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Board of Directors Profile
Dot Bambach
Dot is well-known in the local birding community and is a long-term FWS volunteer, working on Savannah, Pinckey Island, Wassaw Island, Harris Neck, and Blackbeard Island NWR's. She is a past-president and currrent Board member of the Ogechee Audubon Society and serves as that organization's liaison with the FWS. She serves on the Steering Committee of the very successful Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival and coordinates more than 100 volunteers for three Christmas Bird Counts. Dot was very actiive in the Friends Group Organizing Committee and currently serves as the Secretary of the Friends Group and chairs the Membership Services Committee. She lives in Savannah. The photo above shows Dot at the Friends for the Future Conference last year at the FWS National Conservation Training Center in WV jointly sponsored by FWS and the National Wildlife Refuge Association. She is posing with a costumed character representing the iconic Blue Goose, symbol of the refuge system.
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Refuge Staff News
Randy Breland
Randy retired from the US FWS on 4-30-09 after 20 years of service. He most recently served as Refuge Manager for the Savannah NWR and also oversaw operations at Tybee Island and Pinckney Island NWR's.  Randy will be headed back to Mississippi to relax, fish, and spend time with his family. His replacement is as yet unnamed.
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Welcome Friends:
Welcome to the inaugural issue of your Friends Group e-newsletter! The Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges is growing and moving ahead. We had a very successful First Annual General Membership Meeting on March 31st and elected our first Board of Directors and officers. We now have over 100 members and your BOD has met to begin building an organizational infrastructure that will enable us to carry out our mission of supporting the seven National Wildlife Refuges in our area.
Your continued support will determine what and how much we can accomplish. If you are not already a member, be sure to sign up on the web site. If you are already a member, please consider making an additional donation and/or purchasing our new Friends Group Logo Lapel Pin. Your contributions are tax-deductible.
Sincerely,
Rick Shields, President
Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc.
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Your Board of Directors
Elected on March 31, 2009
Nine Friends Group members were elected to form our very first Board of Directors, and the Board selected our first officers. They are Dot Bambach (Secretary), John Crawford, James Gardner, Twila Gray, Hunter Hurst, Dr. Wasil Khan, Karen McGinty (Treasurer), Allyn Schneider (Vice-President), and Dr. Rick Shields(President).
Congratulations! 
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Savannah NWR Visitor Center
Opening Delayed
The opening of the long-awaited Visitor Center at Savannah NWR has been delayed until at least October 2009 to allow road modifications and the exhibit installations. The road work will enhance visitor safety by providing dedicated turning lanes from both directions into the VC from busy US-17.
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Volunteer Update
Earth Day clean-up at Pinckney Island NWR
 Volunteers from the Sun City Silver Striders Club, organized by Friends Group Board Member Twila Gray, collected a dump-trunk full of trash from the shore line at Pinckney on April 22nd. The volunteers expressed surprise at the amount and volume of trash they collected, and decided to make this a twice-a-year event.
This is just the kind of grass-roots efforts that the Friends Group was formed to promote and recognize.
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New Funding for our Refuges!
$435,000 on the way from the stimulus package. 
The money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be used for projects on Blackbeard, Harris Neck, and Savannah NWR's. This funding will help to reduce the large backlog of deferred maintenance needs on the refuges. FWS staff have been meeting with the Army Corps of Engineers in an attempt to get the Corps to use some of their new funding to address long-term water-flow issues at Savannah NWR. Click to read the Savannah Morning News article.
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Refuge Access Issues Under Study
Study underway to address traffic flow and access issues at Pinckney Island and Savannah NWR's.
Those of you who visit Pinckney Island or Savannah NWR's know
that often you take your life in your hands when attempting to turn into
the refuges. Whether it's Pinckney Island NWR
which has more than 50,000 vehicles passing the refuge entrance daily, or the
Savannah NWR where huge, fast moving logging or container trucks fly by around a nearly blind curve, it is
always a challenge to arrive safely.
The
Service recognizes these dangers and has partnered with the Federal Highway Administration to study the best way to insure staff
and visitor safety when visiting the refuges. Our objectives are to develop: reasonable alternatives for the transportation network and access points for the refuges; a
maintenance plan for the preferred alternative; and short and
long-range transportation plans for future programming.
The intent is that this transportation plan
will mesh with the on-going Comprehensive Conservation Plan being prepared for
the management of these refuges for the next 15 years, and will help us compete for federal funding to make recommended improvements. Parking
needs, potential bicycle routes, and alternative modes of transportation will
also be evaluated as part of this project.
There are two public meetings planned so that stakeholders and the
general public will have an opportunity to learn about the plan and provide
their ideas and feedback. Currently
these meetings are scheduled for August 2009, and October 2009. More information as to time and place of
these meetings will be sent out at a later date.
(Thanks to US FWS Project Leader Jane Griess for this item).
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Science Corner
Endangered Species Success Stories
 The Endangered Species Act is now 35 years old. Checkout the lead article in the latest edition of the US FWS Endangered Species Bulletin for an overview of how the Act has impacted wildlife conservation in the US.
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Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc. is a Non-Profit 501(c)3 organization incorporated in Georgia.
You received this e-newsletter because you are a member of the Friends Group or you expressed an interest in learning more about us. If you wish your e-mail address removed from our subscriber list, click on the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this issue.
To find out more about us, or to download a membership application, click on the link below.
FSCWR, Inc
PO Box 16841
Savannah, Georgia 31416
Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc.
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