Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
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Friends Advocacy for Refuge Internet

11/20/2022

 
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.
Patricia Kromer-Parsons
12/3/2022 08:51:01 pm

Starlink works like a charm here in the boonies of Micanopy.

Jeff M Hardison link
12/4/2022 04:38:55 am

Within four years, Central Florida Electric Cooperative's offshoot company -- Fiber By Central Florida -- is forecasting fiberoptic Internet service for all of its customers, including the headquarters of the refuge. Starlink does not serve this part of Levy County yet, and it has no plans available as for a date when that will happen. Rep. Neal Dunn is no longer the United States House of Representatives person for this part of Florida. The new Republican in the House is Kathryn Christine "Kat" Cammack as a result of redistricting.

Betty Belair
12/4/2022 07:17:32 am

Fowler’s Bluff has had star-link starting the begining of this year.

Debbie Meeks
12/4/2022 11:36:27 am

This is a great discussion with good suggestions. Recently ATT has been digging along the refuge road so it looks like headquarters will get fiber! Fiber will be the perfect solution since there are sometimes a dozen or so staff and partners using broadband at the same time.
I'm so thankful citizens have a path to our elected officials about local problems.


Comments are closed.

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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.

  • Explore
    • Maps >
      • Paddling Guides
      • Refuge Maps
      • Trail Brochures
      • Places of Interest
    • Hunting >
      • Overview
      • FWS Hunting Brochure
      • Alternative Mobility Permits
      • Hunter SignUp
    • Fishing >
      • Kayak-fishing Trails
    • Junior Ranger
    • Wildlife
  • Heritage
    • Shell Mound >
      • Overview
      • Archaeological Trail
      • Dennis Creek Trail
      • Hog Island Paddle
      • Long Cabbage Paddle
    • Vista >
      • What is Vista
      • Friends' role
      • The Future
      • Cooks General Restoration
      • Window Restoration
      • Lumbering
    • Seahorse Key >
      • Overview
      • Seahorse Key History
  • Join
    • Donate
  • News
  • About
    • About Friends >
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Advocacy
      • Current News
      • Contact Us
    • About the Refuges >
      • Our Refuges
      • Places of Interest
      • Hunting Brochure
  • Search