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The “Pepper Busters” are a group of dedicated volunteers that head out one morning each week with loppers, saws, gloves and a mission to remove Brazilian Pepper plants from neighborhoods on and around the islands. Their method is simple and effective, cut the plant down and carefully treat the remaining stump with herbicide to prevent regrowth. It is “getting your hands dirty” conservation, one pepper plant at a time.  The Busters The effort has deep roots.Pepper busting began over 20 years ago as an effort by members of the Cedar Key Garden Club to remove peppers from Cedar Key. In recent years, Brazilian Pepper removal has been a key initiative of Friends. The work continues to grow. Friends recently assisted in the purchase of a trailer for use by the “Pepper Busters” to haul tools and equipment, enhancing their work and helping to expand their reach and impact across Refuge and islands.  Brazilian Pepper The pepper plant has a somewhat festive origin story. Introduced into Florida during the mid-1800s as an ornamental plant it was prized for its bright red berries that appear around the holidays, earning it the misleading nickname “Florida Holly,” which it is not. An aggressive invader underneath the cheerful facade, the plant soon became out of control, spreading rapidly throughout much of the state and pushing steadily all the way up the east coast and expanding up the west coast of Florida.  Roger McDaniels fells a Pepper Tree Eradication of the pepper plant is biologically important because of its highly invasive nature. Its ecological impact is significant. The plant grows very rapidly, forming dense thickets crowding out and over shadowing its native neighbors. More insidious, the pepper secretes a compound into the soil that inhibits growth of nearby native species, giving it further advantage. Indeed, berries from the plant can be used to make jelly and honey for cooking as well as in hot sauces. But while most people can handle the plant without issue, some individuals may experience strong allergic reactions upon contact. Wildlife interactions are a mixed story. The berries are attractive to birds and some mammals who can consume large quantities of the raw berries and become ill because of a neurotoxin in the fruit. Older berries ferment on the plant and intoxicate birds that consume the berries. Drunk robins and cardinals may sound amusing, but it is a sign of an ecological imbalance. In addition to growing fast, peppers do not just stay put. Birds act as long-distance couriers, spreading seeds across wide areas, while mammals are responsible for more local distribution. Add in hurricanes with their powerful winds and flood waters and the pepper's reach expands even further, spreading into new territory with every storm. This is why the work of the Pepper Busters is so important. Concentrating eradication efforts on the islands as well as the mainland anywhere pepper plants are in abundance, volunteers help stop new infestations before they take hold. Each plant removed is a small but meaningful victory, making space for native species to return and restoring balance to the local ecosystem.
It is not glamorous work, but it is important work powered by people who show up, week after week, ready to dig in.
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A great deal of activity continues on the refuges right now. Here is a sample of just some of the work being conducted. Wildfire Preparedness Out on the refuge, preparedness is front and center. Firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are currently staged on-site. Should wildfire threaten, response will be immediate and coordinated, protecting both habitat and the surrounding communities. Hunt Program Updates Change is also coming to the refuge’s hunt program, with a focus on making the permitting process faster, simpler, and more user-friendly. The current staggered permit release system will be phased out, streamlining access for participants. Full details will be shared on both the Refuge and Friends websites as these updates take effect. Maintenance, Repairs, and New Builds There’s a steady hum of progress in the air as infrastructure projects move forward. In partnership with the Department of Transportation and contracted engineers, plans are underway to redesign the Vista dock, resurface Fishbone Creek Road, and replace the aging walking bridge at Shired Island. Momentum continues to build elsewhere. Funding is secured and work is about to begin on improvements at Shell Mound, clearing debris and restoring the Dennis Creek Trail, and rebuilding the overlook along Salt Creek Road. These are projects that will enhance both safety and access and have direct impact on the visitor experience. Behind the scenes, preparations are also underway for a significant effort to maintain the refuge’s fire lines. Contracts have been arranged to bring in multiple excavators, and equipment operators from other refuges will soon arrive, creating a collaborative, boots-on-the-ground push to strengthen these critical safeguards. Habitat Restoration An exciting development is the imminent launch of a $2.1 million habitat restoration project. This ambitious effort includes several pine seedling planting initiatives, laying the groundwork, quite literally, for healthier, more natural and sustainable ecosystems in the years ahead. It’s an investment not just in land, but in legacy. Snake Key Surveys Fieldwork continues with Snake Key surveys set to begin soon, contributing valuable data to ongoing conservation and management efforts. Seahorse Key Developments Seahorse Key is seeing a flurry of promising activity. Tentative plans are being laid to host a lighthouse open house during the week of July 4th. We hope that this can happen as it is a rare opportunity for visitors to step inside a piece of living history. More info to follow. There is also progress on cultural permitting for the University of Florida’s pavilion project, signaling forward movement after a period of delay. Additionally, an engineer has been assigned to develop bid proposals aimed at protecting the historic cemetery on the island, ensuring that this important site is preserved with the care and respect it deserves. Taken together, these efforts paint a picture of a refuge that is not standing still. Our refuge staff continue preparing, repairing, restoring, and reimagining. Their efforts ensure that both wildlife and people will continue to find something enduring and meaningful here for years to come.
Today was one of those days that reminds you why Friends' work matters. At Vista Camp, a project supported by UF's Gulf Scholars Program concluded with an appreciation lunch, and I'll be honest — listening to the students present their work very nearly brought me to tears. They described guiding visitors through the site in a curated way, creating a conversation between the people, the buildings, and the landscape. They didn't merely design and build benches and railings, they framed the history and nature of the place, allowing visitors to create their own memories in relation to it. They get it. How the project came about. Some months ago, Professor Charlie Hailey called Lower Suwannee Refuge Headquarters and asked to tour the Vista Camp for his upcoming book about Florida fish camps. Friends volunteer Debbie Meeks helped Professor Hailey get the information he needed, and the two discussed the needs and challenges of Vista. You could say Charlie's fish camp book sparked a mutually beneficial partnership between UF and the Refuge that was facilitated by the Friends. What these students were asked to do was genuinely hard. Work on the Refuge presents difficult parameters: no digging since the site has possible archaeological importance; a location that experiences periodic flooding; and being short-handed requires little or no ongoing maintenance. The students rose to meet all these challenges, then added a few of their own, carefully weighing environmental impact and aesthetic appeal in every decision. The material choices alone show deep thinking. They used cypress — not just for its natural resistance to rot and insects, but because it mirrors the materials of Vista's historic structures. The Cummer Lumber Company, original owners of the Vista Camp, logged cypress throughout Florida, so the remaining buildings are constructed almost entirely of cypress from their sawmills. The students designed their work to belong here, practically and culturally.  To address wet conditions at this riverside location, their constructions are supported on either charred cypress (Shou Sugi Ban) or biochar concrete blocks. Charring creates a rot-resistant outer layer on the wood and, as the students noted, echoes the prescribed burns so essential to healthy habitats on the Refuge.  The biochar concrete is where the students' thinking becomes especially inventive. Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced by heating organic matter — wood, agricultural waste — at high temperatures with little oxygen, a process called pyrolysis. Its porous structure makes it an ideal material for capturing and storing CO₂, effectively locking carbon away rather than releasing it. Research suggests that adding even 1% biochar by mass to concrete mixes could sequester 0.5 gigatons of CO₂ annually and reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of cement-based industries by 20%. By using biochar as aggregate in their footings, these students weren't just solving a structural problem — they were turning a carbon intensive building material into a carbon sink.  Significant stops along the walk. At the caretaker's house, a beautifully angled bench offers a pause and turns visitors toward the river — but the angle isn't arbitrary. It is inspired by the geometry of the surrounding oak grove, reflecting the trees own kind of architecture. Notice how the ends of the rail and bench don't simply stop; they dive into the ground and reemerge, a gesture that ties the furniture to the earth itself. At another stop near the main house, a wide, flat bench sits beside the sign marking the height of the 1948 flood. This piece is intentionally omni-directional: you can sit facing the house or the river. You can lie down, spread out lunch, or open a box of watercolors. It asks nothing of you except that you be present.  Finally, at the Suwannee River's edge, two oversized ergonomically designed lounge chairs invite relaxation and appreciation of the gift the Refuge's protected land and heritage sites offer the community. That's the through-line in all of it: presence. Every decision — material, angle, height, footing — was made in service of helping people actually be somewhere. Not pass through, not glance at, but inhabit. These students designed for slow attention in a landscape that deserves it. We are so grateful to Professor Charlie Hailey and the entire Reflective Building: Design/Build with the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge studio for pouring their time and thinking into the Vista Camp. The studio included Sara Abdo, Carla Caballero Alvarez, Ryan Chillinsky, Clowey Jabour, Brielle Jean Baptiste, Francesca Meza Venegas, Alexander Mirenda, Ahmik Paul, Jazlyn Perloff, Noa Tako, Natalie Ulmer, Hannah Vogel, Julie Waldrop, and Kya Williams. Although this special place is not open to the public yet, it is a step closer thanks to them. What they've built will outlast the semester many times over.  Working drawings of the railing system showing an attention to detail. The modular, reconfigurable system will provide years of service and flexibility for future uses.  It was perfect butterfly viewing weather for Barbara Woodmansee's popular walk on April 4 down Cabin Road. The day was sunny to warm the butterflies and with a light breeze to keep sand gnats away. We walked slowly down Cabin Road and observed an estimated count of 50 Sweadner's Juniper Hairstreaks! Other species we saw included: Swallowtails: Palamedes and Eastern Tiger Crescents: Pearl and Phaon Satyrs: Carolina and Viola's Little Wood Satyr Skippers: Palatka, Least, Northern Broken-dash, Tawny-edged, Saltmarsh, Whirlabout and Zarucco Duskywing Nymphalids: Common Buckeye and Queen Hairstreaks: Sweadner's Juniper, Red-banded and Gray It was an excellent list for 2 hours in one small area.  Barbara points out the location of a beautiful butterfly Barbara surveys butterflies on the Lower Suwannee NWR. She started over 20 years ago and her data has helped Refuge staff better understand how to manage pollinator habitat. A picture guidebook featuring Barbara's photos is published and sold by the Friends for $20.
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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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