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Winter Solstice Event, Dec. 21 - All Welcome

11/30/2022

Picture of cloudy skies over Palmetto Mound, as viewed from the shell Mound fishing pier.

Imagining the sun setting near Palmetto Mound was the best we could do in blustery 2021.

For the 6th year in a row, Friends will celebrate Winter Solstice at Shell Mound. Come and participate.

On Wednesday, December 21, starting at 3:45 p.m., we will gather at the Shell Mound/Dennis Creek Trail head parking area for guided walks of each trail. The walks will start at 4:00.

After the guided walks, we will have hot tea and cookies at the Shell Mound fishing pier and hear the story of the Indians for whom the area was a civic-ceremonial center from about AD 400 to about AD 650. It was both a residential and a ritual site.

Picture of three Friends members by the canopy at Shell Mound at Winter Solstice 2021

Bundled up Friends members offering hot tea and cookies for the Winter Solstice 2021.

Hopefully, at 5:39 we will see the sun set near Palmetto Mound, which was an ancient burial ground. Each of the past 5 years, the weather has been cold and blustery. Each of those years, we had to imagine the sun setting behind the clouds we were watching. Nevertheless, we celebrated.

Be there, rain or shine. It is becoming a Friends' tradition.

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Matching Funds Leverage Vista Grant

11/27/2022

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If you are thinking about an end-of-year or future gift to Friends, consider making a donation to help with our matching fund commitment that will help leverage the grant for work at Vista.

When we submitted the grant proposal, Friends agreed that if the Division of Historical Resources provided $60,000, we would match it with $15,000. So far, we have $11,600 toward that $15,000 match. Most of it is from the sale of the boat contributed by Richey Smith, husband of Sandra Roe Smith, one of the sisters who donated the Vista property.

By way of update, the November News Brief mentioned that the grant had met a bump in the road. Because of the recent hurricanes in our state, architects and contractors are harder to hire and more costly than our proposal projected when we submitted it in summer 2021. With Refuge Manager Andrew Gude, Friends continues working on ways to move ahead in the new fiscal reality.

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Getting Back to Pre-Pandemic Membership Numbers

11/25/2022

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Currently, Friends has about 210 members, down from 260 before the pandemic. We would like to rebuild the membership base to increase our strength as advocates for our Refuges.

If you took a membership break during the pandemic, please consider renewing your membership. If you don't know whether your membership lapsed, email peg@peghall.com and we will let you know.

In hopes of encouraging you to participate in Friends accomplishments, here is a long overview of what has happened in 2022.

Vista

Sandra Roe Smith giving the key to Vista to Refuge Manager Andrew Gude

Donors Sandra Roe Smith and Linda Roe Alexander turned over their life tenancy of the property, making it available as a Refuge interpretive area when safety and staffing needs are met.
Friends received its 2nd grant related to Vista from the Florida Division of Historical Resources. With it, we will begin repairs on one of the most endangered buildings.
Friends initiated a campaign to raise the $15,000 in matching funds needed for the grant which will total $75,000.
A workday was held to clear unusable items and store items that will enhance its future interpretive purpose.

Refuge Enhancements

Picture of a banner for the iNaturalist project

Friends is working with Refuge staff to survey butterflies and strengthen our iNaturalist presence. In both cases we will also create a database to help with management decisions related to improving the habitat.
The Refuge managers have made significant progress on the years-long project to improve the hydrology of the Lower Suwannee Refuge. When the land that is now the Refuge was commercially lumbered, roads and ridges were built that stopped the free flow of water across the land. Working with partners, including the counties and the Water Management District, hydrology studies have been completed and the Refuge is initiating changes, which will take years to complete, to reintroduce that energizing and nourishing flow of natural water across the Refuge into the Suwannee River and the Gulf.

Members and Visitors

Andrew Gude speaking at Friends 2022 Annual Meeting

Friends is working to acquire a concession trailer to outfit as a Mobile Outreach Center to use at festivals and provide visitor information on busy winter weekends at the River Trail, Shell Mound, and other Refuge areas.
Friends held its first post-pandemic, in-person Annual Meeting at the Refuge, with more than 200 participants.
Friends has been invited to apply for a $15,000 grant to improve or expand visitors’ experiences on the Refuges.
Events such as a Butterfly Walk, a Native Plants Walk, a Vista Photo Walk, and a Winter Solstice Celebration have been held or are planned.
Friends published a “Gravel Riding” guide for visitors who want to bike the Refuge and prepared a iGuide Poster with QR codes to place at 13 locations where visitors access Refuge information.
Friends is developing a Junior Ranger program to be ready this winter.

Outreach and Advocacy

Picture of the banner from the online store's website page

Friends initiated an online store to provide more access to items that increase awareness of the Refuges. Individual board members fulfill orders from their homes as people buy from the store.
Our president Debbie Meeks was selected as one of 25 participants from among the 250 Friends groups nationwide for a week-long Friends Academy at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia in August.

Be a Friend. Support our Refuges. Thanks!

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Native Plant Walk Attracted a Crowd

11/21/2022

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Picture of Refuge Manager Andrew Gude leading the walk

Picture of participants identifying plants along the trail

Picture of participants viewing the Suwannee River at Fletcher's Landing

On Saturday, November 19, Friends hosted the Paynes Prairie Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society on a nature walk led by Refuge Manager Andrew Gude. The walk was a follow up to a talk Andrew gave at the Native Plant Society's meeting in Gainesville a few days earlier. About 25 participants walked from Gate 14 along the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge's Nature Drive to Fletcher's Landing on the Suwannee River.

Check out the nice piece in the January edition of The Rhexia, their newsletter, about their visit with us.

Picture of lichen on an American Hornbeam tree

Photo of lichen on an American Hornbeam tree by Carol Wilcox

Picture of a Toothpetal False Reinorchid

Photo of a Toothpetal False Reinorchid by Russ Hall

Photo by Carol Wilcox

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Friends Advocacy for Refuge Internet

11/20/2022

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In August, speaking for the board and Friends, our president Debbie Meeks wrote to Congressman Neal Dunn, and our Senators to advocate for improving the internet at the Refuge.

In this day and age, no organization can work efficiently and effectively with weak internet connections. We had already bumped into connectivity issues with internet when Friends had volunteered to staff the Welcome Desk at Refuge headquarters before the pandemic closures. We'd known that staff were required to use cloud-based software programs for map-making and other functions. However, the internet connections were often not reliable enough to do the work.

Picture of a zoom meeting of the board of directors

Connection Dropped

Last summer it became clear that the internet at the Refuge was not strong enough and reliable enough for Friends to hold monthly, hybrid Zoom meetings of the board on site. The feed for those who were participating remotely was delayed. The screen share didn't share. More than a few times, the connection was dropped and everyone had to sign in again. It was too frustrating.

In October, Congressman Dunn replied that he had made inquiries of the Fish and Wildlife Service in response to Debbie's letter. It looks like there is now some hope for improvement. Friends is delighted and hopes it is not long in coming to fruition.

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