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.
Visitors sometimes ask what there is to see at the Refuges. These links will take you to some photos. Send us you photos and captions to add to the What We Saw project.

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Visiting our Refuges


The Lower Suwannee Refuge is open daily from dawn to dusk for appropriate recreational uses including boating, hiking, fishing, biking, and birding. Visitors are required to follow the CDC guidelines for social distancing and not gathering in groups.

The Cedar Keys Refuge is made up of 13 small islands offshore from the city of Cedar Key. Atsena Island is open to visitors. It must be accessed by personal boat. All the other islands are closed to visitors in order to protect the resident and transient birds nesting on them.

All staff are working as usual.  However due to the coronavirus, the headquarters building for the Refuges is closed to visitors.
          Seasonal Closure to Protect
Nesting Birds Press Release

Snake Key is now seasonally closed
(1 March to 30 June) to protect colonial nesting marine birds.  

The Refuge encourages responsible viewing as nesting activity ramps up in April.  It is a sight to behold. View press release below.

Press Release
Friends members visiting the private Vista property on a field trip during the 2020 Annual Meeting
Vista
View of Guld of Mexico from Shell Mound trail
Shell Mound
Vista: With a grant from the Florida Division of Historical Resources, Friends commissioned historical research and a structural assessment on the Vista property, which will eventually become part of the refuge but is still closed to the public. The almost 400 page report on the research is linked to the Vista photo above.
Shell Mound is a large shell-bearing archaeological site that was once the location of special gatherings for Native American groups across the broader region. A 10-page booklet telling the Shell Mound story is linked to the photo above.