Friends President's Message - Katasha Cornwell

It is a tremendous honor and privilege to have been selected to serve as the President for the Friends of St. Marks Refuge Board of Directors. The Refuge is my second home and a place that I love spending time to relax, bird, run, kayak, bike, and practice my photography skills. During my first two years on the Board I have had some great opportunities to learn about this organization and meet many dedicated Friends who have contributed hours of hard work to improve the experiences of our visitors and support the Refuge with its goals. I’m excited to help continue this work. 

The Board owes a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Tom Baird for his leadership over the last year and a half as we were getting back to normal after the pandemic. Under Tom’s guidance during this short time is a long list of Board accomplishments. Some of these are administrative, but a few highlights include his vision to hire a Lighthouse Keeper to provide a regular schedule for tours of the Keeper’s Quarters, getting a lighthouse conditions assessment completed, beginning to address the engineering recommendations to ensure this iconic cultural resource is in tiptop shape, hosting the first Plein Air event, and continuing to work towards the full preservation of Byrd Hammock. Tom’s direction and support of Board members and other dedicated Friends was instrumental in making these achievements a reality. And we will do our best to continue on this path he has laid out for us. 

I am hopeful that during the course of my term Friends events, newsletters, and social media are able to reach a wider variety of Refuge users. There are so many ways to enjoy our beautiful public land and we want to connect with more folks, highlight the ways they love these public lands, and maybe interest more folks in becoming a member of the Friends. In order to generate new and continued excitement I hope to expand the opportunities we provide Friends and renew or create partnerships to provide some of these opportunities.

We are off to a good start having two festivals under our belt already this calendar year. The Friends attended the Manatee Festival in Crystal River for two days in January which attracted just shy of 8,000 attendees. This was a tremendous opportunity to introduce the Refuge to people in that area (it’s a nice day trip to St. Marks from there), folks from out of state, and even Canada. Then our WHO festival this month was a good time to reconnect with folks familiar with the Refuge as well as meet some new people. We look forward to more outreach opportunities in the future. And we are grateful for the Board members and auxiliary staff who made these two events successful for us.

As for the newsletter, I will remain the editor for the time being, but will just note that occasionally it may come out a few days later than scheduled. So, if you don’t see it on the 15^th every other month, don’t worry, it will be there soon. In the meantime, we have an issue overflowing with great information and articles from new contributors. Many thanks to everyone who makes this publication successful. Please enjoy the photos of the events below.

And, thanks to all of you Friends who make our organization wonderful. Share the word and invite your friends to become our Friends. 

WHO Festival and Manatee Festival In Pictures

Catherine and Myrtle help young and grownups alike to color their otter and owl masks at the WHO festival.

Some youngsters took their coloring project very seriously. We saw many beautiful masks by the end of the day.

Decorating masks was fun for these sisters.

Jackie Pope of Panacea was the lucky winner of the Manatee Magic quilt

Katasha, Kathy, Dale, and Scott ready to go on the first day of the Manatee Festival.

Lon, Nancy, Scott, and Katasha ready to transition shifts to engage with the thousands of visitors.

Scott and Dale chatting with some folks interested in learning more about the Refuge.

Refuge Report - Meet the New and Returning Bio Interns

Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Wagner, and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to work as an intern at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge for the Winter/Spring 2024 season. I grew up on the southeast end of Long Island, where I was a short drive from the barrier island beaches, bays, inlets, and salt marshes that characterize the natural beauty of Long Island’s dynamic history and present. Growing up, I spent my free time playing sports and exploring Long Island’s diverse ecosystems at places like the Quogue Wildlife Refuge. From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career involving the science and conservation of natural systems. I was immediately drawn to apply for the intern position because it offered an array of widely applicable field skills to pursue a career working in ecology, conservation, and management research. The variety of conservation and management-based fieldwork with different wildlife populations described in the position was a perfect fit for my interests.

My interests led me to pursue an Environmental Studies degree at Gettysburg College, where I also played on the Football team for two years. My Environmental Studies coursework concentrated on Marine and Freshwater Ecology, Wildlife and Conservation Science, and Earth Systems Science. My education at Gettysburg College afforded me opportunities to conduct population surveys of wildlife in the Gettysburg National Military Park using camera trapping techniques, painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) in Gettysburg College’s Quarry Pond using mark-recapture techniques, and Atlantic mole crab (Emerita talpoida) at Assateague State Park using transects perpendicular to the shoreline. I also made use of telemetry foraging data of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) alongside chlorophyll-a data to identify an ecologically and economically effective MPA for the Gulf of Mexico.

I also had the opportunity to publish remote sensing research in Gettysburg College’s Cupola. The focus was to assess how a new inlet along Long Island’s barrier island created by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, impacted summer algae concentrations in three adjacent bays. Harmful algae blooms (HABs) have impacted Long Island’s coastal waters due to eutrophication for decades, however, the findings demonstrate a significant decrease in algae concentration proximal to the new inlet. This research was particularly special to me because it focused on the area where I grew up and provided my foundation in natural science knowledge. I am ecstatic about the opportunity to live in and work on the coastal wetland and forest ecosystems of the Florida panhandle because I enjoy working in different types of ecosystems. I hope to make use of the skills, experience, and connections gained from my time working with St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and the Fish & Wildlife Service to take the next steps in my career path. 

Hi! My name is Maddie Tiemann, and this is my second seasonal position with St. Marks NWR. I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia and spent a large portion of my childhood outdoors. To the east were the shorelines of New Jersey and to the west were part of the Appalachian Mountains, providing plenty of opportunities to explore! I’ve always had a passion and interest in wildlife since childhood that stemmed from my mom and older brother that only continued to grow as I got older. I’ve had the opportunity to travel up and down the east coast and I’m very grateful to be able to spend more time down on the Florida panhandle!

I attended the University of Maine where I recently graduated with a B.S. in December 2023. There, I majored in Wildlife Ecology with a concentration in Wildlife Science and Management. I had the opportunity to take a wide variety of courses regarding ecology, conservation, and wildlife biology that helped to further my knowledge. The numerous ecosystems in the state of Maine allowed for plenty of field labs and hands-on activities. From capturing Snowshoe Hares and fitting them with radio collars to track with radio telemetry to intertidal zone labs at Acadia National Park, there were no shortage of chances to apply the skills we learned in the classroom. Much of my field experience in Maine comes from a 2-week intensive field course that is lovingly known as May Term. Here I learned how to conduct grouse drumming surveys, woodcock singing ground surveys, avian point counts, assisted with passerine mist netting and small mammal trapping, captured and banded American Woodcock, and gained experience with telemetry and camera traps. While at school I also volunteered with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife to capture Wild Turkeys via rocket nets and assisted with banding.

This past summer I had the opportunity to be an intern at St. Marks, which was an amazing experience and tons of fun working with the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (RCW)! Most of the work revolved around RCW monitoring which included nest checks via peeper scopes, assessing cluster and tree status, and determining potential breeding pairs. We also were able to mark and re-mark over 700 cavity trees as well as assess their status and condition as an independent project. In the time that wasn’t spent working with woodpeckers, I helped with a variety of tasks including conducting Frosted Flatwoods Salamander pond habitat assessments and sea turtle nesting surveys on St. Vincent NWR.

I am so excited to be back for another season at St. Marks in addition to the opportunity to work with an entirely different species this time around! There’s nothing better than spending my days working out on this beautiful refuge surrounded by such a wide range of flora and fauna. I’m looking forward to building upon the skills I’ve acquired over the summer and to continue learning new ones.

My name is JD Flores, and I’m from Mooringsport, Louisiana. I grew up spending a lot of time outdoors catching insects, camping with my family, birding with my mom, among other activities. I knew early on that I wanted a career that correlated with my hobbies and my love for nature. During high school, I volunteered at a local nature park where I got hands-on experience with handling wildlife species such as barred owls, Mississippi kites, and speckled kingsnakes, along with other species. This further solidified my dream of working with wildlife as a career, so I decided to continue down that path when choosing a college degree to pursue.

I attended Louisiana Tech University where I graduated with a B.S. in environmental science. As a first-generation college student and the first of my family to seek out a career in a wildlife related field, I didn’t know the best path to reaching my goals, so I just took every opportunity that came my way. I Participated in multiple clubs such as the Wildlife Society, Forestry Club, and LA Tech Greenscape. At the start of my junior year, I got the opportunity to work in a lab where I conducted research on aquatic invertebrate abundances in ponds. This experience was invaluable because of the connections I was able to build during this time and the skills I was able to gain which I will continue to use in future jobs.  



Upon graduating in fall 2023 I knew I wanted to find a position that was in a cool location with diverse habitats to explore, and one that allowed me to broaden my experiences. When I saw the ad for the St Marks internship, I knew it would be a perfect fit for me. I’m thrilled to be a biological science intern at St. Marks NWR for winter/spring 2024, and I cannot wait to spend my time working with frosted flatwood salamanders and red-cockaded woodpeckers.

A Day of Nature, Fun, and Learning: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge PreK Families in Nature Day

Text and Photos Courtesy Heather Bevis

On a recent sunny January day at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, preschoolers and their families gathered for a special event –

our PreK Families in Nature Day.

Each month, I take outdoor environmental education programs to four local preschools in Wakulla and Leon Counties. The refuge opened its doors to the preschoolers and their families from these schools to enjoy a fee-free day with hands-on activities, scavenger hunt, animal encounters and a short walk.

The day kicked off with activities in the Education Building. While inside Nature’s Classroom, little hands engaged in various activities, from creating animal track stamps to leaf rubbings. Outside, children participated in the Animal Olympics Challenge. Armed with an “Animal Olympics Passport”, they navigated through stations, each representing a different native animal from standing on one leg like a black-necked stilt to hopping like a frog. Stamps marked the successful completion of each station. “Painting with Trees” brought an artistic twist to the outdoor festivities where children used natural objects to paint on a canvas hung between two pine trees.

Animal encounters with a turtle, snake and alligator allowed families to get a closer look at these native animals, and they even got a chance to touch them.

And finally, I led a short hike while families worked together to check off items on their scavenger hunt checklist.

Research consistently supports the significance of outdoor play, outdoor education and environmental education in the early years. Learning outdoors has been linked to improved physical health, reduced stress levels and enhanced motor skill in young children. Environmental education is shown to cultivate a sense of environmental responsibility. Programs offered by the refuge, including the monthly preschool programs and this PreK Families in Nature Day, provide opportunities for children to explore and connect with the natural world. 

The popular St. Marks Shutterbugs smartphone photography class that was developed to encourage mobile photography on the refuge is being offered again. Join former Friends Board member and wildlife photographer Karen Willes for the 3-hour class on Saturday, March 16, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm in the Environmental Education Bldg. at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The class is free with refuge admission.

During the 3-hour class, participants will be introduced to different features of their smartphone camera while being guided with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. After the presentation, participants will go outside and capture images in Macro and Landscape or of a single subject. Then participants will return to Nature’s Classroom and learn to edit their photos in Snapseed (a free app that is available for both iOS and Android platforms).

Want to use your phone to make stunning wildlife images? Need a refresher on all the things your smartphone camera can do? Sign up for this class by Monday, March 11 by calling the Refuge Visitor Center at 850.925.6121. Class size is limited to ten, so sign up soon. Further information will be emailed to participants prior to the class. If questions, contact Karen via email at smshutterbugs@aol.com.

Lighthouse Visitation - 2023 Year In Review and New Times for Keeper's Quarters Tours

In the short time that Allen VanBrunt has been your Lighthouse Keeper, he and his dedicated volunteers have put in just shy of 2000 hours of service. Last year they provided 67 open houses and since June of 2023 they have counted over 4,000 visitors touring the Keeper's Quarters.

Starting this year, the Keeper's Quarters will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11 am to 3 pm. This 2024 season is off to a wildly successful start with over 200 volunteer hours during 12 open houses, that drew 1300 visitors.

The Friends appreciate Allen's leadership and his team for their hard work to bring the lighthouse to life for visitors from near and far. Keep it up!

Forest Gump

Text and Photos Courtesy Craig Musgrove

'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" - A wonderful quote by Tom Hanks in the movie “Forrest Gump”. The same quote rings true for our precious St. Marks refuge. Every time you visit our refuge you never know what you will see! Could be our beautiful deer, our playful otters, or the stealthy bobcats that slip along our tram roads. You just never know. Our refuge is also a time of reflection. A time of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. A time of renewing the mind and spirit to meet the everyday challenges of everyday life with a positive, grateful attitude. Our precious refuge is also a wonderful place to bring our children and grandchildren! To introduce them to the beauty of the out of doors! A quality time with your children or grandchildren sharing the history of our keeper’s quarters next to our precious lighthouse. It’s the perfect place to introduce our children to the joy of fishing and identifying all the wonderful species taking up residence in our ponds! Oh! And I forgot to mention the menagerie of songbirds, and herons and egrets and the beautiful ducks migrating to our refuge. Sharing and teaching your children or grandchildren how to use the ID books to get the thrill of identifying the birds they spot! “Life is like a box of chocolates and our refuge is the best box of chocolates you could ever find! Never knowing the wonderful treasure’s you see around the next bend in the road!! Oh my goodness! I left out the beauty of our sunrises and sunsets! Memories that you will never forget and will always be with you!! - 

Sam Shine - A Conservationist and Refuge Friend

Text Courtesy Tom Baird

The Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge staff salute a remarkable conservationist – Sam Shine. The New Albany, Indiana businessman's life and charitable efforts focused on environmental conservation. For years, Sam Shine quietly bought up vast tracts of Florida panhandle acreage, not for development, but for conservation. One parcel, 6,200 acres adjacent to the St. Marks NWR, which was often referred to as the Flint Rock tract, included ecologically important pine lands and headwaters. The US Fish and Wildlife Service sought to purchase the property valued at over nine million dollars. Years of negotiation began, but Shine, before his death in November 2019, decided to gift the property to the USFWS. This acquisition extends the Refuge northward to US 98 and includes diverse habitats and some historical sites.

Shine with his wife established Samtec, an electronic cable and connector manufacturer in 1976 and built it up to an international corporation. He is known for numerous philanthropic efforts, including establishing the Sam Shine Foundation, with a mission of “Long term conservation, preservation, and restoration of natural ecosystems while focusing on maintaining and enhancing native wildlife habitats associated with unique lands and waters." 

Despite his many accomplishments, Shine was a very quiet and private individual. He really longed to preserve habitats for wildlife and protect ecologically important places. Refuge Manager Terry Peacock said, “He’s my conservation hero!” 

Sam Shine is an example for us all. Few can make the contributions that he made, but we can all, in big and small ways, do all we can to protect wildlife habitats. Thank you Sam Shine for your vision and generosity.

 Wildlife Tours - Last Call for 2024

Wildlife Tours at the Refuge (with an emphasis on birds) are free with a reservation.

Call 850- 925-6121 or stop by the Visitor Center to make a reservation

Registration for multiple people is available, but a name must be associated with each reserved spot. Please see the Tour Guidelines below for additional information.



Remaining Tour Dates for the 2024 Season

Your tour guides will be Don Morrow on Saturdays and Matt & Cyndi Johnstone on Sundays.

March 2 from 9 to 12 and 1 to 4

March 17 from 10 to 1

Some Things To Keep in Mind for Your Tour

Participants will meet at the Visitor Center parking lot at 1255 Lighthouse Road. We ask that participants please park across the street from the VC parking lot. The tours are three hours long, may have up to twenty five participants, and there are no bathrooms available on the tour routes. Bathroom access will be available at the departure point. It is therefore very important that participants arrive early enough - a half hour prior is not unreasonable - to organize their gear, attend to any other needs, and be ready to go at the designated start time. The tours begin with a brief but important orientation to make the tour safe and enjoyable for everybody; latecomers are very disruptive to this necessary introduction. The tours are frequently fully booked; no-shows at the starting time may be replaced with folks on the waiting list or those hoping for a walk-on. To allow more people to participate we ask that people only sign up for one tour a day unless space is available the day of the tour. 

To better enhance our tours and events we ask that our guests follow the guidelines listed below.

1. Pets will not be allowed on any tour.

2. For your safety and tour enjoyment, we recommend that all participants wear closed-toe shoes, bring a bottle of drinking water, sunscreen, and bug spray (please apply away from the other participants).

3. For your comfort and enjoyment, we suggest that you dress for the weather, wearing or bringing layers. It is also a good idea to carry a lightweight rain jacket for unexpected showers or cooling weather.

4. Practice “pack it in, pack it out”. Any trash, including biodegradable food and packaging, is to be taken back with the participant and disposed of off-site.

5. Attendees must arrive early enough to use the restroom prior to tour start time. If tour is scheduled to start at 9, it will be pulling out of the meeting area at 9.

6. Leave all plants and animals alone. DO NOT engage in any of the following: -Eating any leaves and/or berries found alongside trail -Approaching, handling, or attempting to feed any wildlife -Collecting any material, with the exception of trash, on refuge property

7. Be aware of your surroundings. The refuge is home to venomous snakes, alligators, burrowing animals, and some endangered species. Stay safe, when getting on and off the tour wagon watch your step and try not to disturb any habitats or animals with loud noises.

8. As a courtesy to all visitors, those that sign up and are no shows will not be allowed to sign up for another tour.

Photos Courtesy Katasha Cornwell

Become a member of the Longleaf Society today by clicking this graphic. Your monthly giving provides a tremendous boost to the Friends of St Marks Wildlife Refuge to keep providing the programs and services you have come to expect from this award winning organization.

We Encourage our Friends to SHARE!

As almost all of you know, the Friends give 100% of their support to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. An important way for you increase that support is to share our message. Therefore, when you get this newsletter, we encourage you to send it on to a friend. You can share it via email or through various other social media. Here's the link to the Friends Newsletter page. Scroll to the "current" entry and copy the link.

Text and Photo Courtesy Phillip Pollock

Bird Reports Assist Visitors

Don Morrow and Matt Johnstone, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge volunteers and expert birders, create concise bird-sighting reports on a week-to-week basis. Read their current and past reports here.

Photo Courtesy Katasha Cornwell

Have you considered including the Refuge in your will? The Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge can provide information and guide you through the process. Just call the Refuge at 850-925-6121, and ask to be contacted by the Friends' Development Committee, or email us.

Reflections newsletter is a benefit of membership for Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge.

It also serves as an important supplement to

the Friends' website.

Both the newsletter and the web site provide members and the public information about volunteer activities and events at the Refuge.

Reflections editor: Katasha Cornwell

Reflections Editor, Phillip M. Pollock