Nature Coast Adventurer

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Ou r St af f Nat u r e Coast Adven t u r er In t r odu ct ionNature Coast Adventurer \" Wh at t h e M ir r or Said\" by Lu cille Clif t onMagazine1612 Suncoast Blvd Homosassa Fl 34448 list en , you a wonder.PUBLISHER you a cityKarl M. La Follette of a woman.1-352-302-2456 you got a geographyt ear of f gu ys@gm ail.com of your own. list en ,CO PUBLISHER somebody need a mapMarie La Follette to understand you.m ar iessign s@yah oo.com somebody need d ir ect io n sArt Director to move around you.Jarrod Cooper list en , w om an ,EDITORIAL DIRECTOR you not a no placeTom Seeko an on ym ou s gir l;ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER mister with his handsTom Seeko on yout om @t d sn et .or g he got his hands on som eCATERING d am nJarrito Burrito body!SIGNS AND GRAPHICS Bill MURRAY: \"Everybody needs an 'Attagirl!'Tropical Signs now and then.\"M ar iessign s@yah o o .co m [email protected] OF PHOTOGRAPHYKarl La Follette DI SCOV ERCI TRUSCOUNTY.COMWEB DESIGN/ELECTRONIC MEDIAHosting Solutions Plusad m in @h ost in gsolu t ion sp lu s.comBRAND AND MARKETINGDEVELOPERMichael CoveleskiDISTRIBUTIONCO-ORDINATORDan Hall



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Ch assah ow i tzk a M onth l y New sl etter Thousands of years before Europeans arrived, Native Americans hunted,fished, and gathered wild plants along Florida's Gulf coast. Evidence of severalNative American campsites has been found within Chassahowitzka on thesame high and dry ground used as camps by 20th century hunters. Theswamp itself was doubtless as inhospitable a habitation site for NativeAmericans as it is for modern Floridians. Within Chassahowitzka is IndianBend, a Weeden Island (A.D. 300- A.D. 1300) burial mound excavated at theturn of the century by C.B. Moore. Indian Bend yielded primary and secondaryburials as well as check-stamped pottery.In 1528 the Panfilo de Narvarez expedition travelled north from Tampa Bayseveral miles inland from the coast, perhaps along the sand ridge borderingthe eastern edge of the Chassahowitzka swamp. Although no encampmentsor other sites have been found, the Seminole Indians were known to havebeen in the area during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). They gave theregion the name Chassahowitzka, meaning \"pumpkin hanging place.\" Thepumpkin referred to was a small climbing variety that is now rare and perhapseven extinct. In the early 1900s virgin bald cypress was harvested in the swamp.Southern red cedar, used to make pencils and cigar boxes, was logged afterthe marketable cypress was removed. A vast tram system was constructed formules to haul timber from the swamp to a railroad in Homosassa. Many ofthe trams still remain and today are used by hunters, bikers, hikers, birdersand nature photographers. Between 1910 and 1922, Tidewater Cypress operated a lumber mill atCentralia, a town of 1,500 laborers and their families. The town had awell-stocked commissary, school, restaurant and even a theater, doctor anddentist. The mill, one of the largest in the state, could produce 100,000 boardfeet of lumber each day during peak periods. By 1938 even the railroadceased operation, and Centralia became a ghost town. In 1985 land for Chassahowitzka was purchased from the Lykes Brothersand the Turner Corporation as part of Florida's Conservation and RecreationLands (CARL) program. In 1988, another 150 acres was added to compensatefor the loss of red-cockaded woodpecker habitat in Marion County. In 1996,the first portion of the Weeki Wachee tract was purchased. The Seville andAnnutteliga Hammock tracts east of Highway 19 were purchased in 1998 andprovide an upland buffer for coastal lands as well as a geographic link to theWithlacoochee State Forest. In 2000, the FWC approved purchase of anadditional 720 acres. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation

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Last Open House of th e Season at Th ree Si sters Spri ngs!TheFriendsof Crystal River National W ildlifeRefugeand theCrystal River National W ildlifeRefugewillhost thelast FREE open houseof theseason at ThreeSistersSpringson February 10, 2018 from 9:00 amto 3:00 pm. Join usfor afun-filled family day, seethemanatees, participatein children?sactivities, and justenjoy hiking thetrailsand viewing thebeautiful wetlandsinstalled by SW FW MD with nativeplantsandtreesand themany, many birdswho havenow madetheir homein thewetlands. You might even seeanalligator, fishesand other wildlifenow enjoying thisjewel in Crystal River. Stop by theFriendsNatureStore, get anew t-shirt and support theFriends.TheFriendsisa501 (c) 3 non-profit organization whosemission isto support theCrystal River NationalW ildlifeRefugeand wedo thisin many ways; financial support through equipment purchasesand otherdonationsand many volunteer hoursthrough our volunteer members. Oneof our most successfulendeavorsisour elementary school environmental education program. Weareoneof only two FriendsGroups(of morethan 200 Groups) in theUnited Statesthat fully fundsand managesenvironmentaleducation for theRefuge.In 2007 wereceived adonation from oneof our members, afamily foundation, to makeimprovementsonRefugeproperty in Homosassa. Weconstructed atower, pavilion and naturetrailson theproperty. W iththeseimprovements, it becameaperfect spot for hands-on environmental education field trips. Weobtained agrant from our National Fish & W ildlifeFoundation and began purchasing educationequipment such asmicroscopes, classmaterials, pens, pencils, clipboardsand on and on.Wealigned ourcurriculum with statestandardsand met with Sam Himmel, Superintendent of Schools, who welcomedour program. Weput out apleafor instructorsand amyriad of retired teacherscameforth to help usrefineour materials. Many wereretired scienceand biology teachersand otherswho just wanted to helpteach children about our wildlifeand environment.W ith outstanding cooperation from theprincipal and teachersat HomosassaElementary School, our firststudentsto participateweretheir 4th and 5th grades.Over thepast several yearswehavereached over 100studentsper year and theteachersat HomosassaElementary havecredited our program for their achievingthehighest sciencescoresin thedistrict for thestudentsaswell asbeing stateranked.Hands-on educationcomplementing theclassroom learning for thestudentsseemsto bring it all together. All costsof theprogram arefunded by theFriendswith no cost whatsoever to theschool. Our program hasbeenrecognized by theDepartment of theInterior and hasbeen requested by other FriendsGroupsacrossthenation.Wehave, in thepast two years, expanded our education program to Crystal River with classesconductedat ThreeSistersSprings. Thefutureof thisprogram isdependent on theManagement Agreementbetween theCrystal River National W ildlifeRefugeand theCity of Crystal River.If you arearetired educator or just loveto work with children, wewould loveto haveyou join ourprogram. Asweexpand theprogram, wehavean ongoing need for help. You will beconstantly rewardedby thethank you?sand gratitudefrom thestudentsfor thisopportunity to experience?playing in themud?.If you areinterested in joining usin thisventure, email [email protected] or [email protected](co-chairs) for moreinformation.Visit our websitewww.friendsofcrystalriver.org for information about all of our eventsand activities.Thank you for your support!Th e Fri ends

Be Kin d, Rew in d To A Sim pler Lif e At t ent ion t o t he det ail s in ones l if e can l ead t o a simpl erexist ence wit h your l oved one. I woul d t hink a good dose of DiscoverCit rus Count y can heal al l wounds. Prescript ion is t o pay at t ent ionand l ist en. Yes, as painf ul as it may be. A Lovers idea is eye cont actand a New perspect ive of what l if e can be. Happiness is basical l y t heonl y way. Dal ai Lama \"Because of t hat , I al ways concl ude t hat t he purposeof l if e is happiness. Wit h hope and a happy f eel ing, our body f eel swel l . Theref ore, hope and happiness are posit ive f act ors f or ourheal t h. Heal t h depends on a happy st at e of mind. Is t his a one st op Cure al l t o how a rel at ionship can be wit h t hatcert ain someone in your l if e? No Way but This is a must read Thecompl et e idiot 's guide t o underst anding Einst ein's wif e by Einst ein. One must somet imes t ake st ock and enjoy t he worl d of personalcont act wit h t he eart h and t he environment t hat we can Expl ore andl earn. The t rue root s of l if e's exist ence and t he joy of l if e. When youcan share t hat wit h your l oved one's you t oo know t he joy of giving.Your knowl edge and passion f or our sl ice of paradise. We are l ucky t obe ON THIS ROCK l et us NOW share our l ove f or t his Nat ure CoastAdvent urer st omping grounds. My f irst experience wit h wat er is l earning how t o swim and diveat t he age of t wo wit h Mrs Dil l at Bel l Haven Trail er Park in Miami, Flin 1967. At t hree years ol d I was abl e t o dive 9 f eet down t o ret rieve apl ast ic rose at t ached t o a spoon. This l ove f or t he wat er and t henat ural environment came f rom a women who knew t o t each t hat l if ebegins 3 f oot under wat er. And t hat she coul d make a dif f erence int he lif e of a young boy. Pot ent ial f or Love goes t hrough t he roofwhen one can Get out and Discover Cit rus Count y wit h TheNat ure Coast Advent urer.