March 31, 2022

New, Exciting Project Underway

Watch next week’s “Ding” on the Wing for the reveal of a new Refuge project, now in its final stages of design, that will serve as a revolutionary, cool, flexible, inclusive, accessible, safe, and welcoming space for all visitors to the Refuge. Learn how you can become a part of the progress.

Lecture Series: It's a Wrap

We wrapped up another successful Lecture Series last Friday. A big thanks to DDWS staffers Ann-Marie Wildman, Development Impact Officer and lead series organizer, and April Boehnen, Development Officer, for their fabulous work finding fascinating speakers and generous sponsors (see below). It was a terrific team effort between DDWS, Nature Store, and Refuge staff.

Applause and gratitude go also to our 2022 Lecture Series sponsors: Pat Appino, Joseph & Michelle Blanda, Diane Esslinger, Stan & Connie Grayson, The Jenni & Kyle Foundation, Bill & Laurie Harkey, HighTower Fort Myers, Sonya Keene & John Moy, Drs. John & Wendy Kindig, In Memory of Roddy West, Vortex Optics, In Appreciation of the DDWS Staff, A Fellow Minnesotan, and anonymous donors.

Did you miss recent lectures? You can view the March 18 Jack Davis Bald Eagle lecture here; and the March 25 Stan Tekiela Bird Nests lecture here. Find links to earlier lectures in the series here.

March Biology Highlights

Refuge Biological Science Technician Avery Renshaw reports on Refuge biology activities for the month.

The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society supports her position:

•  Black Rail surveys are taking place on the Refuge in our marsh units.
•  Dr. Kara Lefevre of FGCU and master’s student Forrest Wallace lead the team.
•  They are conducting Black Rail surveys at multiple National Wildlife Refuges that have previously been underserved for Black Rail information.

• Macroalgae surveys
•  The Refuge assisted SCCF with its macroalgae collection in the Refuge. This is the third year of the monitoring effort.
•  Macroalgal blooms, fueled by increased nutrients in the water, are an emerging issue throughout temperate and tropical regions, including here in Southwest Florida. These blooms have multiple negative direct (i.e., competition for resources) and indirect (i.e., light reduction, hypoxia or insufficient oxygen) impacts on seagrasses.
•  This study is conducted on the established seagrass survey plots across the Refuge. Once collected, the species of macroalgae on the seagrass will be identified.

• Little Blue Heron study continues at the Refuge.
•  PhD student Alexander Sharp and field technician Asch McDonnell of the Harte Research Institute of Texas A &M Corpus Christi are capturing, banding, and deploying solar-powered satellite transmitters on Little Blue Herons wintering at the Refuge.
•  Little Blue Herons and other wading birds have been used as indicator species for a variety of wetland ecosystems, as this group provides clear and rapid responses to changes in environmental conditions. Compared to other species, Little Blue Heron movement patterns outside of the breeding season are poorly understood.
•  The data collected from the transmitters will allow researchers to identify important areas for Little Blue Herons – including nest colonies, nocturnal roosts, and migration routes for this population – and allow them to understand what habitat attributes are important for determining foraging locations.

• Monthly rookery surveys
•  They started in late February and will continue throughout the nesting season. These surveys are conducted on a boat and monitor rookery islands in Matlacha Pass, Pine Island Sound, and Tarpon Bay. This monitoring effort is conducted in partnership with Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve.
•  In the March survey, we saw more nesting activity, primarily Great Blue Herons, Brown Pelicans, Cormorants, and Great Egrets.

Donate to support Avery’s position and biological research at the Refuge.

April 1: Volunteers Event

Tomorrow morning, April 1, the Refuge and DDWS host this year’s April No-Foolin’ Volunteer Appreciation Drive-Through along Wildlife Drive, which is closed, as usual, to public traffic that day. The Visitor & Education Center will be closed until noon to allow all our volunteers and staff to participate in this fun event, which began last year as a pivot from traditional volunteer luncheons during COVID. Free tours for that morning have been canceled. 

Florida Junior Duck Stamp Judging

The birthplace of the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program, “Ding” Darling serves as headquarters for the Florida contest judging each year. On Tuesday, March 29, five judges met at the Refuge to cull through 1,248 entries from 15 schools and homeschool students and pick winners in four grade categories, along with Best of Show for Florida, which will be entered into April's federal contest. Judges included island artist Hank Spires, Refuge volunteer Vince Thomalla, Jaye Boswell (the Sanibel artist who started the JDS program in 1989 as a teacher at Sanibel’s elementary school), past Refuge Artist in Residence Rachel Pierce, and renowned Sanibel wildlife sculptor “Feather Jim” Sprankle.

Lori Lawrence Art Exhibition

Art exhibitions have returned to the auditorium in the “Ding” Darling Visitor & Education Center. Now underway through April, we feature the nature art of upstate New York artist Lori Lawrence. Below is the schedule of upcoming exhibitions. Lori studied art in Paris and New York State. She was selected to create murals on City Arts Offices of New York and later took to teaching. After creating several large murals and mixed media collaborative works, Lori started teaching art part-time to adults with traumatic brain injuries, which she has found rewarding.

Schedule of upcoming exhibitions:

Lori Lawrence Art Exhibition – Through April 30, 2022

Jim Bennight Photography Exhibition - May 1-June 30, 2022

2022 Artist in Residence Exhibition - September 1 to October 31, 2022

Niki Butcher Art Exhibition - November 15-December 31, 2022 (sponsored by Wayne & Linda Boyd)

Remember, profits from all Nature Store sales go directly to the Refuge for educational programs, wildlife research, and overall conservation efforts.

ADVOCACY IN ACTION

Ask Governor DeSantis to Veto SB 2508

A message from SCCF that we support:

“Your voice is needed to urge the Governor to VETO SB 2508. This bill will damage our water quality and Florida's economy.

It would have a chilling effect on state water managers and perpetuate the harmful "hold and dump" practices of the existing Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS 08)—reducing beneficial flows to the Caloosahatchee and Everglades during the dry season and increasing damaging high-volume discharges to our coastal communities during the wet season.

Through this bill the Legislature would pick the winners and losers. The winners would be industrial agriculture in the Everglades Agricultural Area dominated by big sugar. The losers would be our coastal communities and Florida's natural systems—the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, and Florida Bay.

This bill goes beyond just undermining the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) process, it also includes language that allows for private reviewers to process 404 Program wetland permits for utilities—expediting permits and expanding impacts to wetlands, further impacting water quality and it makes unnecessary and potentially damaging changes to the state's land acquisition program."

TAKE ACTION NOW. Thank you for using your voice to oppose this harmful legislation.

GOING GREEN 

Preventing Food & Packaging Waste

By storing food smartly in your refrigerator, you can lessen the burden that discarded food and the containers they come in have on the environment. Here are a few tips from Real Simple magazine:

1. Do not store milk on the door. It’s the warmest spot in the refrigerator.
2. Fruits and veggies give off different gases that can cause other produce to deteriorate, so keep apples, carrots, onions, peppers, etc. separate from each other.
3. Avoid washing produce before refrigerating. Keep in original packaging.
4. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours of cooking.
5. Check that your refrigerator is set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Monitor temperature with a thermometer from time to time. 

Read a recent article in Florida Weekly about the impact of waste on our seas.

These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our website to learn more!

Sincerely,

Birgit Miller, Executive Director

"Ding" On The Wing composed by Chelle Koster Walton. Designed by Christina Hester & Hayley Caylor.