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"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society Newsletter
In This Issue
End of the Line Film
Nature Store Spotlight
New Interns
SOLD OUT - Trailgate Party
Tarpon Tournament
Wildlife Sightings
Lecture: Secret Lives of Snowy Plovers
Snowy plover with chick by Heather Porter.
  
Experts with Snowy Plover Project at Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) will share their stories and findings at the Refuge on Friday, February 22, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the FREE "Ding" Darling Education Center
A special thanks to the series sponsor:  The Shell Point Retirement Community. 
Claudia Burns and Joel Caouette will cooperatively present "Secret Lives of Snowy Plovers." Burns has volunteered for the SCCF project since its inception in 2002. She and other volunteers search the beach for snowy plover nests and READ MORE

Quick Links
Film examines overfishing
"Ding" Darling Refuge's inaugural Film Series continues on Wednesday, February 20, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.
with the documentary
The End of the Line.  The film delves beyond the surface of the seas to reveal a troubling truth beneath: an ocean increasingly empty of fish, destroyed by decades of over-exploitation. The first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans,
The End of the Line, had its world premiere at the Sundance
  

attractions clipart    

UPCOMING EVENTS

 January - April 2013

Lecture Series sponsored by Shell Point Retirement Community

 

January - April 2013

Film Series sponsored by The Sanctuary Golf Club

 

May 3, 4, 2013

"Ding" Darling Doc Ford's Tarpon Tournament!

 

Refuge Nature Store Spotlight

A thing of beauty, this art-glass nautilus shell is sure to your valentine's heart. It's not too late: Stop in to claim it today,

 or call 239-472-1100 ext. 241 or email to order. Remember, all proceeds from Refuge Nature Store purchases benefit Refuge wildlife.

 February 14, 2013
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Woodring Point 
Preservation Campaign Update

"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society - Friends of the Refuge,  is working with the Refuge and Lee County to acquire 6.56 acres at Woodring Point, which is one of the last remaining bay beach habitats at the marine entrance to the refuge. 

manattee, springer
The marine entrance to the refuge is a sanctuary for the endangered Manattee.
Photo by Jeff Springer

      For information on contributing to the $1.8 million Refuge Preservation Campaign, which includes Education Center improvements, please click here

     The Fort Myers News Press has a video of Board Member John McCabe explaining why this land needs protected. 

     The deadline to raise this money to preserve Woodriing Point is September, 2013. $844,000 of the $1.8 million goal has been raised.  For more information on the Preservation Campaign or to learn how you can support the campaign, please contact Birgie Vertesch at 239.292.0566 or via email by clicking  HERE .

Welcome New Interns
In past months, two new biology interns and 10 seasonal resident volunteers have joined the team effort at the Refuge.

   Cassie Cook and Sheena Wheeler arrived January 7, 2013, and will stay through June.

   Cassie graduated from the University of Michigan in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology.  "I really like the staff and all the volunteers that I have met so far, and look forward to the wide variety of biological work that will begin next month," she says.
   Sheena, an Oregon State University 2011 graduate, majored in fisheries and wildlife science with a specialty in wildlife biology.
   "I really enjoy the diverse number of tasks we get to perform ranging from bird surveys to alligator surveys and frog call surveys," she said. "The internship is expanding my skills and knowledge of the local flora and fauna. Sanibel is such a beautiful area, so different from Oregon, and the staff and volunteers at the refuge have been a pleasure to work with."

   DDWS supports the refuge intern program. "It not only fulfills our mission to educate a new generation of wildlife steward, but provides valuable manpower to assist the refuge's overworked staff," said DDWS Executive Director Birgie Vertesch.  

Cuckoo for 'Ding' Trailgate
Sold Out

Tickets for the Cuckoo for "Ding" Trailgate Party fundraiser on February 15, 2013, have sold out, but even those who cannot attend have an opportunity to bid on auction items, including the signature Jim Sprankle Mangrove Cuckoo sculpture.  Call Birgie Vertesch at 239.292.0566

The carving by Jim Sprankle is even more unique because it was used out in the research field before it became a true work of art! 
"Attendance to the event is by reservation only, but those who haven't reserved can contact me to place their bids," said Birgie Vertesch, executive director of the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS), which hosts the unique event. 
 A BIG thanks to our auction donors:

50% Off Framing, Ace Hardware,  Beach Foodies, Beachview Golf , Broadway Palm Dinner Theater, Luc Century, Cedar Chest, Captiva Cruises, Cips Place, Disney World, Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille, Dunes Golf Club, Randon Eddy, Jerry Edelman, Toni Ferrell, Dick Fortune & Sara Lopez, Fresh Taqueria, Martha Graham, Judy Hicks,Il Cielo & Cloud 9 ; Il Tesoro, Island Therapy Center, Island Inn, Jerry's Market, Key West Express, Lighthouse Cafe, Macintosh Books, Mangrove Cuckoo biologists, John McCabe, Walt McNairy, Off Shore Sailing School; Paul Paglia & Jack Claypoole, Pinocchio's Ice Cream, Marianne Ravenna, Recycled Origins, Myra Roberts, Barry Roth Attorney at Law, Tom Rothman, Sanctuary Golf Club, Sanibel Cafe, Sanibel Seashell Co., Sanibel Island Bookstore, Sea World & Aquatica, Shell Point Retirement Community, Charlie Sobzcak , Jim Sprankle, Patty Sprankle, Tylor Stewart, Don & Lillian Stokes, Suncatchers Dream, Sweet Tomatoes, Tarpon Bay Explorers, Nancy Tome, Traders, Tween Waters Inn, Kevin Vertesch, Chelle Koster Walton, Curt Will; Ralph & Jean Woodring.   

Tarpon Tournament: Citizen Scientist!
Become a "Citizen Scientist" while fishing in the 2nd Annual Tarpon logo
2013 "Ding" Darling & Doc Ford's Tarpon Tournament!  Working in collaboration with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission in gathering Tarpon DNA scrubs for their research.  CLICK HERE to read their latest study update. 
Tournament date is May 4 with a Captain/Angler meeting on May 3, 2013.  Held at Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille in Fort Myers Beach, there are already 25 teams confirmed with a limit of 50 teams.  Click HERE for rules, registration, sponsor opportunities, and more information. Or contact Birgie Vertesch at 239.292.0566 or by email
The NEWEST SponsorMyers Brettholtz & Co. PA at the Gold Level. 
Wildlife Sightings  
Week ending February 12,
 2013

Clapper Rail, Stilwell
Clapper Rail by Dick & Sharon Stilwell
  
  
Current
  
These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge.  Please check our website at www.dingdarlingsociety.org to learn more!   
 
Sincerely,
Birgit Vertesch, Executive Director
 
"Ding" On the Wing composed by Chelle Walton
Assisted by interns Karen Lopresti and Jess Shelton