ARTHUR R. MARSHALL LOXAHATCHEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE
Visitor Center Closed Thanksgiving Day, November 26
The Visitor Center will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, but the
grounds will remain open. SCHEDULED PROGRAMS
November 2015
Night Prowl Everglades Tour
Wednesday, November 18, 6:30 p.m.
Meet at the Visitor Center at 6:30 p.m. for a guided night prowl of the
Everglades. Wear long-sleeved shirt, long pants, closed-toed and heeled good
walking shoes and bring a jacket, water, and a good flashlight and bug spray. Refuge Lecture Series: Ecology of South Florida and the Northern
Everglades
Thursday, November 19, 1:30 p.m.
Join us on alternate Thursdays in the Visitor Center auditorium to hear from leading
experts in their fields. On November 19, in the first of our new lecture series, learn
about the ecology of South Florida and the northern Everglades and the
environment we live in.
Guided Bird, Butterfly and Wildflower Walks
Every Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. except November 27
Join our volunteer naturalist for an early morning nature walk and see how many
birds and other critters you can spot. Learn about our migratory and year-round
residents of the Refuge and their habitat. Your guide will discuss the marsh ecology,
answer your questions and identify the birds, butterflies, plants, reptiles and
anything else you might find along the way. Meet in the Marsh Trail parking lot. Early Morning Bird Walks on the Marsh Trail
Every Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Join a volunteer naturalist for an early morning bird walk on the Marsh Trail. Meet
in the Marsh Trail parking lot. Swamp Strolls
Every Monday & Thursday, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. except Thanksgiving
Meet a naturalist for a guided tour of the Cypress Swamp Boardwalk. Learn about
the swamp ecosystem from cypress tree knees to animals that call the swamp
home. Meet at the pavilion behind the Visitor Center. Roving Naturalist on Cypress Swamp Boardwalk
Tuesday, November 10 & 24, 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
A volunteer naturalist will be strolling around the Cypress Swamp Boardwalk,
answering questions and discussing flora and fauna of the swamp. Tram Tours of the Marsh
Monday, November 9 & 16, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Every Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Every Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, November 18 & 25, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, November 12, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Take a Tram tour of the marsh with our volunteer naturalist, who will take you from
the Visitor Center to the boat ramp to the LILA impoundments, then back through
the C10 impoundment and the Marsh Trail, across to the Arthur R. Marshall kiosk
and back to the Visitor Center. Your guide will talk about the Refuge, its birds and
other wildlife, the ongoing research in the mini-Everglades impoundments of LILA,
and answer all your questions in the comfort of your shaded electric tram.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Call the Visitor Center at 561-734-8303.
Guided Canoe Trips
Saturday, November 14, 9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Saturday, November 28, 9:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Meet at the Lee Road Boat Ramp to enjoy a beautiful canoe tour through a portion of
the Refuge interior. You may rent a canoe for $33 from Loxahatchee Canoeing or
bring your own. (One canoe seats 2 to 3 people.) RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Call the Visitor Center at 561-734-8303.
Enjoy this 3-minute video made on the canoe trail:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW49VXaOvGU&feature=related
Full Moon Guided Canoe Trips
Sunday, November 22, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 19, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 20, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Meet at the Lee Road Boat Ramp to enjoy a guided moonlight canoe tour through a
portion of the Refuge interior. Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants and bring a
flashlight and bug spray. Canoe rental from Loxahatchee Canoeing is $33; you may not bring your own. (One
canoe seats 2 to 3 people.)
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED - PLEASE CALL LOXAHATCHEE CANOEING at 561733-0192. *** Programs subject to change, for more information on any of the activities
and programs, please call the Visitor Center at (561) 734-8303. Events are listed on the Friends website at
loxahatcheefriends.com/events/events.shtml
Fee-Free Day - Veterans Day, November 11
The Department of the Interior is waiving admission fees at all National Parks,
National Wildlife Refuges and all other federal fee areas for Veterans Day, November
11.
Save the Date! Friends Annual Membership Meeting
Sunday, January 31, 1:00 p.m.
Join the Friends for our annual membership meeting in the Visitor Center
auditorium, followed by wine and cheese on the pavilion. Save the Date! 17th Annual Everglades Day
Saturday, February 20, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Join us for Everglades Day, our all-day family festival, with activities for all
ages. This year’s theme is “Songs of the Everglades,” in recognition of next year’s
100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty. Enjoy tours, nature walks, bird
walks, wildlife demonstrations, presentations, exhibits, games, kids' fishing, kids'
archery, canoeing, music, dance, food trucks and much more! All day free
admission. Details to follow! Nature Store Volunteers Needed! The Friends are looking for volunteers to work in the Friends nature store in the
Visitor Center – please contact Judy Colvard at toojudy@bellsouth.net. And if you
have any special talents or community connections and have some ideas on how to
help us find a corporate sponsor or foundation grant or the like, by all means please
let us know! Shop for the Holidays in Our Nature Store! Visit the Friends' nature store in the Visitor Center, where you’ll find a large
selection of nature-themed books for children and adults, nature jewelry, wildlifethemed T-shirts, original artwork and much more. Be sure to pick up our lovely
2016 Calendar with photos from this year’s photo contest. Maybe you know
someone who would appreciate a yearly pass to the Refuge - just $12 - or a Friends
membership. Holiday Special - Brick Pavers Now Two for the Price of One!
Have you considered engraving a brick for our paved path at the entrance to the
Cypress Swamp? It’s a thoughtful way to commemorate a loved one or yourself, for
that matter, and help the Refuge at the same time. From now through December,
$100 buys two for the price of one! Up to 3 lines, 18 characters per line. Installed
within 30 days of order. For an additional $10 you'll also receive a matching 4” x 4”
tile, suitable for display in your home or office.
Loxahatchee Vision Art Contest Winners Announced
Congratulations to our art contest winners and to all who participated! And thank
you to our distinguished judge Lorrie B. Turner. The entries are all on display in the
Visitor Center auditorium until January 3, so come see for yourself the outstanding
artwork. And the winners are: 1st Place: Ray Bossik - Exotica (acrylic)
2nd Place: Dagmar Eberg - New Season (oil) 3rd Place: Andrea Huffman - Lizard Boogie Woogie (fabric)
Honorable Mention: Dion Sellitti (youth) - Lubber (mixed media)
Holly Rutchey - Seeing Red (graphite and pencil)
Sarah Rigas - Deeper Blue (encaustic on wood)
Leszek Zarebski - Solitary (oil)
View all 38 entries on our Facebook
page:
www.facebook.com/786788128105300/photos/a.828460657271380.1073
741831.786788128105300/828460713938041
All of the artwork is available for purchase until January 3. A portion of the
proceeds will be donated to the Friends. Audubon Society of the Everglades 50th Anniversary Exhibit
Opening Reception: Friday, November 20, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Exhibit Runs Monday, November 16 - Wednesday, December 30
Location: Art on Park Gallery, 800 Park Avenue, Lake Park
Artists of Palm Beach County will be culminating its 2015 season with an exhibition
to benefit the Audubon Society of the Everglades in honor of its 50th
anniversary. The artists have submitted images that reflect Audubon’s mission to
conserve wildlife, especially birds, and the environment that supports them. A
portion of the proceeds from all sales, as well as the raffle of a beautiful orchid
arrangement, will raise funds to benefit the Audubon chapter. Tram Tour Highlighted in Boynton Beach Forum
Friends volunteer Tony Lang was caught on camera by a Sun-Sentinel photographer
who took his tram tour last month and posted this photo in the Boynton Beach
Forum…
www.loxahatcheefriends.com/upload/LoxTramTourBoyntonForum.pdf
National Public Lands Day on the Refuge Featured in Boca Raton Tribune
A reporter from the Boca Raton Tribune came out to watch us plant cypress
seedlings on National Public Lands Day and featured us in this article with photos: www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2015/10/visit-and-volunteer-at-thearthur-r-marshall-loxahatchee-national-wildlife-refuge-to-protect-our-naturalresources-and-wildlife
Bobcat Family Photos
Check out the bobcat family photos Lynn Rafferty recently posted to our Facebook
page:
www.facebook.com/786788128105300/photos/pcb.828458757271570/8284580
60604973
Refuge Staff Teamwork in Photos
In tight budget times Refuge staff members have to wear lots of different
hats. Public Use and Fire staff joined the Water Quality Team last month in these
Facebook photos:
www.facebook.com/786788128105300/photos/pcb.821684371282342/8216814
21282637 Refuge Manager Rolf Olson (left, beaming) brags about the teamwork as he joins
Law Enforcement Officer Scott Engstler and Maintenance Mechanic George Pelt to
pour concrete: www.loxahatchee.smugmug.com/photos/i-Qs7v5x5/0/O/i-Qs7v5x5.jpg
Video of the Last Dance Wildfire
The Last Dance Fire that started as a lightning strike on July 8, 2015 in the northern
section of the Refuge burned a total of 12,900 acres before firefighters, with the help
of some much-needed rain, were able to put it out. Previous prescribed burns
mitigated the severity of the fire - portions of the fire burned to the edge of
prescribed burn areas where fuel loads were light and the active flames
immediately ceased. This was Fire Management Officer Jon Wallace’s last fire before
leaving for his new job in the Southeast Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in Atlanta… hence the name, Last Dance Fire. Jon narrates this video to tell
the story:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxBdAp_bz90&feature=youtu.be&list=PL5225C01A
38A652EA
Funding Continued for Bug Lab to Battle Old World Climbing Fern The South Florida Water Management District agreed to continue funding research
and development at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Davie. The "bug" lab,
part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, develops
biological controls to manage the spread of invasive exotic plants such as Old World
climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum). This fern, considered the worst of Florida’s
many invasive, non-native plants, has nearly overwhelmed parts of the Everglades,
especially on the Refuge, suffocating native habitats and carrying hot fire into
treetops and wetlands where fire doesn’t belong. The objective of the research is to
find natural enemies from an exotic plant’s native range and establish a population
that can feed on the "bad" plant and keep it in check. Between 2013 and 2015,
485,500 brown Lygodium moths and 268,200 Lygodium mites were released to
battle Old World climbing fern. The caterpillars of the brown Lygodium moth
(Neomusotima conspurcatalis), a species native to parts of Asia, were collected in
their native habitat, grown in the lab, and tested to make sure that they would eat
the invasive species and not native ones. Any biocontrol must pass these tests to be
considered safe enough to release. www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xrepository/sfwmd_repository_pdf/nr_2015_
1008_exotic_invasive_funding.pdf
www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/florida
-caterpillar-takes-on-invasive-fern.xml?src=e.gp.local
Here’s an article from 2012 about earlier releases of the brown Lygodium moth on
the Refuge…
www.loxahatcheefriends.com/field_notes/old_world_climbing_fern_and_moth.html
Reporter vs. Python
I
ntrepid Palm Beach Post reporter Barbara Marshall gives us helpful tips on what to
do when you find a python wrapped around your arm. She was one of several
journalists who accepted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
invitation to a Python Challenge reporter training. www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/lifestyles/an-8-foot-python-wrapped-aroundmy-arm-no-problem/nnwLF
PBC Commission Votes to Ease Development Restrictions in Ag Reserve
The Palm Beach County commission voted in a 5-2 decision last month to ease
development restrictions in the county’s Agricultural Reserve. The Ag Reserve is
the 22,000-acre area between the Refuge and Florida’s Turnpike where in 1999,
county voters agreed to spend $100 million to protect land for farming and $50
million to preserve environmental lands, leading to the protection of about 2,400
acres of prime farmland. Building rules in the Ag Reserve require developers to set
aside land to be preserved for agricultural use to go along with any new
construction. One of the approved rule changes alters the standards for what
qualifies as preserved land, allowing smaller, far-flung properties to count towards
that requirement. The commission also voted to allow the expansion of some
existing commercial operations within the Ag Reserve. http://eyeonpbc.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/10/26/commission-again-loosensrules-limiting-development-in-ag-reserve
www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-ag-reserve-development-vote20151026-story.html
www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/fl-editorial-ag-rserve-palm-beach-20151026story.html
http://opinionzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/10/26/palm-beach-countycommission-needs-to-keep-the-ag-in-ag-reserve/
www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-ag-reserve-development-20151023story.html
Ask Your Congressional Representative to Join the Wildlife Refuge Caucus! The Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus has been recently revived, so please ask
your U.S. Representative to join it! The Refuge Caucus works to advance issues
important to our National Wildlife Refuge System. And our National Wildlife
Refuges could use all the advocates they can get, after severe budget cuts over the
past few years have left the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service unable to meet basic
wildlife management goals at most of the 563 refuges nationwide, including this
one.
And please urge your Representative to re-instate the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, which has now expired. This fund comes from royalties from offshore oil and
gas drilling, royalties that aren't getting paid now that it's expired. This fund has
been an important source of funding for acquisitions of environmentally sensitive
land in places like Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and
Yellowstone National Park. To contact your Representative, go to www.house.gov, type your zip code at the top
of the screen and click "Go", then click on your Representative's name. Skunk Handstand
Check out the spotted skunk caught on camera doing a handstand at Saguaro
National Park…
https://instagram.com/p/9rLYV4gu4H/
News from the National Wildlife Refuge System
Find out what’s happening in the National Wildlife Refuge System with the latest
from the Friends NewsWire…
www.fws.gov/refuges/friends/newswire/index.html
Shop on Amazon and Support the Friends! Shop at AmazonSmile and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to the
Friends, at no extra cost to you! Bookmark this link:
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-2152926
Or, if you don’t have the link handy, just go to smile.amazon.com and select “Friends
of the Arthur R Marshall Loxahatchee Natl Wildlife Refuge.” (You can just search for
Loxahatchee,” but don’t try to spell out “National” or it won’t work!) Like Us on Facebook! Thanks to Kay Larche we have a very active community of Friends on
Facebook…
www.facebook.com/loxahatcheefriends
Please spread the word and ask the folks you know to “Like” us! Join the Friends! If you’re not already a Friends member, why not join now? Your support helps fund
Refuge programs and special projects, and helps make our annual Everglades Day
possible. Dues are only $20 per person or $30 for a family membership. All
members receive our biannual newsletter Gator Tales and a 10% discount in our gift
shop. You can sign up online at:
www.loxahatcheefriends.com/membership/membership.shtml