Tag Archives: buffer preserve

Activities, Events

Join Us for our Winter Bay Day Celebration – Saturday, February 1st, 2025

Join Us Saturday, February 1st, 2025 for our popular Winter Bay Day!    9am – 3pm EST

Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves present a day of education, shrimp and music.  Learn about the preserves and life along the bay.  There will be lots to see and lots to do. Best of all, the Low Country Shrimp Boil will be delicious – as always! Meet you on the deck of the Visitor Center! … no admission fee!

3915 State Road 30A, Port St. Joe, Florida 32456

On the Deck: The Visitor Center Deck will have the low country boil and drinks, picnic tables, a silent auction, live music, and stunning views of St. Joseph Bay.
Low Country Shrimp Boil:   11am – 2pm EST    $15 Donation
Live Music Throughout the Day: Crossroad Bluegrass Band – music for saints and sinners.

Guided Tram Tours: The Buffer Preserve staff will have tram rides throughout the day that will showcase the backwoods trails of the Buffer Preserve. Explore the preserves on a guided tram tour through the backwoods trails of the Buffer Preserve and learn about the native animal and plant life. Tours depart from the Visitor Center. Reservations are recommended and will be available on the deck at the Bay Day event. Bay Day tram tour seating will be first come first served. Departure Times: 9:00am, 10:00 am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, & 1:00pm EST.

Exhibitors & Demonstrations: Exhibitors at Bay Day will have displays set up to share information about water quality, recreational opportunities, seagrass research and monitoring, urchins, scallops (touch tank), updates to the State Park, turtles, fossils, shorebirds, and so much more of the great environmental work that is done in and around St. Joseph Bay! All the environmental displays will be located down on the grass by the observation tower and along the back of the lodge.
Winter Bay Day Exhibitors Include:
Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserves, St. Andrews & St. Joseph Bays Estuary Program, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Rish State Park, Gulf County UF/IFAS, Audubon Florida, Indian Pass Turtle Patrol,
Florida Coastal Conservancy/Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center,
Friends of Gulf County Library, International Dark Sky/Capture the Dark, FWC/Fish and Wildlife Research Institute – Bay Scallops
FWC/Fisheries-Independent Monitoring Program.

Silent Auction and Raffle: Our silent auction and fun raffle have lots of donations from our community partners that support our Mission to advocate for the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve and State Buffer Preserve, and to support the education on those key issues that are important in keeping the bay and preserve one of the most pristine areas in the world. These silent auction items cover a wide range of things such as chef at home experiences, fishing charters, art, dining gift certificates and much more! We have options to bid on the specific item or buy it now pricing.  Either way, you take all items home that day and have a chance to be a raffle winner.

Silent Auction and Raffle: Our silent auction and fun raffle have lots of donations from our community partners that support our Mission to advocate for the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve and State Buffer Preserve, and to support the education on those key issues that are important in keeping the bay and preserve one of the most pristine areas in the world. These silent auction items cover a wide range of things such as chef at home experiences, fishing charters, art, dining gift certificates and much more! We have options to bid on the specific item or buy it now pricing.  Either way, you take all items home that day and have a chance to be a raffle winner.

Birding Tour at Salinas Park Bayside:  Collette Lauzau, Shorebird Program Manager-Audubon Florida, will be leading the 2 hour bird tour around St. Joseph Bay during Bay Day. Participants meet at Salinas Park Bayside (280 Cape San Blas Rd, Port St. Joe, FL 32456) at 8:30am EST.
“We will bird that area and potentially drive a short distance to a second location that I will scout before the birding walk just to see if there will be birds foraging the flats. The meeting time will be at 8:30 am and if the second location is active, we will probably end at 10:30 am. Regular walking shoes should be fine.  It would be great for participants to bring binoculars.”

The Bay Day events are located at the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Visitor Center, 3915 State Road 30-A (C-30), Port St. Joe, Florida 32456.
Bay Day is presented by Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, Inc., Central Panhandle Aquatic Preserves, and the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve. All proceeds to benefit the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves.
For more information: Call 850-229-1787 or Send Us an Email

Activities, Events

Join us for our Fall Fest in the Preserve – Saturday, November 16th, 2024

Fall Fest in the Preserve
Join Us Saturday, November 16th, 2024, for our Fall Festival in the heart of the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve.
3pm – 6pm EST
Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves present an afternoon of outdoor fun and activities including hay rides through the preserve, interpretive hiking, scavenger hunt, face painting, hot apple cider,  campfire with marshmallow roast, walking tacos and more … no admission fee!
Live Music Throughout the Afternoon: The “mixed acoustic” sounds of Marilyn and Tyler Freeman, …. “a little old country, blue grass, and rock n’ roll”.
The Fall Festival events are located within the Buffer Preserve on Treasure Road. Turn in at Treasure Rd off 30A, “across the street” from the Buffer Preserve Visitor Center (3915 State Road 30-A, Port St. Joe, Florida 32456). Follow the signs and volunteer parking guides.
The Fall Festival is sponsored by The Friends of the St. Joseph Bay Preserves in Partnership with Buffer and Aquatic Preserves staff.
For more information: Call 850-229-1787 or Send Us an Email

 

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

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.