Happy New Year!

The Friends Eldora Open House was a great success, and it was nice to see all of the smiling visitors enjoying the day. Our Plein Air artist Patrick Rausch did a beautiful painting, and the music was delightful. We were happy to spend time with the Wells family, former owners of the Eldora House, and to see the fifth generation of their family enjoy the holidays in Eldora.

We had so many successes this year with the help of our Friends of Canaveral and our Volunteers-In-Parks. We employed a youth intern maintenance crew, provided Jr. Angler programs for the second year, and fundraised in Coastal Christmas, and the Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest were also a great fundraisers! So, spend the holidays in whatever way you celebrate and with the ones you care for, and see you in 2023!

·        Continue our support of the Jr Anglers Program,

·        Continue our support of the Women in Parks Program,

·        Sponsor the Artist in Residency Sound Ecology Program,

·        Provide transportation for Boys & Girls Club event,

·        Fund the OnCell Audio Media Tour,

·        Fund the Parks Christmas Float program,

·        Provide for the Park Volunteer awards luncheon,

·        Provide for the UCF Student luncheon,

·        Provide for the Doris Leeper Day event,

·        Purchase a beach vehicle for Park Staff,

·        And fund the Opens House of Eldora and Seminole Rest.

Titusville—On January 3^rd, Playalinda Beach, Canaveral National Seashore will reopen to the public, with limited parking and beach access. The beach and dune resources were severely impacted by hurricanes Ian and Nicole and have been closed since mid-November. The clean-up and restoration processes are ongoing and there is more than half of the seashore that remains closed. When Playalinda opens on Tuesday visitors will be able to access parking areas and boardwalks at numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 only. The road and beach north of parking area #7 will be closed to visitation for safety and resource protection. Walking on the beach or the road north of # 7 is prohibited to all visitors.

Seashore management asks that the public abide by all signage and not enter closed areas. These areas are closed for public safety and to preserve what is left of the fragile dune system. There may be large debris and buried hazards in the closed areas along with disturbed wildlife. Please do your part and stay in the open areas of the seashore. No backcountry permits will be issued at this time.

For up-to-date information on the prescribed burn visit www.nps.gov/cana and monitor the park’s Facebook page @CanaveralNatlSeashore.

FUN FACT: Servicewide, nearly 124,000 volunteers donated more than 3.6 million hours of service across the NPS for a value of $110 million in FY2022! 

SAVE THE DATE: Every year Canaveral National Seashore honors its amazing volunteers with very special celebration! If you are an active volunteer with Canaveral National Seashore, you are welcome to attend the annual Volunteer Appreciation Day scheduled for Saturday, Feb 25, 2023. More details are coming soon. Check your email inbox, ask at the Visitor Center, or email Valerie Stanley at valerie_stanley@nps.gov

The park, located on a barrier island, was created on January 3, 1975, by an act of Congress. The park is split between Brevard and Volusia counties, with 9 miles of the seashore in Brevard County and 15 miles of the seashore in Volusia County. CANA consists of 24 miles of beaches, dunes, mangrove wetlands, and a large portion of the Mosquito Lagoon. It is the longest expanse of undeveloped land along the East Coast of Florida. The Canaveral National Seashore is home to more than 1,000 plant species and 310 bird species. CANA occupies 57,662 acres (including lagoons). There are 3 major beach sections in the seashore. The southern section is Playalinda Beach, the middle section is Klondike Beach, and the northern area is Apollo Beach.

In 1955, plans were drafted to declare a national park in a 9,000-acre portion of the present-day location after a National Park Service survey. A committee dedicated to forming a national park was created to see this through in Volusia County. On April 26, 1968, the Volusia County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution No. 68-51 requesting the Department of the Interior to establish a National Seashore on the east coast of Volusia County, Florida.

In 1968, William "Bill" Chappell was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. During his first year in office, Chappell promised the chamber that the seashore project would be one of his top priorities. He kept his word, and on April 5 and 6, 1974, Congressman Roy Taylor, chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation, brought a congressional party to review the proposed site. A second group, including the chairman of the Senate National Parks and Recreation Committee, Senator Alan Bible, visited on April 19. By this time, the planned 9,000 acres had grown to 35,000. Things then began to progress quickly. The House passed the Seashore Act on December 3, as did the Senate on December 17. After 10 years of perseverance, the chamber realized its goal to establish Canaveral National Seashore when President Gerald Ford signed his approval on January 3, 1975. Local artist and environmentalist Doris Leeper was instrumental in the creation of the park.