Friends will host a Winter Solstice event at Shell Mound on Tuesday December 21 starting at 4:00 and ending with the setting of the sun over Palmetto Mound. All are welcome, rain or shine, and the event is free. For the past several years, the weather has been cold, overcast, rainy, even stormy. It has nevertheless been a wonderful place to be for the solstice. This year, we hope for warmer and sunnier.

Why at Shell Mound? Shell Mound is a large shell-bearing archaeological site that was once the location of special gatherings for Native American groups across the broader region. This 10-page booklet tells the Shell Mound story. 

Palmetto Mound is at the other end of the two arms at the open end of the dune. Native peoples buried their dead at Shell Mound, near where the sun sets at Winter Solstice. Shell Mound is a sacred and storied site. You will hear more if you can come and join the event.

The event will include:

• Guided walks for those who chose them at Dennis Creek (about one-mile) and Shell Mound (about 1/2-mile) trails. The walks will begin at 4:15 at the trail-head parking area on the left as you come down the road toward the Shell Mound pier which is at the very end of the road. You can park at the trail-head, or come to the pier parking and walk back to the trail-head. The walks will last about 30 minutes. 
• Some of the SongFarmers of Cedar Key will provide music by the pier.
• Friends will provide light snacks and stories about the place and its history. 
• Nature will provide the Winter Solstice sun setting near Palmetto Mound.

See our blog posts from earlier Winter Solstices here:

• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• unfortunately, none from the pandemic year

Lower Suwannee NWR Hunt Season is in full swing. Archery/Crossbow and Muzzleloader have passed and now we are into three General Gun Hunts:

1. Refuge General Gun 1:  November 6 - 14, 2021 = 9 days 
2. Thanksgiving Family/Senior Hunt/Disabled Veterans:  November 19 - 21, 2021 = 3 days     
3. Refuge General Gun 2 Happy Thanksgiving Hunt:  November 22 to November 28, 2021 = 7 days 

The Refuge works hard to accommodate this use and it shows due to its popularity.  For those non-hunters who are concerned about accessing the Refuge during a hunt, you should feel free to do so.  Simply follow these basic guidelines: 

1. If you see a vehicle parked at a gate, it's best not to walk down that road
2. When hiking off the public driving roads, it is best to wear bright colors, like safety orange or fluorescent yellow; and lastly
3. It is not wise to carry deer antlers and clack them together making it sound like two bucks fighting.  This type of noise attracts hunters. . . 

Jason is mowing the roads again after the wildflowers have bloomed.  Balancing the need to have the roads mowed whilst providing flowers for butterflies and bees is always a quandry.

George and Jason are doing a Special Project, rehabbing and improving Fishbone Creek, Dixie County access road, parking area, boat launch, and a ground-level fishing platform.  We do not yet have the funds to replace the observation deck.  Also, George finished the trenching for the new fire radio tower's electrical system and has been coordinating contractors doing the work.

Friends board members John McPherson, Debbie Meeks, Peg Hall, and John Thalacker are working with the Refuge to prepare for the eventual transfer of the Suwannee River's Vista Estate to the Refuge.  Meetings are on-going to make plans on how to raise funds to repair, maintain, and promote this historic location for public access and interpretation. Meanwhile the Refuge is working with the USFWS on the administrative side of this transfer.

Avoid all those supply chain headaches!  Do your holiday shopping online and support the Friends of the Refuges. 

Shop early for the best selection of custom-designed t-shirts and hats and -NEW- earrings and Blue Goose National Wildlife Refuge Passport books. 

​Our volunteers will have your order mailed out within a few days.  The pandemic has been the mother of invention for many things, including our store. It's been a great success and we want to thank all who bought t-shirts and hats over this last year, and the Friends Board volunteers who have made it happen.

Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates is a national organization that connects Friends groups across the country with each other to share ideas and to pool our thinking and power on issues that affect us all. Friends of Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRs worked closely with CORFA last year during the review of the Partnership Agreement that the Fish and Wildlife Service requires all Friends groups to sign.
 
This fall CORFA highlights Friends of Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys NWRs in its national newsletter. It also highlights Friends of St Mark’s NWR, our nearby refuge on the Big Bend of Florida, which is being honored as the Friends Group of the Year for 2022. And, CORFA showcases an idea from the Friends of Balcones Canyonlands that looks like something we would love to implement for our Friends!