Local resident Emily Asbell photographed this group of Roseate Spoonbill in late July. She snapped the shot near the entrance to the creek known locally as Double Barrel because of its two entrances. In the background, the rooftops of elevated houses in Suwannee are visible.

Roseate Spoonbill are resident year-round on the central and south coasts of Florida and can be seen in Cedar Key at certain times of year. However, they are rarely sighted around Suwannee.

Their candy-pink coloration and large spoon-shaped bills make them easily recognizable. They are usually seen feeding in shallow waters along creeks and in marshes, often with ibis and egrets nearby. Their pink coloration is due to a diet of crustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates which contain pigments called carotenoids. The Roseate Spoonbill is 1 of 6 species of spoonbills in the world and the only one found in the Americas.

 

The tournament took place from June 12th through July 12th, with winners announced Saturday, July 13th.

Under the tournament rules, fish had to caught while leaving from Cedar Key, Suwannee or Horseshoe and weighed in within 24 hours at Gateway Marina in Suwannee. Contestants were only able to weigh in three fish during the entire tournament and all fish had to be caught using a hook and line.

Winners shared in the proceeds from the entry fee with 30% going to first place, 15% to second and 10% to third. The remainder of the money, approximately $1,100.00, went towards the efforts to dredge McGriff Channel, an ongoing project of the Suwannee River Chamber of Commerce.

"We were pleased with how the tournament went especially since this was our first," said Marina Manager, Dana Collins. "We are very grateful to all who participated and invite anglers to stop by the marina with any comments and suggestions for our next snapper tournament."

Winners were:
1st - Mike White, Jr.
2nd - Trevor Hicks
3rd - Chris Charles (donated his winnings back)

Gateway Marina owner David Silverstein
and Marina Manager, Dana Collins

 

 

You don't need a GPS or cell service to follow the Lock Creek Trail. Just use your cell phone's location service, offline maps apps like Avenza and download this PDF map. More instructions are on the Friends of Refuges website.

 

Reporter Nancy Moreland wrote an article about her visit to Suwannee which was published in the Orlando Sentinel on May 6 in a special “Explore Florida” section. Read it online.

 

Travelers on the Dixie Mainline, one of the favorite trails on the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, can now enjoy new bridge murals by Old Town resident Clint Wynns.

Wynns, a 66-year-old former professional chainsaw carver always wanted to paint murals to enhance the Mainline bridges. He hunts in the Refuge every day from archery through regular gun season and is always looking for ways to help out on the land he knows so well. Yet he hesitated because he thought a mural would attract graffiti and didn’t want to waste his time. When Debbie Meeks decorated one of the bridges with an alligator painting last year—and it went unmolested—he decided to try.

Clint says his ideas just come to him. “Hogs and deer because that’s the Refuge. Then there are turtles, a manatee, and an alligator. Someone suggested an otter so I added one.” Clint Wynns uses templates to paint his murals on the Refuge

He cuts templates out of thin luan plywood. This technique shortens the amount of time he spends on the bridge. First he tapes up the inner shape and paints the background. Then he reverses the template by taking down the inner shape and protecting his painted background with the surrounding plywood sheet while painting the animal. Once the whole painting is dry he ties both pieces of the template together which allows him to spray paint the cut line for a dark outline without hand tracing. 

"So many people have stopped while I was working—all classes of people—to tell me how much they appreciate what I’m doing. Kids get out to look and I show them how they can help.” Clint says.

More murals are needed. You can adopt a bridge by calling Larry Woodward, Deputy Refuge Manager, at 352-493-0238.

 

Dixie County generously provided navigational signs to help paddlers find the Mahlon McKinney kayak launch at the Suwannee Community Center and Dale Coleson donated sign posts. David and Debbie Meeks installed 3 so far with more to come.

 

On Friday, January 19 at 4 pm in the Suwannee Community Center Vic Doig, Wildlife Biologist and Fire Management Officer for the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge will talk about using prescribed burning in the Refuge to improve wildlife habitat.

 

One of the Mainline bridges has a new mural. Debbie Meeks fed a few hungry sand gnats while painting this alligator with a red reflector eye. "It was a little intimidating to paint a mural," she said, "but once I got started it was fun."


If you would like to paint a bridge, contact Refuge headquarters, 352-493-0238

 

An intern working for the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuges wrote 6 kayak fishing guides for our area including maps, effective bait and techniques. They are available for download on the Friends of the Refuges website, friendsofrefuges.org or click on the image below.

 

Meet at the Suwannee Community Center on Wednesday, October 18 at 8:30 a.m. for the annual community cleanup.

Boat, walk or ride your golf cart to help de-litter the roads and waterways around Suwannee. Refuge staff will transport volunteers down the river from Fowlers Bluff, there is room for 16 onboard. Free smoked chicken lunch at noon provided by Jerry Everett of the Waterfront Market.

Contact Debbie Meeks at 352-278-5088. You don’t have to come to the community center at 8:30 if you coordinate with me ahead of time, don’t miss lunch!

 

Suwannee Library Technical Center hosted weekly craft afternoons for children in the community of Suwannee last summer.

Held every Wednesday from mid-June through the end of July, the two-hour events were enjoyed almost as much by the moms and grandmoms as the children themselves. We had a great time with crafts such as making puffy slime, tie-dying t-shirts, rock painting, and cupcake decorating. Our focus was on creativity and invention, in keeping with this year’s nationwide Summer Reading Program “Build a Better World.”

Suwannee Library Technical Center, located at 21340 SE Hwy 349 (adjacent to the Suwannee Fire Department in Glen Dyals Park), is part of the Dixie County Public Library. Each year libraries across the country look for ways to encourage readership among young people through a summer reading program.

Suwannee Library will host three more craft events for children this fall. These will be held on the following Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. - 12 noon: September 16 (craft to be announced); October 28 (Halloween crafts); and October 18 (Holiday crafts and gift making). For more information, please email Jane at [email protected].

 

The Suwannee River Chamber of Commerce awarded two Eck Bass Community Service awards during the board meeting on August 22, which was hosted by Salt Creek Restaurant. Derry O'Quinn was presented the award for 2015 and Owen Prince, Chamber President, received one for 2016. Both were completely surprised, only wondering why their family and friends (those who normally do not attend a Chamber of Commerce meeting) started to show up. The group of 52 people were served salad, fried fish and shrimp with a twice baked potato. Everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship.



Derry O'Quinn's motto is to be involved with and supportive of every community in which he has lived. After moving to Suwannee, he served both as Director and President of our Suwannee Chamber; two terms on the Suwannee Water & Sewer Board; and as an active member of the Suwannee Fireworks almost since its inception. He has worked on all fireworks events, even standing in the road collecting donations after the show. He has also always helped George cook their famous chicken and rice and sides for fundraising and events. Always dependable, willing, and working to help our Suwannee community and citizens.

Owen Prince has been coming to Suwannee for over 30 years. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with Suwannee and in 1998 he bought Bill’s Fish Camp. His work and dedication, often in quiet ways, has made Suwannee a better place to live and play. Through Bill’s Fish Camp and the Chamber he has actively encouraged nature-based tourism in Suwannee. He currently serves as Chamber President, is a member of the Fireworks Committee, and a volunteer representative for the Dixie County Tourism Development Board.

The criteria for the Erick “Eck” Bass award is not big on strict, written rules or guidelines, but is instead big on heart. Erick “Eck” Odlund Bass was born on Odlund’s Island. She was a true Suwannee native and raised her family here. Mrs. Eck served others through her care and concern and gave her time to the Suwannee Water Board as a founding director. Only when her health began to fail did she finally give it up. She had one of the “greenest thumbs” and always had time to listen to others’ problems. She was a wonderful example of a good citizen, mother and friend. The annual award is given by the Chamber to a Suwannee citizen who exemplifies her example.

 

Get the Shellfish Trail map at the Suwannee Library, P.O., Suwannee Market, and marinas.

 

Our community is highlighted in this article on the Florida Backroads Travel website, Suwannee Florida: End of the Road.

 

The new kayak launch at the Suwannee Community Center has been tested and given the thumbs-up by local paddlers Leroy Harmon and Debbie Meeks. Meeks reports that their kayaks were rock solid in the launch. "Beginners will feel confident getting in and out of their boats," Meeks says. "No more sinking in mud to your knees or slipping on wet carpet!"

For those using the launch, the easiest way is to unload your boat on the grassy beach area in front of the launch, use your bow line to pull the boat into the launch while standing on the dock area, board your craft and shove off using your paddle as shown. Be sure to grasp your paddle near where it fits into the notches, not toward the middle which risks breaking your expensive paddle.

During a paddling festival, kayakers can queue up and launch like skiers on a slope by preparing their boats on the grassy area.

Many thanks to the Dixie County Tourist Development Council and the Dixie County Commissioners for this excellent improvement.

Debbie Meeks demonstrates the easy launch.

Leroy Harmon is greeted by his friend Red on the new kayak dock.

 

We will hold our Reverse Raffle at 7pm on June 24th at Salt Creek Restaurant's Tiki Hut. Our Reverse Raffle is the biggest fundraiser for Suwannee's Annual Independence Day Celebration. Tickets are $100 each, with only 200 sold. The Grand Prize is $5,000, with other cash prizes as well. Lots of fun and a chance to help pay for the fireworks that everyone enjoys.

Our Annual Independence Day Celebration and fireworks will be on Saturday, July 1st. There will be vendors and, of course, the Golf Cart Parade at 4PM. Fireworks at dark.

Last year's golf cart winner, Gaines Alexander and pirates.

If you have any questions about the Reverse Raffle or Independence Day Celebration, please do not hesitate to call me. Chris Parr 352-542-8776

 

Funded through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the University of Florida is building a network that will respond to situations involving stranded aquatic animals in the nearby coastal areas that include Levy, Dixie and Taylor counties.

Animal Rescue Stranding Volunteer Training will be conducted throughout the region (see end of article for next training), to prepare volunteers to safely work with injured marine mammals. UF also conducts information sessions about the stranding network, such as the program held at the Suwannee Library Technical Center in early May.

“These animals include dolphins, whales and manatees,” said Dr. Mike Walsh, of UF’s Aquatic Animal Health Program. “The goal for these funds was to provide a dedicated response mechanism throughout the Gulf of Mexico, so UF is one of a number of stranding organizations in the Southeast Gulf region with a presence near the Gulf to be funded.”

He added that to do this work, UF also has a stranding agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service that allows the university’s stranding team to handle and intervene with animals that are in trouble on the coast.

“We are part of a national network — the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program — that covers the U.S. shoreline as well as part of the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii,” Walsh said. “This is a first for UF.”

Each of the organizations along the coast of Florida all support each other when there are problems such as individual injury and animal recovery, mass strandings and unusual die-offs of the mammal species, Walsh said. He added that the stranding network’s emphasis is to determine why animals come ashore and covers natural disease processes, toxins that may impact animals that are in the environment naturally that affect the animals as well as humans, and disasters such as oil spills.

The program will work closely with the Cedar Key Dolphin Project, which has studied dolphin populations in the area, as well as the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the UF-IFAS.

“It is a response program, but also a research program, and we work like detectives to sort through the issues and find the cause of the problems,” Walsh said.

Walsh said the program is now building partnerships with the Fish and Wildlife Service for support space and will have a biologist housed with the Nature Coast Biological Station in Cedar Key and the Lower Suwannee refuge.

“All of these groups play a key role in starting a new program to help the marine mammals and ultimately us,” Walsh said. “We have hired a stranding biologist, Mackenzie Russell, who is taking the lead on setting up the relationships with the local people that have the eyes on the water and will be our partners.

“The Nature Coast Biological Station and its director, Mike Allen, will play a pivotal role in our efforts, providing logistical support for outreach and facilities to help the program reach its goals and become the benchmark for other organizations,” Walsh said. “We are indebted to Jack Payne and those at UF/IFAS who share our vision for working with these species and their environment with a scientific approach.”

Walsh added that the current focus is on building a volunteer network and on addressing infrastructure needs.

“We will be appealing for local populations to help us as we can’t do this on our own,” he said. “It is a true partnership with the citizens of the counties and the agencies.”

UF Marine Animal Rescue Stranding Volunteer Training will take place, Wednesday, May 17th, 2017 from 3-5pm at the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters (16450 NW 31st Place, Chiefland, FL 32626). RSVPs are required for each person attending the training. Please e-mail Mackenzie Russell at [email protected] to RSVP. Only those over the age of18 are eligible to volunteer at this time.

 

by Kit Lane

Yes! A new geocache—inside the Suwannee Library Technical Center.

For an experienced geocacher it is easy to spot and I was the FTF! In geocaching lingo that means First to Find, and there is often stiff competition among geocachers to be the first one to sign the log in a new cache.

So, what is geocaching anyway? The easiest way to describe it is to say it is a GPS guided treasure hunt. Many people remember orienteering; geocaching is a high-tech version of orienteering.

A geocache, very basically, is a hidden container with a log and sometimes some small trade items. Caches come in all sizes and shapes, from tiny "nanos" to 5 gallon buckets. They can be found in pretty much any setting you can think of. Some are very easy to find, like the one in Suwannee, while others are placed to be very deliberately "evil!"

Geocachers, or those who seek geocaches, also come in all sizes and shapes, as well as all levels of physical ability, and all ages.

If you only want to stop next to a guardrail for a quick "Park and Grab," or if you want a long, hard hike, you can find options that are suitable for you.

Kit Lane enjoying another favorite
activity around Suwannee

Geocaching has been going on now for 17 years and caches can be found almost everywhere in the world. I have found caches in Cuba, Italy, Mexico, and Peru. The only state where I have yet to find a cache in is Hawaii. Yes, I am planning a trip!

To get started you must sign-up on geocaching.com. Once you have an account—free!—you can start looking for nearby caches. Using a hand-held GPS, with the coordinates shown online (provided by the person who placed the cache), you follow them to GZ, ground zero, and start looking. Once you find the cache you must sign a paper log that every cache is required to have, and then, by logging it online on your account at geocaching.com, you will start to build your cache count.

I started geocaching in 2004. It has taken me to some wonderful places that I might not otherwise have discovered. Little parks in out of the way places, for example. Through geocaching I realized that I love volcanos! Who knew? Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona was fascinating. I toured Yellowstone Park by following the caches (in many National Parks the only types of caches available are Earthcaches or Virtual caches; you can learn about these at the website) from one geological feature to the next. I hiked the Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon the same way, following the Virtual caches all the way along.

Check it out! My only warning is this: you may become addicted!

Editor's Note: Keep watching this blog. More geocaches may be announced for Suwannee in the near future.