Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
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Murals Enliven Refuge Bridges on the Dixie Side

3/20/2018

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PictureClint Wynns uses templates to paint his murals on the Refuge
Travelers on the Dixie Mainline, one of the favorite trails on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, can now enjoy new bridge murals by Old Town resident Clint Wynns.

Wynns, a 66-year-old former professional chainsaw carver always wanted to paint murals to enhance the Mainline bridges. He hunts in the Refuge every day from archery through regular gun season and is always looking for ways to help out on the land he knows so well. Yet he hesitated because he thought a mural would attract graffiti and didn’t want to waste his time. When Debbie Meeks decorated one of the bridges with an alligator painting last year—and it went unmolested—he decided to try.

Clint says his ideas just come to him. “Hogs and deer because that’s the Refuge. Then there are turtles, a manatee, and an alligator. Someone suggested an otter so I added one.”

He cuts templates out of thin luan plywood. This technique shortens the amount of time he spends on the bridge. First he tapes up the inner shape and paints the background. Then he reverses the template by taking down the inner shape and protecting his painted background with the surrounding plywood sheet while painting the animal. Once the whole painting is dry he ties both pieces of the template together which allows him to spray paint the cut line for a dark outline without hand tracing. 

"So many people have stopped while I was working—all classes of people—to tell me how much they appreciate what I’m doing. Kids get out to look and I show them how they can help.” Clint says.

More murals are needed. You can adopt a bridge by calling Larry Woodward, Deputy Refuge Manager, at 352-493-0238.

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A Refuge scene by Clint Wynns
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The Friends 2018 Annual Meeting -- a Great Success

3/16/2018

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With an estimated 150-170 attendees, good weather, great food, a flash sale of logo merchandise, and the all-time favorite speaker, University of Florida archaeologist Dr. Ken Sassaman, the March 10 event met and exceeded all our expectations.
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After a a review of recent discoveries and a preview of the trail in Dr. Sassaman's presentation, attendees traveled to Shell Mound for a first-time guided tour of the new trail
Save the Date: The Friends of the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges Annual Meeting and Refuge Open House will be

Saturday, February 23, 2019

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2018 Annual Meeting -- Coming March 10!!

3/4/2018

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Friends ever-popular Annual Meeting and Refuge Open House will be on Saturday, March 10 at Refuge headquarters, off State Route 347 near Fowlers Bluff in Levy County. Come and enjoy. Dress for the weather. We spend a lot of time outdoors,and the indoors isn't much warmer.

Here is the schedule:
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9:00 -- The gates open.
  • Registration begins. Time to sign in, join Friends or renew your membership if you want, mingle and chat, maybe even take a walk to the River.
  • Admission is free for Life Members and current Annual Members. If you are a non-member and choose not to join, the admission is $10/person. To join or renew online ahead of time, click on the Join/Renew Now button in the column to the right on this page. But we will be happy to help you join at the Registration counter in the log cabin.
  • The Friends Booth opens with Friends promotional items for sale.
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10:00 -- The program begins.
  • President Russ Hall will overview recent Friends accomplishments and upcoming Friends initiatives.
  • Refuge Manager, Andrew Gude will overview recent Refuge accomplishments and plans for the next year.
  • The new Officers and Directors will be elected.
Lunch
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The initial plan was to have a paleo-indian feast. But in turned out that that many oysters would break the Friends bank. Also young ibises and sea turtles are not something most of us really want to eat, and yaupon tea (made from the Ilex vomitoria plant) didn't sound that enticing. So, Kenny McCain will prepare our fare. Plan on BBQ and sides . . . but you can pretend it is paleo-food.
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Annual Meeting Featured Presentation and Trail Walk

3/3/2018

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We all know Shell Mound, or so we think!

However, as our featured speaker, Dr. Ken Sassaman of the University of Florida, may change our minds about what we think we know. He has amazing new information for us about this site in our backyard, on our own Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. A few of the amazing details --
  • Shell Mound was a portal into another world for the people who lived here in the centuries before the arrival of Europeans; they regarded it literally as a gateway to the underworld.
  • The sand dune on which Shell Mound stands was formed by strong southwest winds during the last Ice Age. It is oriented to the winter/summer solstice. Because of that orientation, it was an annual ceremonial gathering place for peoples from all over the southeast . . . and it was a sacred burial place for centuries.
  • The people who lived here and hosted these huge annual gatherings, practiced oyster mariculture and used fish trapping to sustain the abundance needed to feed the crowds who came.
Much of what you learn will be new to you. If you want to prepare your mind for this brain-adventure, read the draft of the new guide, Shell Mound: A Portal into Another World before you come.

Soft-Opening of the Expanded Interpretive Trail

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After lunch, those of us who want to, we will travel on our own to Shell Mound. The new interpretive trail has nine stations. Interpretive panels are in preparation for each station. They will not be ready for this soft-opening. However, we will have docents at each station to explain what is important about the spot. Six of the nine stations are along the current Shell Mound trail. The other three are along a new piece of trail that will need to be more substantially developed over the next year.

Friends will have laid it out well enough for walking it but it will not really be ready for prime time yet by the Annual Meeting. Docents will be able to provide much of the story from a location on the developed trail for any who want to skip this more primitive trail section. The entire Shell Mound trail will remain less than a mile in length.

The trip to Shell Mound will conclude the Annual Meeting for this year, and hopefully be the beginning of many more visits to the site by all of us over the coming year.
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Volunteers Needed for Shell Mound Archaeology Trail

3/2/2018

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Soon the Shell Mound Archaeology Trail will have new interpretive panels. The ones in the photos above are draft versions. But, they will not be ready in time for the soft-opening of the trail on the afternoon of the Friends Annual Meeting, March 10.

Therefore, we need 10 volunteers who will stand along the trail for about an hour during the opening. Each volunteer will talk to the Friends who come from the Annual Meeting about the information that will be on the interpretive panel at that spot.

Training and a narrative will be provided.

Are you willing to be one of the volunteers, a human interpretive panel? Contact us at friends@friendsofrefuges.org!


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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.


  • Home
    • Current News
  • About
    • About Friends >
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Current News
      • Contact Us
    • About the Refuges >
      • Our Refuges
      • Places of Interest
      • Hunting Brochure
  • Join
    • Donate
  • Maps
    • Paddling Guides
    • Refuge Maps
    • Trail Brochures
    • Places of Interest
  • Wildlife
    • Wildlife Gallery
  • Hunt & Fish
    • FWS Hunting Brochure
    • Hunter SignUp
    • Fishing
  • Search
  • Store
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Books
    • Earrings
    • Gift Donation
    • On Sale