Activities, Events

Birding at the Buffer, Dec. 25

 

WHEN: Friday, December 25th, 7:30am – 9:30am

WHERE: Deal Tract

DESCRIPTION: This event is NOT an official Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC).  For more information on CBC go to https://www.audubon.org/conservation/join-christmas-bird-count.

The holidays might look a little different this year, so why not start a new tradition?  Make memories with family and friends and learn about the birds seen on the Deal Tract on a bird-watching hike.  Bring binoculars if you own them, but if not, the preserve has some available to borrow.

The hike will go from the parking lot, to the bay, and back: a sandy 1 mile or so.  As the Deal Tract can be very buggy, please dress appropriately and use insect repellent as needed.

Due to COVID-19, the hike will be limited to 10 people, and masks are suggested.

Activities, Events

First Day Hike, Jan. 1

WHEN: Friday, January 1st, 10am-12pm

WHERE: South Gate Trail Entrance

DESCRIPTION: Get the new year started off on the right foot with a hike!  We will meet at the South Gate Trail Entrance and traverse Sandridge Loop for about 2 miles roundtrip.  Please contact us if you need directions to this less popular entrance to the preserve.  (Map below: South Gate is on County Road 30A, slightly east of Cape San Blas.)

Remember to bring and wear anything that will make you the most comfortable for hiking!  Good walking shoes, insect repellent, water, etc.

Due to COVID-19, the hike will be limited to 10 people, and masks are suggested.

Activities, Events

Halloween at the Buffer Preserve

Friday, October 30, 6:00-9:00 Eastern Time

St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, 3915 State Road 30A, Port St. Joe, FL

Full Moon Tram Tour and Treats

The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves welcome you to our first Halloween event! At the base of the observation tower, Preserve Manager Dylan Shoemaker will host a marshmallow roast around a campfire. Up on the deck, Friends will be serving hot chocolate and candy! Across the street, Environmental Specialist Sophia Fonseca will lead visitors on a haunted tram tour.
Experience the preserve after hours in the light of the oh-so-convenient full moon, actually a blue moon! There will be scary history about the preserve and maybe some views of creatures that only come out at night. Reservations are required for the Haunted Tram. While we are limiting the number of people on the tram to abide by CDC guidelines, we will be offering the tour at two times: 6pm and 7:30pm. In your reservation, please list the number of people in your group as well as your chosen tour time.
Tram reservations can be made by contacting Sophia Fonseca at sophia.fonseca@floridadep.gov
Meet at the Main Gate parking lot at the time of your tour. We suggest driving across the street for safety reasons.
Masks are required inside the visitor center. Outside, they are required if 6ft of distance cannot be maintained.
COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED!

News

18th Winter Bay Day – A HUGE SUCCESS!

Everyone working together . . . makes any event successful! This was certainly the case for the 18th Winter Bay Day held on February 8th at the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve. Just 5 plates less than 500 served made the day outstanding and even record-breaking in some areas.

Board members, volunteers and staff at the Preserve were ecstatic at the number of participants, dedicated volunteers, and supporting agencies and organizations setting up informational displays. Winter and Fall Bay Day events have returned after a year following Hurricane Michael. It has been a long road back and thankfully a successful one.

Dylan Shoemaker, Manager of the Preserve, proudly expressed with great enthusiasm, “how pleased we are with such a great turnout. After having to postpone Bay Day for over a year we were a little apprehensive about its return to the area. Attendance exceeded our expectations for which we are thankful. Our returning volunteers, year after year, provide consistency and allows us to grow and improve. Thanks to everyone for making Winter Bay Day 2020 one of the best ever!”

Four TRAM Tours were offered and were filled to capacity. The regularly scheduled Third Thursday on February 20th was also filled to capacity. If you have not experienced the tour join us. Twenty-six lucky people who have registered tour the heart of the preserve. For Fall and Winter Bay Day there is no early registration. If interested in the March TRAM Tour call 850-229-1787 as quickly as possible as several seats are already reserved.

Jonathan Brucker, St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve Manager, was also excited with the turnout and the interest in St. Joe Bay and the concern for continued watching and protecting the bay. Jon and his staff cheerfully explained maps, brochures and the mission of the Aquatic Preserve to any and all who wanted to listen. He had this to say about the event, “Educating the public is first and foremost in our mission at the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve. Bay Day visitors and locals want to know how they can help us recover from the effects of Hurricane Michael. We have been so impressed with everyone’s sincere offers to assist clean-up in any way possible. Jon reported that signage for the bay will be replaced as quickly as possible.

“What a great day we had Saturday! The weather was perfect, the music was toe-tapping wonderful, the beer was cold, the shrimp were delicious and what a crowd! I had so many compliments on our event, with most saying they had missed us and were so glad we were back”, says Board President, Lynda White.

 

News

Friends Held Annual Meeting

The Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves held their annual meeting January 18th at the Buffer Preserve. Attendees were updated on the state of the Preserves post Michael. Dylan Shoemaker, Buffer Preserve Manager, reported on the efforts to clean up and repair damage to the land and buildings. Jonathan Brucker, Aquatic Preserve Manager, outlined ongoing testing of water quality in the bay and other locations as well as shoreline restoration and cleanup.
Lynda White, President of the Friends Board of
Directors, thanked the Friends for their support and encouraged everyone to get the word out that Bay Day is back, better than ever, on February 8th.   Lynda White

Activities, News

Tram Tours running again!


Beginning Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
And continuing on each THIRD Thursday of the month.

We’re so excited to have our tram tours running again! Space is limited so please email our Environmental Specialist Sophia Fonseca to reserve your spot. Be sure to include how many individuals are attending.  Send Email

The tour is open wagon with no roof. Please bring hats and sunglasses to protect from the sun. The tour will begin on Treasure Road across the street from the Preserve Center. Looking forward to seeing you!  Learn More

News

Preserve Visitor Center Repaired

August 2019

The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Center buildings have been closed since Hurricane Michael in October. Four staff members work from a temporary office in a trailer on site.

Although the Buffer staff had to wait a while for a construction crew to be available, the crew has been working there for months now. Presently they are repairing the foundation under the Lodge and the other raised buildings. Reconstruction and repairs are coming along well. Preserve manager Dylan Shoemaker estimates re-opening of the buildings in September.

Trails at the Buffer Preserve and the Deal Tract are open to visitors. A walk might be nice, if you can find a cool day!

Friends Website Is Up Again
www.stjosephbaypreserve.org
Thanks to free help from Dusty Alford, one of the generous Directors of the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, our website is once again visible online!
Please note the slight change in the URL of the site: it is now www.stjosephbaypreserve.org without the final “s” on “preserve.”
The website does need some updating in places. We’ll get it all ship-shape soon.

Friends of the St. Joseph Bay Preserves Board Meetings
The Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves met informally on June 18, their first meeting since last September. Several people had spent months out of town because of damage to their homes. So the meeting was a heartwarming reunion.

Still there were elements of shock remaining from the hurricane that hit three days before our planned Fall Bay Day.

The Board is enthusiastic about planning the next Bay Day fundraiser, but with the buildings at the Buffer Preserve still closed, we can’t be sure of being ready for a Fall Bay Day by the second Saturday of October. We’ll be back for Winter Bay Day, though, on the second Saturday in February! Please plan to be with us on February 8!
The next Board of Directors meeting is to be held at the Buffer Visitor Center on Tuesday, August 20, at 4:30 p.m.

Sonny Chafin, Year-Round Volunteer for Friends and the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, Died on July 7
Anyone who has spent time at the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, at the Office or the Lodge or at Bay Days, probably has talked to Sonny Chafin. He was usually there helping out. He served some years as Treasurer of the Friends group and as a Director of Friends. He had a kindly face, a friendly presence, and usually an encouraging word. He was always willing to help. He’ll be missed more than he would have ever guessed.

Sonny was married to Sandra Chafin. They have three daughters and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

 

News

Our Friends group land donation has made the news!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2019
Land Donated to State of Florida in Gulf County
~Donation will preserve undeveloped tracts of land for native plants and animals~
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of State Lands, acting on behalf of the
Governor and the Board of Trustees, announces the donation of a valuable piece of conservation land to the St. Joseph Bay State
Buffer Preserve in Gulf County. The 7.23 acre-property was donated by the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves. This land is part of the St. Joseph Bay Buffer Florida Forever Project.
“This land will help protect one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in northwest Florida and one of the least disturbed coastal
bay systems statewide,” said DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein. “We thank the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves for their donation,
partnership and dedication to protecting Florida’s unique natural resources.”
“Acquiring these lots will be very beneficial to the Buffer Preserve. Our staff constantly monitors the natural habitats of many plants and animals,” said St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserves manager Dylan Shoemaker. “This acreage contains wetlands that are extremely
important to cleaning waters which drain to the bay.”
Managed by DEP’s Office of Reslience and Coastal Protection, St. Joseph Bay Buffer Project will protect the water quality and
productive seagrass beds of the bay by protecting the undeveloped land around it, ensuring the survival of dozens of rare plants. The
land will become a buffer while providing opportunities for the public to enjoy the natural beauty of the bay.
“As President, and along with the entire Board, we are thrilled to be able to purchase these lots,” said President of Friends of the St.
Joseph Bay Preserves Lynda F. White. “One of our major goals has been to assist in every way possible to increase the Preserves’ acreage. By doing so, we are investing in the future of St. Joseph Bay and St. Joseph Bay Buffer Preserve.”
Florida Forever is the state’s conservation and recreation lands acquisition program, a blueprint for conserving our natural resources and renewing our commitment to conserve our natural and cultural heritage. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of State Lands is Florida’s lead agency for environmental management and stewardship.

A Citizen Support Organization established to protect and preserve one of the most ecologically significant areas in the Southeastern United States