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Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc.
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| Visitor Center Grand Opening Report
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March 10, 2010
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Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center Opens!
Pat Metz wields the giant scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon as Jane Griess, Helen Tapp, Mark Musaus, Jane Lyder, and "The Blue Goose"applaud.
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The long-awaited Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center and Nature Store celebrated its Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting on a beautiful Saturday morning,March 6, 2010. This marked the culmination of many years of hard work and planning by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (F&WS) staff and volunteers.
An estimated 265 guests were welcomed by Savannah NWR Manager Russ Webb and Friends group president Rick Shields. Supportive letters were read from Hardeeville Mayor Bronco Bostick and US Representative Joe Wilson followed by presentations from:
- Helen Tapp, Georgia director of Trust for Public Lands. The Trust has worked closely with Fish & Wildlife, the National Park Service, and the US Forest Service to protect and preserve public lands.
- Peter Stangel, the Director of Science and Evaluation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation delighted the crowd with anecdotes about his outdoor research and fund-raising experiences.
- Mark Musaus, Deputy Regional Director of the Fish & Wildlife Service and former Refuge Manager of the Year spoke of the important role that Friends groups play in support of the refuge system.
- Jane Lyder, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks brought greetings from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, emphasizing the need to protect and expand the refuge system and to encourage our children to experience the outdoors.
Jane Griess, project Director for the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex, closed the program with an emotional presentation to recently retired Pat Metz, whose long-term vision of a Visitor Center came to fruition on this day.
Finally, the ceremonial ribbon was cut and the crowd dispersed to tour the Visitor Center, shop in the nature store (known as "The Gator Hole"), accompany "Crawfish" Crawford on an interpretive nature walk, watch the refuge video, refresh themselves at the food tent provided by St. Joseph's/Candler Health System, and take trolley tours of the refuge.
The Friends group wishes to thank all those volunteers who helped make the day such a resounding success and the F&WS staff who made the event work.
For local media accounts of the event, check out Bluffton Today and the Savannah Morning News.
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Your Friends group is providing the volunteer staff for the Information Desk and for the "The Gator Hole" at the Visitor Center. We are looking for volunteers for two areas of involvement:
1. Information Desk - this involves staffing the front desk and taking questions from the public, giving directions, passing out brochures, etc.
2. "The Gator Hole" - this involves staffing the cash register and other duties typical of a retail sales outlet. We also are seeking volunteers with retail experience to help with ordering, inventory, record keeping, etc.
Your Friends group will work with the F&WS to provide vetting and training for potential volunteers.
If you are interested, or know someone who is, please contact us at webmaster@coastalrefuges.org, or contact Amy Ochoa.
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Please feel free to forward this e-announcement to anyone who might be interested.Still not a member of the Friends group? Click HEREto go to our website and join up! You can download an application, or join on-line using PayPal. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc.
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