The good news is that Hurricane Helene did not damage Friends' merchandise. The bad news is that it took out our primary post office for fulfilling orders and made filling orders quite a challenge. We are still open for holiday shopping, but things are a bit slower.

Friends' merchandise has been popular for years. Visitors to our Refuges, Friends' members, and folks who come to local festivals have been strong Refuge supporters. Friends members and Refuge staff delight in seeing our hats, shirts, and other branded items being worn and displayed. It is as much a way to raise awareness of how many support the Refuges as it is a source of modest revenue for Friends' programs.

During the pandemic, we opened an online store to keep the merchandise available. Board members volunteered to keep items at their homes and ship them out as they were ordered. One volunteer would fulfill orders on the iconic tree tee shirts, another orders for Blue Goose passports, another for hats and earrings. It kept the task from being overwhelming for a single volunteer. If someone ordered a butterfly shirt, a tree shirt, and a book, the order would be filled by three different people and sometimes mailed from three different places since some volunteers live in Cedar Key and others in surrounding areas.

We are actually quite proud of our volunteer-centered, distributed fulfillment process. It meets the need and lets many people be involved in the work. Friends does not have a physical store and sells only at festivals and from our Refuge Rover. The online store continued to be successful  after the pandemic.

Last summer the merchandise team tried hard to order additional Blue Goose passports which were in high demand. Disappointingly, the books are out of print and unobtainable.

In better news, the team designed a new, blue, v-neck butterfly shirt. Production was held up by the hurricanes, but the shirt will be available starting around December 18. It is nice to have a new item for the New Year!

And then, along came Hurricane Helene. It wiped out the post office in Cedar Key and put a lot of stress on the volunteers to repair their own and neighbors' homes and properties. For the time being, if an order is filled by a Cedar Key volunteer, it must be driven to a post office miles away to be sent. The mobile post office unit is not equipped to deal with mailing packages. Luckily, the volunteer who will fill the butterfly shirt orders mails from Gainesville.

On Monday, December 9, a crew of 12 Friends members joined Refuge Manager Andrew Gude and Deputy Manager John Stark to work on making the Dennis Creek Trail usable again. The trail was heavily flooded by Hurricane Helene. Trees fell into the trail. Wind and water carried inches of sea debris onto it, along with a lot of plastic and aluminum bottles, foam floats, and other flotsam.

Armed with mostly hand tools, the crew of volunteers removed black needlerush thatch where it piled so high that walking was difficult. They used loppers to trim back branches and vines that would hang in hikers way. They pushed aside the branches, palm fronds, and other items that would be "trip hazards."

The trail is now quite usable by sure-footed hikers. It still has a few inches of black needlerush and sea wrack and many sticks to watch for. Pushing a kid in a stroller would be seriously difficult. Progress was made, but Helene's damage is still very much in evidence. The Friends' volunteer crew hopes that as more folks can now walk the trail, it will get tamped down and made more firm underfoot making it an even more comfortable walk.

Habitat restoration has been a primary focus at Lower Suwannee NWR. Daniel Barrand, our outstanding forester, and Vic Doig, our now-retired fire expert, worked together to thin, mechanically treat, burn and re-introduce native trees.
 
We know that prescribed burning is essential for the success of the habitat restoration. That makes us curious to know . . . where is the smoke? It seems there have not been any burns for some time now.

There may be good reasons for the lack of burning. We are acutely aware that the small number of staff members have a broad range of responsibilities. Still, for those of us who live near the Refuge, it is easy to smell or see the smoke when burns are done. We note how few are happening. Perhaps conditions for conducting burns have not been suitable for a long time.

Friends’ Advocacy Committee will meet with Refuge Manager Andrew Gude with our concerns.   Perhaps we can help establish a database about the burning frequency over the last ten years. If we are correct about the reduction in frequency, the data might help call attention to the need for help so our staff can protect the restoration that is underway.   

Many of you are familiar with the Vista Camp and the visions that have been forming for its future over the years. The Refuge is getting ready to apply for a mega grant to fund improvements and enhancements at the Vista Camp and we will need lots of supporting comments to help the application's ranking. This unique property has inspired ideas ranging from a dynamic welcome center or museum to an outdoor retreat called Destination Nature—a place for programs, activities, and events that connect people to the wonders of nature. Even simpler plans, like an interpretive path and a few picnic tables, could still honor the spirit and story of this remarkable site.

For the second year in a row, thanks to hurricanes Idalia and Helene, we cannot have our traditional Winter Solstice event at the Shell Mound. Sadly, the repair of the pier will not be complete in time for this year's event, 

However, we've got a great plan to make it happen in a spectacular place to hear UF Archaeologist Dr. Ken Sassaman's account of what transpired in our area between AD 400  and  AD 650 as indigenous peoples from the eastern region of the U.S. gathered to celebrate the shortest day and longest night of the year when the sun is at its southernmost point of its yearly motion in the sky. 

The sunset will be the back drop for the presentation thanks to Low Key Hideaway/Tiki Bar owner, Scott Larsen, who enthusiastically agreed to allow Friends to hold the annual event there. 

Please join us around 4:30pm on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at the Lowkey Hideaway and Tiki Bar located at 12050 FL-24 in Cedar Key. The presentation will start around 5:00pm in anticipation of sunset at 5:38pm.  After the presentation, conveniently, beverages and food are available at the Tiki Bar and food truck on the premises allowing for more discussions and socializing. Hope to see you there!

Just like the Friends members and board, all of us on staff will all miss the ~ 34 year old River Trail so very much!

It was one of the most popular places to walk in the Refuge. Before Hurricane Idalia destroyed the boardwalks and then Hurricane Helene finished the job, the River Trail was the most accessible trail to see the Suwannee River,  However, realistically, the cost of rebuilding the entire boardwalk and then repairing it after the next inevitable tree-fall tree is not within our budget or capacity.

Therefore, the Refuge is seeking funding to replace it with an alternate dock for access to the Suwannee River. We anticipate it it will be years before our turn will come up in the queue to get money to do this work, but we are working on it.