on December 8 and enjoyed an exciting schedule provided by our amazing partners and volunteers. Every event is different, depending on the availability of station leaders, but they're always a blast. Stationed next to the Refuge bat house, Shari Blissett-Clark of the Florida Bat Conservancy captivated the students with her live amBatsadors and bat knowledge. The pollinator station with Jon Bremer and Cameron Zuck from the Florida Department of Agriculture's Division of Plant Industry, and Emily Kazan from FWS had a wide variety of pollinators to talk about. Hungry live caterpillars munched away on a variety of host plants while the experts described the variety of pollinator life from butterflies to flies. To complement Ranger Vic's prescribed burn station, Ranger Jason Coates brought the Tiger Cat. Its huge masticating blades are used to cut fire breaks and manage understory growth on the Refuge. Jeremy Geiger from the UF Nature Coast Biological Station returned with his popular collection of turtle shells, skulls, and two adorable live turtles. Refuge volunteers, Robin Gallup and Mike Caulking, along with Friends volunteers John McPherson and Carol Lang led nature walks with observation bingo and leaf tracing. Cristina Oliveria and Domenique Sorresso from UF had a hands-on archaeology station where the kids could touch all the artifacts. Deputy Manager John Stark and Friends volunteer Sandra Milliner sparked the kids' imaginations at the carnivorous plant station. Scented stickers and crayons were available to create imaginary plants that lure insects for food. French fry traps sound like a winner to us!
Enjoy beautiful weather and make a difference on the Refuge. We have ideas for one-time and short-term work projects, all we lack is a leader and a few volunteers. If you would like to take one of these ideas and make it happen, please contact us.
UPDATE: Construction work has begun on the Shell Mound pier so this year only we are decamping our Winter Solstice Celebration and holding it at the Cedar Key City Park, 2nd Street and A Street, instead. On Thursday, December 21 from 4pm - 6pm Ginessa Mahar and Ken Sassaman will give fascinating archaeological talks while we await sunset. Look for our new Friends' trailer with sale shirts and holiday merch. See you in Cedar Key!
Another amazing Junior Ranger Day was conducted last week at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge headquarters. Friends Past-President Debbie Meeks and Refuge Deputy Manager John Stark, and many other staff and volunteers, coordinated the event that included eight-nine (89) 4th graders from Old Town Elementary. The students worked to become Junior Rangers by participating in activities at eight stations set up throughout the Refuge headquarter's property.
The swearing-in ceremony conducted by Refuge Manager Andrew Gude was especially moving as Andrew explained to the children how at their age he knew he wanted a career that would protect wild lands and animals. Together they recited the Junior Ranger Pledge, and the coveted Junior Ranger badges were distributed. Thanks to the Friends volunteers who helped make this happen including Debbie Meeks, John McPherson, Denise Feiber, Sandra Milliner, Pete Tirrell, Jay Bushnell, and John Douglass. Refuge volunteers included Michael Caulking, Robin Gallup, and Rick Gallup.
More Junior Rangers will attempt certification December 8, 2023. |
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