Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
  • Home
    • Current News
  • About
    • About Friends >
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Current News
      • Contact Us
    • About the Refuges >
      • Our Refuges
      • Places of Interest
      • Hunting Brochure
  • Join
    • Donate
  • Maps
    • Paddling Guides
    • Refuge Maps
    • Trail Brochures
    • Places of Interest
  • Wildlife
    • Science
  • Hunt & Fish
    • Hunting
    • FWS Hunting Brochure
    • Fishing
  • Search
  • Store
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Books
    • Earrings
    • Gift Donation
    • On Sale

Impacts of the Shutdown

1/28/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
The "blue goose" icon of the National Wildlife Refuges.
Friends members are delighted that Refuge staff members are back!

Headquarters is open again, having been shuttered since before Christmas.

What difference did it make to our community to have our Refuge staff on furlough for 35 days?

Here are some of the ways it mattered for us.

Picture
During the shutdown, many Friends groups at other refuges took to using this logo.

Forests

No one could follow through on the Tree Planting contract. Tree planters will have to be rescheduled, around their other projects.

Invasive Species Mitigation

Friends volunteers could not work on the Refuges or use Refuge equipment  as they usually do.


Fire

Opportunities for prescribed burns were lost. Staff could not attend the Southern Area Fire Academy, which is the only opportunity this year for multi-agency training across the SE and for staff to obtain advanced qualifications. Our Vic Doig is usually a lead instructor. Several local fire training tests were cancelled, as was the coastal wetlands fire symposium and the annual incident management team meeting.

Roads and Trails

Repair and grading of roads,  needed after fall storms, was halted. In recent years, the mowing of road shoulders and trails has been carefully managed to promote wildflower enhancement for butterflies and other animals. This opportunity was lost.

Birds

Installation and replacement of signage to protect the Snake Key rookery, the birds and nests, was delayed in a critical month. The Refuge could not provide an airboat as it usually does for the Cedar Key Christmas Bird Count.

Wounded Warriors

Operation Outdoor Freedom's Wounded Warrior 4-day hunt was held on the Refuge in January, however our staff members could not officially attend or represent the Refuge as they have in the past.

Outreach and Interpretive Programs

Each staff member had been scheduled to represent the Refuge at one or more festivals, community events, or public presentations. All their presentations and participation had to be cancelled.

Visitors

Friends were not able to open the Welcome Desk for a month.

Shell Mound

The boardwalk section of the trail, where Friends members walked last March after the Annual Meeting, remains uncleared and work on the boardwalk itself could not begin.

Public Health, Water Quality

At both Shell Mound and Shired Island, public toilets were closed for 35 days. These facilities are important to protect public health, and water quality for the commercial shell fisheries. If another shutdown occurs, the Refuge will seek an exemption to keep them open. It was a saving grace that the region had weekly rain and the the grounds were already supersaturated.

Atsena Otie

An Eagle Scout and his 20-person crew held a maintenance and cleanup project. Refuge staff were prohibited from helping. During a shutdown, furloughed staff may not "volunteer" on any Refuge property.

Vandalism
Illegal Hunting

Staff could not patrol or monitor. The lack of a federal wildlife law enforcement officer for the Refuge exacerbated this problem.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

Picture
Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges
P. O. Box 532
Cedar Key, FL 32625
friends@friendsofrefuges.org

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.


  • Home
    • Current News
  • About
    • About Friends >
      • Who We Are
      • What We Do
      • Current News
      • Contact Us
    • About the Refuges >
      • Our Refuges
      • Places of Interest
      • Hunting Brochure
  • Join
    • Donate
  • Maps
    • Paddling Guides
    • Refuge Maps
    • Trail Brochures
    • Places of Interest
  • Wildlife
    • Science
  • Hunt & Fish
    • Hunting
    • FWS Hunting Brochure
    • Fishing
  • Search
  • Store
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Books
    • Earrings
    • Gift Donation
    • On Sale