Savannah National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Grand Opening
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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