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
    • Hunter SignUp
  • Search
  • Store
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Books
    • Earrings
    • Gift Donation
    • On Sale

Refuges Protect Us All: Reflections on the Aftermath of a Hurricane by Friends President Maria Sgambati

9/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
On September 1, Hurricane Hermine, a Category 1 storm came onshore over St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, near Tallahassee, Florida. The Cedar Keys and Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuges were on the southeast side of the storm, where a nearly 10 foot storm surge and winds gusting up to 75 mph brought down trees, tore numerous docks loose from their moorings, and brought water levels not seen in decades into the numerous small coastal communities along Florida’s Big Bend region.  Refuge staff were not only on standby to help out nearby communities during and after the storm, but they quickly went to work on the Refuge afterwards to get storm damage cleaned up.   I’d like to give all the staff and Refuge volunteers, especially Ron Black a huge shout out for their tireless work.   Although natural resources and wildlife protection are part of why are Refuges exist, it is the human resources that keep the Refuges up and running, especially in times like this.
Picture
I’ve been reflecting a lot on the intersection of humans and the environment in the aftermath of this storm. While it’s often very easy to see the toll storms take on human construction, it’s a lot harder to see or know what toll that this takes on wildlife.  Wildlife that can move may make for higher ground. On Cedar Key, where I live, I saw several salt marsh snakes in places where they wouldn’t normally be, presumably brought to these spots by the tidal surge.  Often they were trying to move in the direction back towards water. During the storm, radar captured a flock of seabirds, presumably caught and flying in the eye of the hurricane, as it moved onshore.
Picture
Base reflectivity (left) and Differential reflectivity (right) radar images of Hermine at 10:38 p.m. EDT on Sept. 1. The red shaded area on the image to the right shows the birds swirling inside Hermine's eye just before landfall. (https://weather.com/science/news/radar-hermine-birds-eye.  )
It may also be harder to measure the benefit that Refuges specifically provide to wildlife in storms since they can’t talk to us about it, but what is clearer and clearer is the enormous benefit that conservation lands, particularly coastal wetlands provide to humans in such events. At a conference I attended in Tampa on Coastal Resiliency about 10 days after the storm, the watch phrase was “Armor, Adapt, Abandon” – an alliterative way to quickly sum up the humans will be grappling with as we face effects from climate change in the coming decades. In the United States, all eyes will be on Florida as we grapple with how best to handle sea level rise, models for which struggle to try to predict the unpredictable.
 ‘Adaptation’ can mean a wide variety of approaches including elevating buildings or roads, or by conserving or recreating wetland habitats such as mangroves and saltmarsh habitats. Scientists are studying these natural ecosystems to better understand how they might protect against strong storm. While the precise protective effect may vary by ecosystem and storm patterns, there seems to be a general pattern of agreement that wetland ecosystems can help slow and mitigate storm surge as well as serve to hold carbon, a critical component of climate change and sea level rise.
Now and well into the future, protecting existing conservation land and adding other land will not only help provide critical habitat for wildlife, it will help ensure numerous protections and benefits for humans.  As the weather cools off here in North Florida, please take to a boat or get your walking shoes on and head out to enjoy the Cedar Keys and Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuges. Bring a friend and introduce them to your favorite spot. These Refuges are precious treasures for all living beings.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    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
    • Hunter SignUp
  • Search
  • Store
    • Shirts
    • Hats
    • Books
    • Earrings
    • Gift Donation
    • On Sale