Draft Compatibility Determination and Environmental Assessment for Hound Field Trials on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has evaluated a proposed public use on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge). The proposed use is to allow sanctioned raccoon dog trial associations to conduct “Hound Field Trails” under Special Use Permits. Federal law requires that the Service first allow the public to review this action prior to conducting this activity on the Refuge. A draft compatibility determination and environmental assessment covering the anticipated scope of the activity is currently available for public review and comment.
Updated: January 21, 2021
Please note, as of February 9, 2022, there are no road closures in the Refuge, including the Dixie Mainline. In coordination with Dixie County managers and Roads Department, the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge will need to extend the closure of the Dixie Mainline thru the end of the day on Friday, February 5, 2021. We apologize to the residents of Dixie County for this inconvenience. The work is roadside right-of-way and overhead tree cutting. Heavy equipment will block the road while the work is conducted. Please notify your friends and family. Any questions call/text the refuge manager, Andrew at 703|622.3896 or Mr. Hutch at 352|210-8899. Here is the new slate to be presented for a vote at the Annual Meeting, Their short bios are available on the Meet the Board page. President -- Peg Hall President-elect -- Debbie Meeks Immediate Past President -- John McPherson Treasurer -- Linda Kimball Secretary -- Bill Dummitt Directors Ed DeHaan Joe Hand Debbie Jordan Dan Kline Paul Ramey John Thalacker Several current directors were elected last year for a two-year term and therefore they continue in position until the Annual Meeting in 2022. Matt Chatowsky Denise Feiber Boyd Kimball Ginessa Mahar Travis Thomas Barbara Woodmansee One long-time director is stepping down this year. We are grateful to
Margy VanLandingham for all her work for Friends over the years. Now you can purchase our t-shirts and hats from home using an online store, friendsofrefuges.org/store. We are opening with our most popular shirts and hats but we will expand into earrings, mugs and more in the future so come back often or make a request at [email protected]
Due to the pandemic, board members are shipping out of our homes so on-site pickup is not available. Eleven volunteers made this project a reality. Thanks Everyone! As with most events in 2020, and so far in 2021, the much-anticipated Friends Annual Membership Meeting will not be an in-person gathering at the Refuge Headquarters, and the delectable McCain’s BBQ will not be served.
However, fear not, on February 27th there will be an annual meeting and creative minds are working hard to come up with an informative and enjoyable E-vent. Imagine if you will an easy-to-access Zoom meeting with an agenda not unlike last year’s. It will feature current president, John McPherson, and president-elect Peg Hall to provide updates on the many things still being accomplished by the Friends organization during life in a pandemic. Refuge Manager Andrew Gude will give an update as well. There will be the usual business issues such as financial reports, election of 2021 board of directors, updates on programs including the Vista Project (remember the tour from last year), along with interesting presentations by experts on a variety of topics. And not to disappoint, a report on the travels of Suwannee the Swallow-tail Kite will be given. Lots of newsy stuff will also be passed along about activities such as the launching of the online store and the updated website. This format will allow for Zoom Rooms where smaller groups can join-in for more in-depth discussions. So, stay tuned for emails that will explain how to sign up for the meeting and also keep an eye out for a survey to precede the meeting to help organizers ensure a responsive agenda. If there are topics you would like covered, send suggestions to [email protected] We reported in November that the board of Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRs decided to hold off on signing a Partnership Agreement required by the Washington office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in order to become affiliated with their official Friends program. (See that announcement here.) A new Policy Manual will be issued soon by FWS and we want to see it before we commit to signing and thus agreeing to what it requires.
At the end of December, Friends of Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRs received a letter from FWS stating that: Since your organization has decided not to sign the Agreement, the partnership, heretofore, existing between the Friends and Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge is officially dissolved by mutual consent. (The full letter is here.) We responded that: To the best of our knowledge our Friends group has never had a formal agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nor agreed to participate in the Service’s internal Friends program. Thus, there is no mutually agreed upon partnership to dissolve by mutual consent. (Our full response is here.) We have been working with board members of other Friends groups from around the country to assure that FWS hears our concerns about policy issues and avoids infringing on our legal responsibilities as 501(c)(3) corporations chartered by our states and approved by the IRS. Peg Hall, John Thalalcker, Debbie Meeks, Dan Kline, and Jay Bushnell from Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRS have all participated national zoom webinars sponsored by the Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates and the National Association of Wildlife Refuges. Each zoom meeting had almost 200 participants, indicating the strength of concern among Friends groups. Soon, FWS will release the draft of the new Policy Manual. There will be another national zoom meeting to discuss it. Our Friends group will participate and will subsequently respond to the Call for Public Comments. Sharing information with FWS is not a problem. All our board meetings are open to the public. Minutes are posted to our website, as are annual financial summaries. Financial statements are available. We are however resistant to reformatting our information for their purposes. They estimate that would require 212 hours of work. And we are resistant if the FWS' policy indicates that it is likely to infringe on the management and financial roles of our board. Hopefully, working with so many other Friends groups, we will be able to have changes made so we can get past this issue and put our time to other productive uses. Dan Chapman is a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He has visited the Lower Suwanee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges several times recently to learn about our refuges and tell their stories to a wider audience of naturalists and nature lovers. In December, he visited Atsena Otie with Deputy Refuge Manager Larry Woodward and University of Florida archaeologist Ken Sassaman. His story is told here: "Rising Seas threaten history, culture of Florida wildlife refuge." You may remember seeing his other recent local story, Not even Swamp Ape legend deters hunters from flocking to Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.
Our Friends organization has been under pressure for several years to enter into a formal partnership arrangement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), making us part of their official Friends program. We resisted signing the proposed Partnership Agreement with the FWS because our Board of Directors felt that it infringed too much on our status as a 501(c)(3) private nonprofit organization. FWS is now requiring that all Friends groups sign the Agreement in order to continue their close association with the refuges. In light of that new requirement, the Board weighed the options further and, reluctantly, has again decided not to sign “at this time.” On one hand, we realize that it is not unreasonable for FWS to exert some control over Friends organizations that are using refuge facilities, and often are, or seem to be, working in conjunction with FWS on refuge improvements, group activities, and fund raising. One can imagine a rogue Friends group engaged in activities that do not benefit or reflect well on the refuge system. On the other hand, the details of the Partnership Agreement gave us pause, once again. For example, it requires us to agree to:
The board decided that despite it being reasonable for the FWS to have some oversight, the level of control that the Partnership Agreement requires us to voluntarily give to FWS feels excessive. Other Friends groups are also pushing back against this requirement. While the discussions are continuing, we will maintain our close and effective relationship with our Refuge Manager and all our Refuge staff members, and will keep you informed of the status of things. The Board members would welcome your comments about this issue either in this blog, by email at [email protected], or in person.
Despite the pandemic, work at the Refuges continues as usual. The Refuge staff members have been helping with the Nature Coast biological Stations Cedar Key Living Shoreline Project. Using the Refuge"s front-end loader, Jason Coates has placed large boulders around a bridge on the Airport Road section of this project.
The project to rebuild the fishing pier at Shell Mound is being contracted. It probably will not start until the spring.
Fishbone Creek, a popular fishing and viewing platform on the Dixie County side of the Lower Suwannee NWR, It has been closed for three weeks due to vandalism; the railings were torn off. While inspecting it, Refuge staff noted that one of the upright posts was clearly rotted to the point of being unsafe.
While it was closed many dedicated users called Refuge Manager Andrew Gude and other Refuge staff to express concern. Some offered their contracting, fabricating, and construction services to speed along the re-opening of the popular site. Andrew kept these contacts on a "friends of Fishbone" list. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Gulf Restoration Office, which manages and coordinates RESTORE Act monies, had an opportunity to extend additional grants to refuges, Andrew applied. Lower Suwannee NWR was selected and after negotiation to allow its use for Fishbone Creek restoration, the money will be allowed to be used to explore a potential Fishbone Fishing and Viewing Platform rebuild. The new construction would use materials that don't rot and that resist arson. The possible reconstruction would have an ADA accessible platform at ground level, a parking pad, a graveled parking lot, and permeable geo-matting to prevent erosion from boat launching off the bank. "What was so heartening about this whole situation were the responses from the dedicated, loyal, and responsible users when we had to close Fishbone", said Andrew. "Because of the extent and frequency of previous vandalism, and after hearing from so many fans of this site, we will consider providing access in the future through Special Use Permits to allow the site to achieve its maximum potential as a safe and lasting recreational favorite." On the afternoon of November 10th, two large aircraft flew at an estimated altitude of 300-feet over the islands off Cedar Key. The large and noisy planes raised concerns about their mission and the possible disruption they can cause wildlife. And, this isn’t the first time that this type of aircraft has made disturbing passes over the islands.
Though not confirmed, the planes are likely based out of the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville and are presumed by Refuge staff to be military aircraft developed to operate in the anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and shipping interdiction roles. Refuge staff are making inquiries with NAS/JAX to discuss the situation and discourage or prevent future flyovers. Jim Wortham, FWS wildlife biologist pilot, reports that civilian pilots are requested to remain above 2000' while flying over national wildlife refuges for the protection of wildlife. Disturbances from aircraft overflights have proven to be harmful to seabirds and shorebirds due to reduced reproductive success, increased predation, increased energy expenditure and reduced habitat use. A close-to-home example of this type of disastrous impact to wildlife occurred in 2015 when early one morning an employee arrived for work on Seahorse Key and discovered all of the colonial nesting birds had abandoned the key. There was no obvious explanation. To this date, scientists continue to study the situation, but no definitive answers have been provided. Early speculation included flyovers as one of the possible causes. Fortunately, most of the birds relocated to Snake Key, and some active Osprey nests remain on nesting poles around Seahorse Key. When available, updates will be provided. Gina Kent of the Avian Research and Conservation Institute reported that after not "hearing" from our Suwannee Kite for almost two months, he "popped up" in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Check Audubon's Suwannee page for live tracking and fast-forward using the slider under their tracking map. |
Archives
June 2024
|
![]() 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. |
|