The poster below has the wrong date, but is otherwise right on target. This will be an excellent presentation by the long-time, and just retired, president and past president of the Friends of the Refuges, Jay Bushnell.
Come and Enjoy.
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Saturday, March 21
1:00 p.m. Cedar Key Community Center Dr. Ken Sassaman will talk about astounding findings at Shell Mound and elsewhere in the region. Yes . . . Rainy. |
Work continues on the River Trail. The next Work Day has not yet been scheduled but will be prior to the 2015 Annual Meeting on Saturday February 28. If interested in working, contact John Thalacker at [email protected] The planned improvements that day include construction of two benches along the trail, seating at the Suwannee terminus, sweeping of the boardwalks, cleaning of the display and tree markers and removing trash that has floated in from the river and is visible from the boardwalk. The last Work Day was Tuesday, February 3. Board Members John Thalacker and Ed DeHaan along with Refuge equipment operator George Pelt spread a thick layer of limestone on the path from the parking lot to the trail and on the trail itself to cover emerging roots and irregularities on the path. While two members who had volunteered could not attend due to work and other commitments on the 3rd, it is hoped they and others will be able to attend the next time. |
Larry Woodward, Assistant Refuge Manager for the Lower Suwannee NWR gave an hour long talk for the Cedar Key Garden Club to 24 attendees at the library on February 4, 2015. Mr Woodward gave a brief history of the Long Leaf pine and how the tree species once occupied 90 million continuous acres in the southeast, from Virginia south to Florida and as far west as Texas. Today, there are no large continuous tracts of the Long Leaf pine and now perhaps only 3% of the 90 million acres of the tree survive. More than 30 endangered and threatened wildlife depend on this ecosystem and approximately 640 species of plants are restricted to Long Leaf pine habitats, including 187 rare plant species. When the Lower Suwannee NWR took over the 55,000 acres that is now the Refuge, there were only a handful of Long Leaf pine trees left. Most of the pine trees in the Refuge are Slash pines because the land was once a tree farm and the Slash pines were planted there as a crop. Over the years, the staff has managed the refuge to improve the habitat for the plants and animals. Thousands of Slash pines have been harvested and thousands of Long Leaf pine tree seedlings planted. The remaining Slash pines have been thinned out and burning is an active means used to improve the habitat. Long Leaf pines are not only fire resistant, but dependent on frequent non-intense fires to thrive. Mr Woodward encouraged people to come out to look at the planted Long Leaf pine on the Refuge. |
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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. |
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