Friends Annual Meeting and Refuge Open House

The Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Lower Suwannee & Cedar Keys NWRs and the Refuge Open House will be Saturday, March24 from 10:00 to 4:00 at the refuge headquarters, off Route 347.

Activities will include a huge silent auction, nature walks, mini-workshops on a variety of wildlife topics, boat rides on the Suwannee, and a group paddle. Space is limited for the group paddle and you need to provide your own kayak or canoe. Send an email to friends@friendsofrefuges.org to sign up for it.

The Friends Paddling Project will debut its new trail panels which have already been featured in local and national publications and on the homepage of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The annual meeting`s featured presentation will be Motion in the Ocean: The Secret Lives of Marine Animals presented by Nick Whitney of the Center for Shark Research at the MOTE Marine Lab in Sarasota. Learn the secrets of shark romance, the `tail` of the jumping sturgeon, and the best time of day for python hunting in the Everglades.

Board of Directors and their families will provide side dishes for the Pot Luck Lunch. Additional dishes from attendees would be very welcome, especially green salads and desserts. Barbecue chicken, pork, and ribs will be provided by the Friends.

Lunch is free for Friends members and $10 for others. You may join Friends or renew your membership for 2012 at the door.

More information is available on our website www.friendsofrefuges.org.

Contact with any questions about this announcement:
Peg Hall, peg@peghall.com, 352-339-4710