Savannah NWR Outreach Program & Pinckney Island NWR Tours - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Savannah NWR Outreach Program & Pinckney Island NWR Tours - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Moss Creek Nature Club Savannah NWR Outreach Program & Pinckney Island NWR Tours November 8, 2017 Nancy V. Fernandez John Petraglia Urban Outreach Coordinator VP, Friends of the Savannah Coastal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife

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Moss Creek Nature Club

Savannah NWR Outreach Program & Pinckney Island NWR Tours

Nancy V. Fernandez

Urban Outreach Coordinator U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex

John Petraglia

VP, Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc. Project Leader – Pinckney Island NWR Programs & Accessibility Tours

November 8, 2017

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Agenda

  • U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Savannah NWR

Nancy

Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges

Pinckney Island Accessibility Tours

John

Outreach on Pinckney Island NWR

Nancy & John

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Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex

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Who are we?

  • Department of the Interior
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • National Wildlife Refuge System
  • Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex

– Pinckney Island NWR – Tybee NWR – Savannah NWR – Wassaw NWR – Harris Neck NWR – Blackbeard Island NWR – Wolf Island NWR

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Market Hunting

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Plume Hunting

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The First National Wildlife Refuge: Pelican Island NWR

  • Established 1903
  • Near Sebastian, FL
  • Protect Birds (Pelicans, Egrets, Herons, etc.)

Paul Kroegel

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National Wildlife Refuges

“Wildlife First” Page 8

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Urban Wildlife Conservation Program

Atlanta Botanical Garden Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Los Angeles River Urban Wildlife Refuge

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Urban Outreach

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POC Outdoors

Pinnacles NP Grand Teton NP Camp Loma Mar Santa Cruz Mountains Snoqualmie NF

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POC Outdoors

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Making New Connections

Volunteers In Medicine at HHI

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Unity in the Community

Our first meeting July 2017 Back-to-School event part of Downtown Trip 4 Us

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Pollinator Gardens

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Pinckney Island NWR Savannah NWR Wassaw NWR

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Pinckney Island NWR

  • Pinckney Island is between the mainland (Bluffton) and Hilton

Head - 4,053 acres

  • Most heavily visited of the Savannah Refuges

Visitors (approx. per year): 230,000*

* Based on traffic counter

Pinckney Island History NWR

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Pinckney Island NWR Map

Hilton Head Bluffton 14 Miles of Trails Haigh Landing Page 17

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Pinckney Island Trails

14 miles of hiking trails on the refuge & nine recommended hikes

  • Ibis Pond - 1.2 miles (1.9 km), round trip; one and a half hours
  • Shell Point - 4.6 miles (7.4 km), round trip; four hours and 15 minutes
  • Wood Stork Pond - 2.7 miles (4.3 km), round trip; two and a half

hours

  • Osprey Pond - 3.0 miles (4.8 km), round trip; three hours
  • Nini Chapin Pond - 3.6 miles (5.8 km), round trip; three and a half

hours

  • Bull Point - 5.0 miles (8.0 km), round trip; five hours
  • Dick Point - 7.4 miles (11.9 km), round trip; six and a half hours
  • Clubhouse Pond - 6.2 miles (10.0 km), round trip; five and a half

hours

  • White Point - 7.8 miles (12.6 km), round trip; seven hours

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Visitor Accessibility & Programs

Pinckney Island NWR

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The Friends Website http://www.coastalrefuges.org/

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Friends of the Savannah Wildlife Refuges

  • Non-Profit Organization - 501(c)(3)
  • All Volunteers
  • Membership - 950
  • The Friends manage the Savannah NWR Visitor

Center nature store, The Gator Hole. Yearly sales are

  • approx. $40,000 – $50,000. The majority of the

revenue is donated to fund refuge projects.

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Friends Services

  • Public outreach and education
  • Fund raising to support the refuge
  • Staffing & Operation of Savannah NWR Nature Store
  • Refuge maintenance and improvement
  • Advocating for the refuges at all levels of government
  • Funding a building on the Savannah Refuge for

children environmental education Kingfisher Discovery Center

  • Pinckney Island Nature Tours

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Community Foundation Grant

  • Grant for $37,000
  • The grant is to facilitate educational experience and
  • utdoor activities including shuttle and bike tours, and
  • ther events.
  • Provide accessibility to the refuge for the elderly, the

very young and mobility impaired.

  • Our grant activities are consistent with unfunded

Refuge plans for Pinckney Island.

http://www.cf-lowcountry.org/

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Community Foundation

  • f the Lowcountry
  • The CF has invested more than $54 million in our

Lowcountry area since 1994.

  • The CF provides the largest source of unrestricted

philanthropic resources dedicated to our area: Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties.

  • The CF started with funds from the sale of the
  • riginal Hilton Head Hospital.
  • We cannot say enough about this amazing
  • rganization.

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Grant Equipment

  • Grant Amount

$37,000

  • Equipment

– 15 Seat Electric Shuttle – 15 Bicycles – 15 Binoculars – Trailer to transport bikes – Brochures & Advertising – Tent, table, chairs and more

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Equipment

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  • Weekly Shuttle Tours
  • Group Accessibility Tours
  • Bike Tours
  • Registration Required

https://coastalrefuges.org/PI

Guided Tours

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– Public Tours Including the Accessibility Challenged – Accredited Docent Commentary – Loan Binoculars – 1.5 hours – Free – Donations Suggested

Shuttle Tours

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– Groups with Members with Accessibility Challenges – Tours arranged with the Groups Organization – Seabrook, Tidepointe, PEP

Accessibility Tours

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  • Docent Commentary
  • Answer Questions
  • Unscheduled
  • Various Location:

Ibis Pond Butterfly Garden Starr Pond

Roving Docent

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  • Volunteers
  • 40+
  • Public Tours
  • Once a week since

January 2017

  • Group Accessibility Tours
  • 1 or 2 per month
  • Bike Tours
  • Starting soon
  • Tour Participants – Jan-Sept - More than 800+

Status

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  • Executive Committee
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Docents
  • Shuttle Drivers
  • Visitor Assistants
  • Publicity, Donations, Membership

Consider Volunteering

Volunteer Organization

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  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Friends

are working together to do local outreach on Pinckney Island NWR.

  • Inviting the Hispanic community: shuttle

tours, bike tours, walks, …

  • Volunteers are needed for strategy, Spanish

speaking, planning, etc. Please volunteer.

Community Outreach

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Membership & Donations Interested in Volunteering?

Contact - John Petraglia johnpetr17@gmail.com 631-338-6098

Volunteers, Donations & Friends Membership

https://coastalrefuges.org

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Questions

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Nancy V. Fernandez

Urban Outreach Coordinator U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex nancy_fernandez@fws.gov Friends of the Coastal Wildlife Refuges johnpetr17@gmail.com

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Thank You

John Petraglia