Our site volunteers this month are Jeff and Dorie, and Carl and Pat. Jeff is a retired military officer and a jack-of-all-trades. He drives tram tours, fixes things, and does anything that needs doing. Carl’s and Pat’s specialty is marketing. Last year they initiated the Live Auction preceding Bay Day by soliciting many valuable donations from our local merchants. This spring they’re continuing that work so that we can have terrific Live Auctions on the Thursday nights before this year’s Fall and Spring Bay Days. Site volunteers are essential to the Buffer, which has only four paid staff.
Friends Post Signs to Protect Seagrass
John Brucker, Manager of the Aquatic Preserve, suggested a set of new signs from the Be Seagrass Safe organization to attract boaters’ attention to the need to protect seagrass in the St. Joseph Bay. The large, colorful signs will be purchased by Friends and installed by Aquatic Preserves staff at three popular boat launch sites: George Pate Park in downtown Port St. Joe, Presnell’s Landing on State Road 30A (if the owner permits), and St. Joseph Peninsula State Park at Eagle Harbor.
The seagrass growing in the St. Joseph Bay is mostly the type called turtle grass. It provides shelter for small salt water animals and for young, growing fish and shellfish. It is also a favorite food source for juvenile green sea turtles.
Bay Day a Terrific Fund-Raiser
The Live Auction, Feb. 2, and Winter Bay Day ,Feb. 4, brought in over $9,000 in net donations, after deducting our costs. Please be sure to thank our commercial sponsors who gave items for the auctions and raffle! Business owners from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola responded to requests by site volunteers Pat Caruana and Carl Janish, and most local businesses donated valuable merchandise or services for our auctions. You can find their business cards and brochures on display at the Buffer Visitors’ Center. Please thank our sponsors!
All of you volunteers deserve a huge Thank You, too! Here’s a breakdown of net funds received from some of the Winter Bay Day activities you helped with:
Shrimp Boil, 491 plates sold, $4,911
Live Auction, $3,648
T-shirt sales, $1,091
Silent Auction, $872
Memberships, $860
Raffle, $696
Cookie Sales, $287
Friends to Purchase Land for the Preserve
Twenty-five quarter-acre lots adjacent to the north border of the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve came on the market in late 2016.
Dylan Shoemaker, Preserve Manager, told the Friends Board of Directors about this rare opportunity to expand the land area of the
Buffer. Dylan and the Buffer’s ecologist, Allix North, walked over the lots and rated them according to their potential benefit to the Buffer’s conservation efforts. Most of the land is too wet for building; it is near State Road 30A in Simmons Bayou but has no road access. The Friends Board and the bank managing the sale have agreed on a contract and set the closing date for late April: Friends will buy 20 of the lotsfor $50,000 (leaving over $40,000 in the Friends’ treasury). Friends will transfer ownership to the Buffer Preserve and the State. All Friends members should celebrate this real and lasting gift to one of our Preserves!
Splash Trash Tour
What happens when trash hits the splash? As we all enjoy the beautiful Florida ocean and beaches, we are also facing an enormous challenge – trash in our oceans. It is having devastating effects on our sea and wildlife, our beaches, our local economies and our human health.
Special Events include:
Trash in the Oceans and You – April 6, 10:00 – 11:00: What is the status of plastic trash in our oceans and what can we do to make a difference? Is recycling the answer? Is ocean clean-up technology the answer? Join Splash Trash creator, Bette Booth, in this interactive presentation to learn the answers to these and many other questions about trash in our oceans.
Splash Trash Family Day Saturday April 1 – 10:00 – 2:00. Join artist Bette Booth while she is making a new art piece – “Catch of the Day”.
This is the final stop on the Splash Trash 2017 Florida Tour and the response has been overwhelming. As one visitor summarized, “Everyone needs to see this show. The message is that important.” Another commented, “It’s beautiful. It’s disturbing. It’s inspiring.”
Splash Trash Tour Hours
March 31: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
April 1: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
April 3 – 6: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
April 7: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00
Eagle Program-Outstanding Presenter!
Eagle Program at Buffer Preserve by Outstanding Presenter!
It starts at 10:00am EST at the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Visitor’s Center! An excellent opportunity to learn about eagles by one of the most outstanding presenters ever! Lynda White worked with eagles for many years and has so many great stories about these magnificent birds. This is a program that you will want to attend to see the many pictures of eagles, learn about their habits, nests, eaglets, and many other topics of interest.
Program takes place in the Visitor Center (Building B) at the Preserve. You will laugh at the antics of the eagles, people involved with the eagles and delight in the pictures of eagles “doing their thing”!! Join Us!
Friends Directors for 2017
The 2017 Board of Directors of Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves
Alford, Dusty
Ard, March – Sec.
Blaylock, Dewey
Brucker, Jonathan
Chafin, Sandra
Chafin, Sonny – Treas.
Cox, Gene
Ehrman, John -Past Pres
Hughes, Lillian
Nelson, Tim
Palma, Linda
Ross, Jeff
Shoemaker, Dylan
Thomson, Nancy
White, Lynda – Pres.
Annual Meeting News & Reports
Annual Membership Meeting, January 7
First, the nearly 30 members present voted by acclamation to install two new Directors on the Board. They are Linda Palma and Tim Nelson. Both Linda and Tim spend a lot of time volunteering at the
Buffer center, helping with ongoing projects and creating new enhancements for the Visitor Center. Among their many contributions, Linda has recorded a self-guided audio tour of the exhibits by Sandra Chafin, now available any time in the Visitor Center. Tim and Allix North have produced a beautiful drone fly-over tour of the Buffer Preserve. You can watch it on the television in the Visitor Center.
A $500 check from the Florida Scallop and Music Festival of Port St. Joe was presented by Guerry Magidson, Chairman of the Board of Gulf County Chamber of Commerce, to Friends President Lynda
White.
Buffer Preserve Manager Dylan Shoemaker presented a PowerPoint talk on the issues facing the Buffer Preserve this year. He reminded us that the mandate of the Preserves is “To Conserve and Protect.” Six current issues were discussed:
I. Restoring the hydrology (natural water flow) within the Buffer’s three watersheds. The focus now is on the Money Bayou watershed.
II. Protecting plant and animal resources.
III. Controlling invasive species, both plants and animals.
IV. Protection of the 18 cultural and historical archaeological sites in the Preserve.
V. Promoting conservation and responsible use of the natural area by the public. The Preserve has recently added a new staff member, Shana Hale, who specializes in education and outreach.
VI. Promoting scientific research that contributes to conservation and protection of native ecosystems.
Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserves Manager Jonathan Brucker presented a talk about current projects of the Aquatic Preserves. Volunteer opportunities were emphasized. Aquatic Preserves volunteers are needed to help with water quality monitoring in the four bays, St. Joseph Bay, Apalachicola Bay, Alligator Harbor, and St. Andrews Bay. The water is tested for nutrients and for harmful algal blooms. Volunteers may also help with seagrass monitoring at around 25 sites in St. Joseph Bay and others in Alligator Harbor and Apalachicola Bay. If you want to volunteer, please email Jonathan.Brucker@dep.state.fl.us , or call the Aquatic Preserves, 850-670-7723.
Several important restoration projects are underway in the bays of the Preserves. Seagrass restoration is an important one since many marine animals depend on the seagrass. Scars in seagrass beds will be filled in using a sediment tube method, beginning this summer, and 49 buoys have been deployed to prevent motor boats entering shallow areas of the bays. Other restoration projects include oyster clutch replacement and the Living Shoreline Project, funded by BP oil spill payments, which will add beneficial vegetation along shorelines.
To Our Bay day Sponsors: Thank You!
Friends have the absolute BEST SPONSORS — anywhere! We are hoping our fantastic sponsors of our Live auction, Silent Auction, and raffle will join us for a little celebration, Thursday, Nov 17 at 4pm. At that time you may join a group for a TRAM Tour to the Uplands of the Preserve. Manager, Dylan Shoemaker will lead this tour. At 5:15pm those unable to make it to TRAM Tour may join us in the Visitors Center for refreshments and visiting with other sponsors and Board members. A highlight of the evening could very well be the sun sinking over St. Joseph Bay Our sunsets are breathtaking.RSVP and let us know if you are coming please so we will have enough refreshments.
June Starts Busy! Call Out for Bay Day Volunteers!
Well, we have been busy at the Buffer Preserve. Prepping for prescribed burns and conducting actual Rx fires keep personnel busy, busy. Almost every bed has been full with researchers and/or interns. We are excited to have everyone and always enjoy hearing about their work.
A group of Boy Scouts planned a project involving weeding and putting out pine straw. Their efforts greatly helped our curb appeal in front of the Visitor Center. We always love having younger environmentalists-in-training at the Preserve.
Some of our latest visitors include a nest, eggs, baby birds, and of course, a mama bird. Right on our deck railing mama bird built a nest and laid 4 eggs. They hatched — much to our delight. We have loved watching them grow on a daily basis and will be sad when they fly away.
Our Visitor Center has been the site for several meetings for groups who do not have a meeting facility. Turtle Patrol groups and the Coastal Training Program from the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve met here and we are happy to be able to offer our site for their use.
T.S. Colin helped getting thinking about our Hurricane Disaster Plan. We are thankful it was just a mild test however we were happy to review our plan of action even we sincerely hope we never need it. Always be ready – in case – is our motto!
Friends of the Preserves are starting now to plan for October Bay Day. Want to be a part of this wonderful celebration of the Bay and Buffer Preserves? Just email us at admin@stjosephbaypreserves.org or talk to any board member. These board members each have a committee and they are always needing good help. John Ehrman, Dewey Blaylock, Gene Cox, Sonny Chafin, Jeff Ross, Lillian Hughes, Lynda White, Nancy Thomson, March Ard, Shannon Lynch make up this super star group of volunteers!