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The weather was perfect and the crowd was large for the 2020 Annual Meeting. From the Friends' perspective, President John McPherson provided an overview of the year's actions and a preview of what is planned for the coming year. Refuge Manager Andrew Gude did the same from the refuge perspective.
The membership elected new officers and directors. Their photos and short bios are available on the About Us - The Board tab. We also ratified changes to the Bylaws to bring them up to date. They are available on the Records Archives - Bylaws tab. The excellent featured presentation was by Dr. Ken Meyer of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute in Gainesville, FL. He talked about their tracking studies and conservation issues of Swallow-tailed Kites. ARCI has been studying Swallow-tailed Kites since 1988, discovering their migration routes and winter range and all aspects of needs and threats along the way.
The Friends sponsored the tagging of a Kite, named Suwannee, who spends part of his year on the Refuge. At the meeting, T-shirts were available to purchase to support our Suwannee-tracking project, and donations were also accepted, reaching more than $600 during the meeting. The shirts are available at the town of Suwannee Art Festival on March 14 and at the Welcome Desk in the headquarters at the refuge. This article includes an interactive map that tracks Suwannee on his migration. Scroll down in the article to find the map. Use the dot in the caption to "fly" him from the Refuge to Brazil and as far back as he is so far.  Forming a lunch line
After lunch, catered by Ken and Rose McCain, everyone walked to Vista to see the property that will eventually be added to the Refuge. It is gorgeous Suwannee riverfront acreage with several buildings. With grant support, Friends is currently having an architectural firm evaluate the historical, cultural, and structural characteristics of the property for planning purposes.
Journalist Blaine Vitallo attended the meeting, reporting for Hardison Ink. Read his story and see his photos - Annual Meeting Focuses on National Wildlife Refuges.
UPDATE: The Welcome Desk is CLOSED as a Coronavirus Precaution The volunteers at the Welcome Desk greatly enjoy having lots of visitors. Come on out. Learn about the refuge and pick up maps and trail guides!  Refuge Manager Andrew Gude spent the week of February 9 to 14 at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia learning more about Land Conservation Easements .
Discussion topics included how to:
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law in May 2019. He says it “is intended to re-vitalize rural communities, encourage job creation and provide regional connectivity while leveraging technology, enhancing the quality of life and public safety, and protecting the environment and natural resources.”
If this highway project proceeds, the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge is not large enough or strong enough to protect the wildlife, or us, against the direct and indirect degradation that M-CORES would bring to the environment and natural resources that the Governor says he wants to enhance.
During the 2018 nesting season, the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (the featured program for Friends Annual Meeting in two weeks) worked with a dedicated BBC film crew on a new addition to their Florida Wildlife series (which airs in the U. S. on PBS Nature), this time featuring Swallow-tailed Kites. They were particularly interested in describing this species’ dramatic pre-migration communal roosting behavior, the national population monitoring program ARCI has built around this incredible phenomenon, and the importance of protecting the kites at these critical sites, including the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.
Dr. Gina Kent and Dr. Ken Meyer have not seen the resulting piece, so we can all see it revealed together, tonight. Gina says it will most likely be 10 minutes of kites or less. There's a chance there are behind the scenes interviews at the end, so keep watching :) Here is a trailer with a brief description of the program: https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2020/02/04/florida-pbs-show-focuses-nature-wild-animals-gators-pythons-manatee/4649916002/
Refuge Manager Andrew Gude and Deputy Manager Larry Woodward bring us some great news. Vic Doig has been chosen as The 2019 Refuge Systems Employee of the Year. This honor is awarded annually by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. The selection criteria for this prestigious award include: (1) Commitment to conservation
(2) Superior management and/or technical skills
(3) Effectiveness in dealing with outside organizations and the public, as required by the nominee's position description, to promote a cooperative relationship between the community and the refuge. (4) Demonstrated personal dedication to:
Announcing Vic's selection, Andrew and Larry said, "Working with Vic on a daily basis, we know he is well deserving of this recognition. The entire Refuge Systems can now share in knowing what we have known all the while. Our wish is that all young employees of the Refuge System could model their careers after Vic Doig, his passion, focus, and dedication to our trusted natural resources and the Refuge System could put us on the right track again.
"Vic, this award is a well deserved honor for you. Our award is working beside you."
Friends Annual Meeting will be on Saturday, February 29 at Refuge headquarters off Route 347. Meet and greet will begin at 9:30 a.m. The Friends merchandise tent will be open. The meeting will begin at 10:00. Lunch will be catered by Ken and Rose McCain. In the afternoon we will visit the historic, private Vista property, which is adjacent to the headquarters. If you want to purchase any items of Friends merchandise, remember to bring your check book or cash. We are not yet set up to accept cards.  Dr. Ken Meyer, Executive Director of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) will discuss tracking studies and conservation issues of Swallow-tailed Kites through their annual cycle. ARCI has been studying Swallow-tailed Kites since 1988, discovering their migration routes and winter range and all aspects of needs and threats along the way. The Friends sponsored the tagging of a Kite, Suwannee, who spends part of his year on the Refuge. Ken will be able to let us know how he is doing on his migration.  After lunch, we will be able to visit the Vista property. Many thanks to Friends life members Richie and Sandra Smith, and Linda Roe Alexander for making this possible. They will open it exclusively for this event. See more about Vista here.
Dr. Ginessa Mahar is one of the potential new members of the board of directors of the Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRs. She is well known to many in the region because of her longtime work on the archaeology of Shell Mound and surrounding areas. Recently, with the help of several local residents, Dr. Ken Sassaman, Ginessa, and other archaeologists initiated a project to reconstruct the impacts of past climate events on the greater Cedar Key area. Click on the image below to read a newsletter about the first phase of the project.   The Four Rivers Audubon chapter will hold a bird walk at Shell Mound on Saturday February 15 at 8:30am. Meet the leaders at the parking lot at Shell Mound. Take SR 24 to CR 347. Turn onto CR 346 and follow it to the end.
The Welcome Desk at Refuge headquarters is staffed by volunteers many days. If you could help out, contact Bill Dummitt at [email protected]. 
PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS Friends of Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges, Inc. February 3, 2020 At the annual meeting of the membership of the Friends of Refuges coming up on February 29, the Board of Directors will be proposing a set of amendments to the corporate bylaws. Most of the amendments are housekeeping in nature and will not substantially change the way the corporation is run. The membership will be asked to approve the changes at the annual meeting. The proposed bylaw amendments are attached with changes shown by underlining indicating new language and strike-out indicating language to be deleted. Questions about these changes may be directed to John McPherson, President, 352-317-7431, [email protected]. A summary of the proposed changes: Art. I, Section 3: Corrects the mailing address for the corporation. Art. I, Section 8: Adds a statement of non-discrimination. Art. III, Section 1: Non-discrimination language deleted in favor of new language at Article I, Section 8. Art. III, Section 3: Changes the period of annual membership to work better with our current membership software. Art. III, Section 4: Adds requirement that a member of corporation can be removed by the Board only for good cause. Art. V, Section 1: Clarifies the make-up of the Board of Directors and the minimum and maximum number of Board members. Art. V, Section 8: Clarifies that in the absence of the President and President-Elect the Secretary shall chair a meeting of the Board of Directors, and that in the absence of all three, the Treasurer shall chair the meeting. Art. V, Section 12: Deletes language relating to Standing Committees, in deference to actual practice of the Board creating committees as needed for as long as needed. Art. VI, Section 3: Changes the time-line for the nominating committee’s work to make it more realistic and consistent with actual practice. Art. VI, Section 4: Deletes redundant language. Art. VIII, Section 1: Adds clarifying language relating to allowable use of Corporate funds. Art. VIII, Section 3: Deletes redundant language. Art. IX: Adds a new article adding conflict of interest policies as required by state and federal law. Art. X: Adds a new article adding procedures relating to electronic security. Summary and the Full Text of the Draft Bylaws
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Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
P. O. Box 532 Cedar Key, FL 32625 [email protected] We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. |
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