Finally, we have our staff members back on the Refuges. Welcome back to Acting Manager John Stark, Forester Daniel Barrand, and Equipment Engineer Jason Coates. There is a lot of catching up to do. Happily, the Camper Volunteers have also returned.
Nothing will make up for the dramatic loss of staffing the Refuges have experienced, but at least now the staff that are still with the Refuges are able to resume their work to protect the wildlife and the river. Our communities rely on our Refuges. The Friends group is relieved and happy to welcome you all back.
0 Comments
Our membership levels have been simplified after years of board discussion and debate. While we might not have found the perfect solution for every member, we decided it was time to move forward due to rising costs and a desire to simplify our process. Here are our three new membership levels:  The new membership levels Our four annual membership levels have been reduced to two—White Ibis ($40) and Great Egret ($200). And our three life memberships have been reduced to one—Swallow-tailed Kite ($1,000).
Anyone who is already a Friends Life Member will not lose that status, even if you joined at the discontinued $250 River Otter or $500 Bald Eagle level. The benefit of a Friends Life Membership is that you no longer receive annual renewal reminder emails. Even without a reminder, many Life Members continue to make donations to support items on Friends' Wish List. The gifts are important because membership donations are Friends' primary source of revenue. If you think you’ve contributed $1,000 or more over the years and would like to be recognized as a Life Member, please contact us at [email protected]. Our heartfelt thanks to all our members for your generous support as we continue our work on behalf of our Refuges! Staff reductions and government shutdowns forced us to cancel our Junior Ranger elementary school field trips during the last two school years. These hugely successful festival-like events educate kids about the Refuge and are important outreach opportunites for us. We look forward to having enough certainty to bring this program back in fall of 2026. To the many volunteers who helped us offer Refuge learning to the kids, thank you, we'll be in touch next year. Enjoy the delightful weather while learning about our Refuge; that's what our Junior Ranger program is all about. Not just for kids, our program was designed especially to highlight the unique habitat and heritage found at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. For a beautiful full-color booklet, stop by one of the administrative locations listed at the bottom of our Junior Ranger webpage or download a copy here. Don't forget to submit your completed work to earn an official badge!  Refuge Manager of the Year Awards Presentation Event is being rescheduled due to government shutdown. It is being considered to combine this important event with our Annual Meeting in February. Stay tuned for more information.
Bat House Event originally scheduled for the Halloween weekend was cancelled due to the government shutdown. A new date is being discussed and will likely happen before Daylight Saving Time (DST) kicks in on March 8, 2026. Stay tuned for news about another Friends' batty event. Looking ahead to cooler weather, Friends Board member John Thalacker is starting to plan for a workday. As the leader of trail improvement team, John is laying out a detailed plan for more signage at Dennis Creek before the end of the year. That will involve making a working map that identifies specific locations of plants. Once we have that, we will determine the number of posts needed and who provides them, signs will be ordered, and work day or days to actually dig the holes and attach the signs will be set.  Photo from the very productive Post-Helene workday at Dennis Creek Trail in December 2024. We will be looking for two types of volunteers:
If any of our members are interested in being involved in either or both of these ventures, please contact John, email [email protected], or leave a comment below.
|
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. |
|