We are the Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges, a nonprofit organization.
Our mission is to support the work of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys Refuges protecting wildlife and the habitat needed for the wild to thrive.
Our mission is to support the work of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys Refuges protecting wildlife and the habitat needed for the wild to thrive.
How to Connect with Us
Board member Dr. Ginessa Mahar leading a tour at Shell Mound
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Ibises bringing fish to nestlings at Cedar Key NWR
Photo by Larry Woodward
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Swallow-tailed Kite Project Updates
Suwannee, showing off his tracker in a photo taken in 2021 before he flew to Brazil for the winter.
Photo credit to Larry Woodward
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For five months while the Swallow-tailed Kites were returning north from Brazil, researchers heard nothing from Suwannee, the bird whose tracker we helped support. And then, he turned up safely back on the Lower Suwannee Refuge. Soon after that good news, his tracker's battery died. Read more HERE.
Friends has been able to help support a new tracker. Ken Meyer, Gina Kent and their research team captured and tagged a new kite, Suwannee II. We can't wait to see where this bird takes us. Read more HERE. |
Friends Receives a Grant for Vista Work
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The State of Florida, Division of Historical Resources has made its second grant to Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges for work on the Vista property. Read more HERE.
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Butterflies of the Lower Suwannee Refuge
If you are interested in butterflies, we have an abundance of information and activities for you.
- A Life List of all the butterflies on the Refuge, including a challenge to help find a few butterflies that likely are on the Refuge but have yet to be definitively documented here.
- An illustrated Guidebook to the Butterflies of the Lower Suwannee Refuge.
- A butterfly brochure
- Butterfly tee shirts
- Butterfly of the Month
- Butterfly FAQs
- Butterfly surveys and walks. The next walk will be in October. Watch this space for details.
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Visit both of our Refuges
The Lower Suwannee Refuge is open daily from dawn to dusk for appropriate recreational uses including boating, hiking, fishing, biking, and birding. FWS Lower Suwannee Information Brochure.
The Cedar Keys Refuge is made up of 13 small islands offshore from the City of Cedar Key. Atsena Otie Island and the sandy beaches of the other islands are open to visitors. They must be accessed by personal boat. All interior and/or vegetated areas of the islands, other than Atsena Otie, are closed to visitors in order to protect the resident and transient birds nesting on them. Also, the waters and beaches around Snake Key (~100m) are closed to all entry March through June, since Snake Key is a major nesting area. Entry to closed areas on any of the islands is by permit only. FWS Cedar Keys Information Brochure.
The Cedar Keys Refuge is made up of 13 small islands offshore from the City of Cedar Key. Atsena Otie Island and the sandy beaches of the other islands are open to visitors. They must be accessed by personal boat. All interior and/or vegetated areas of the islands, other than Atsena Otie, are closed to visitors in order to protect the resident and transient birds nesting on them. Also, the waters and beaches around Snake Key (~100m) are closed to all entry March through June, since Snake Key is a major nesting area. Entry to closed areas on any of the islands is by permit only. FWS Cedar Keys Information Brochure.
Seahorse Key
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River Trail
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Tram Ridge Trail
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Suwannee River seen from the River Trail
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Vista property
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Shell Mound
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A Gallery of Refuge Photos
Alligator and Blue Crab
Photo Larry Woodward
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Common Yellow-throat Warbler Photo by Frank Morgan
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Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
P. O. Box 532 Cedar Key, FL 32625 friends@friendsofrefuges.org We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. |
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