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Friends is unable to hold the Shell Mound cleanup that was originally scheduled on October 4 in compliance with guidance for the current government shutdown.
We will reschedule as soon as the guidance allows. If you are interested in volunteering and would like us to email you when a workday is arranged, please enter your information on this Interest form Thanks for your patience and support of our wildlife Refuges. Our GPS-tracked Swallow-tailed Kite, Suwannee Scout, has given us an exciting glimpse into his late-summer journey. Gina Kent, Senior Conservation Scientist with ARCI provides us with an update.  Suwannee Scout heads south After his capture in late June, Suwannee Scout spent several weeks along the Suwannee River, ranging across Dixie, Levy, and Gilchrist counties. Then, on August 14th, instinct called and he began his southward migration. His first overnight stop was in Sumter County, followed the next night by Glades County. His last confirmed location came in the middle of the night at a roosting site in Glades County. From there, researchers believe Suwannee Scout caught a favorable tailwind that carried him quickly through Peninsular Florida and out across the Gulf of Mexico or the Straits of Florida. Since then, we haven’t received new data points — but that doesn’t necessarily mean trouble. Much of the Swallow-tailed Kite’s southbound route passes through regions with limited cell coverage. The GPS unit on Suwannee Scout continues to record his movements and will upload all stored data once he reconnects with a cell tower. For now, we wait, watch, and stay hopeful that Suwannee Scout is soaring safely through Central and South America, adding another chapter to the fascinating story of these long-distance travelers.
Stay tuned — as soon as Suwannee Scout checks back in, we’ll share the next update!  In April 2015, within the span of just three days, the large and diverse rookery on Seahorse Key—once home to as many as 20,000 herons, egrets, pelicans, and cormorants—was mysteriously abandoned. Virtually all of the birds left their nests, with some relocating to nearby Snake Key. The sudden exodus caused major disruptions to the local ecosystem and stands as a stark reminder of the fragility of colonial nesting sites and the habitats that sustain them. Aftermath and Ecological impactRelated ecosystems destabilized: The abandonment by the birds caused a devastating ripple effect on the island's cottonmouth snake population. The snakes previously had a mutualistic relationship with the nesting birds, feeding on fallen fish and driving away predators like raccoons. After the birds left, the snakes lost their food source, and their population declined significantly. Where did they go?: Many of the displaced birds established a new, although smaller, rookery on Snake Key. While Snake Key provided a refuge for some birds, it did not fully compensate for the loss of the massive Seahorse Key colony, which had hosted some 20,000 birds. Theories abound, answers remain elusive: Several potential causes, including human disturbance, predators, bad weather, or disease, were investigated and largely ruled out. Ultimately researchers concluded that some form of "traumatic, loud disturbance," possibly from low-flying aircraft, was the most likely explanation, but proof remains elusive. Biologists note that birds can recall a nesting site as bad if they have a traumatic experience there. Though some birds have been observed roosting on Seahorse Key in subsequent years, the large-scale nesting activity has not returned. Lessons Learned: The rookery abandonment at Seahorse Key demonstrates the importance of protecting sensitive wildlife refuges from all sources of disturbance. It highlights that even a single, albeit unknown, event can cause a catastrophic and long-lasting disruption to an entire ecosystem. As researchers continue to emphasize the need to understand such events to prevent similar outcomes elsewhere, National Wildlife Refuges, together with dedicated Friends organizations and engaged citizens continue to work hand in hand to safeguard natural habitats and the rich ecosystems they support. Through conservation, stewardship, and community involvement, we ensure these special places remain protected for wildlife and people alike, today and for generations to come.
Welcome to Friends' annual re-posting of the Swamp Apes and Hunting story. Five years ago, US Fish and Wildlife Public Affairs specialist Dan Chapman published a story about hunting on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. We know our hunters and other visitors enjoy it and thus, it is back by popular demand. Not Even the Swamp Ape Legend Deters Hunters from Flocking to the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge
by Dan Chapman, public affairs specialist
October 28, 2020 Chiefland, Florida – If ever there was a time to get out and into the woods and hunt, this pandemic-riven season is surely it. But beware the Swamp Ape.
The what? Swamp Ape. Skunk Ape. Moth Man. Whatever you call it, some Big Bend hunters swear they’ve seen a large half-man, half-beast creature prowling the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. Andrew Gude, refuge manager, felt compelled to address the reports - or myths - in the 2020-21 hunt brochure: “There is no taking of Swamp or Skunk Apes,” it reads. Gude is skeptical of the beast’s existence, though he remains open to the possibility. And he doubts fears of any hairy, smelly, eight-foot tall creature will keep hunters from heading into the refuge’s swamps and pine forests and a much-needed opportunity to distance themselves from their Covid-infused daily lives. “There’s a trend, overall, and an uptick in hunters here at the refuge,” Gude said recently. “Hunting allows folks to go out and maintain distance from other people. You don’t want to be around anybody else anyway.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently expanded opportunities for hunters and anglers at 147 refuges and hatcheries nationwide. The Service added 1.4 million acres the year before. More than 4 million acres, overall, has been opened to the rod and gun crowd. In addition, more than 110 new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities - new species, acres, and times to hunt and fish - will be offered to more closely align federal and state rules. More than 2.4 million “hunting visits” took place during the most recent fiscal year - up 2.3 percent over the previous year - according to newly released statistics from refuges across the country. Hunting and fishing generate millions of dollars in revenue for states each year via the sale of licenses, tags and excise taxes on firearms, ammo and sport fishing equipment. The money helps state wildlife agencies manage their public lands and at-risk species. “When I first moved down here I mandated that we get as close to state rules as we can,” said Gude, who arrived at Lower Suwannee nine years ago. “We probably have the most hunting opportunities of any refuge outside of Alaska. We have 200 days of aggregate hunting - the number of waterfowl, deer, hog, turkey and small game days combined. And north Florida has a huge hunt culture. We’ve always been pretty popular here.” The refuge covers 53,000 acres of salt and freshwater wetlands, cypress swamps, hardwood forests and old pine plantations - enough varied habitats to satisfy the most discerning of hunters and fishers. Unlike most refuges created to protect wildlife, Lower Suwannee was established in 1979 to ensure the water quality of the famed Suwannee River. The fresh water mixes with the Gulf of Mexico’s salt water to create a fertile estuary that nourishes sturgeon, migratory shorebirds, wading birds, and waterfowl, while attracting commercial and recreational fishermen. The refuge straddles 20 miles of the Suwannee River (“way down upon the Swanee River”) and 30 miles of relatively untrammeled Big Bend coastline. It’s riddled with hiking and paddling trails, old logging roads, boardwalks, and fishing piers. The nine-mile Nature Drive offers easy access to prime hunting and fishing grounds. A week before archery season began, in late September, hunters were doing recon and hauling in deer stands. Greg Lang already knew where he wanted to go. He has lived in nearby Cedar Key for 35 years and hunts, fishes, bikes Lower Suwannee maybe 60 times a year. Deer. Turkey. Ducks. Hogs. 
Greg Lang hunts, fishes, hikes or bikes Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge dozens of times each year. Photo courtesy of Greg Lang
“I stepped on an alligator crossing a creek once,” said Lang, vice president of an environmental engineering firm. “The old-timers tell me I was really lucky I stepped on his head. If I’d stepped on his back, he would’ve grabbed my leg.” He continued, “That place is very special. It’s a lot of wet swamp, some of it very thick. It gives me more of a challenge. There’s a couple of spots close to the Suwannee River near some oak hammocks where the acorns are starting to drop. All in all, it’s a challenging place to hunt.” Archery season got off to a rousing start this year. Gude’s cell phone, whose number he readily shares, has been blowing up with hunters asking all sorts of permit, season, access and tree-stand questions. Calls from Tampa, Sarasota, Gainesville, Georgia. Seems people are keen to get out of the house and into nature and, temporarily, leave Covid behind. “I am absolutely sure that this health emergency makes people appreciate the beauty around them and what they can do to stay healthy,” said Lang, a longtime member of the friends’ group that supports the Lower Suwannee refuge. “Bottom-line, if you spend more time in wilderness you’re healthier.” As long as you don’t come across the Swamp Ape. Similarly hairy sightings have been reported in the Everglades and the Okefenokee too. Thirty-five years traipsing across Lower Suwannee and Lang has never seen the legendary creature. He’s not certain it exists. “I want to believe in it,” he said, “but this is the Redneck Riviera so most of us who play outdoors look and smell like Swamp Apes anyways.” |
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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