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Seafood Fest

239-695-2682 10:30 am to 4:00 pm Closed Wednesdays

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HELP ESHP SAVE THE HISTORIC BANK OF EVERGLADES BUILDING Learn more at: www.SaveBoe.com www.ESHP.org Everglades Seafood Festival

Entertainment Lineup February 11, 12, 13

Friday Night, February 11:

4:30 Opening Ceremony 5:00-6:00 Lost Rodeo 6:20-7:05 Special Guests 7:30 Fireworks and Charlie Pace

National Anthem 7:45 – 8:45 Charlie Pace Band 9:00 – 10:00 Raiford Starke

Saturday, February 12:

9:30 to 10:00am Opening Ceremony (Chris Lombardo) 10:10 National Anthem by Matrasa Lynn 10:15-11:00 Matrasa Lynn 11:30-12:20 Them Hamilton Boys 12:45-1:40 Hat Trick 2:00-3:00 Charlie Pace and the Boyz 3:30-4:30 Whey Jennings 5:00-6:20 Ryan Bingham 6:40- 7:30 Champ Jackson 7:45-8:30 Southern Stampede 9:00-10:00 Ira Dean

Sunday, February 13:

9:30 to 10:00 Opening Ceremony 10:05 National Anthem Charlie Pace 10:10-!0:40 Billy Cass Prayer and Music 11:00-11;45 Billy J & Collateral Damage 12:00-12:45 Wes Shipp 1:05-2:05 Gator Nate 2:25-3:40 Hank Williams 4th 4:00-5:00 Raiford Starke 5:15-6:00 John Prestige (Johnny Dept)

www.evergladesseafoodfest.com ***Attention Everglades Area! *** New Packaged Goods Service Available

Everglades Isle RV Resort’s Marlin Bar Now Offers Packaged Goods! Simply order online, select your pick up time, and then pick up at the gate! Either scan the QR code below, click below, or go to the link online! https://bit.ly/3qUgmMA When you reach the gate, push the intercom button to let us know you are here to pick up! Note: You must be 21 or older to order and to pick up

Everglades Isle 803 Collier Avenue Everglades City, FL 34139

Just look for the Lighthouse!

www.captjohnhand.com

First Baptist Church

Knowing Him and making Him known!

416 School Drive / P.O. Box 550 Everglades City, FL 34139 Call Us:(239) 695-3871

All-ages Sunday School: 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship: 11:00 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Worship: 6:00 p.m.

At Win-Car Hardware We Have Just About Everything Unique Apparel, Nav Charts.

Fishing Tackle, Camping,

Biking, Hiking, Gifts, Books, Souvenirs, Marine Hardware, Stainless & More!

209 Collier Ave, Everglades City M-Sat 8:30 am - 5 pm. 239-695-3201

Mon-Sat, 10:30—7:00, Sun, 10:30—5:00

***Watch for Advance Child Tax Credit letter***

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue information letters to Advance Child Tax Credit recipients starting in December and to recipients of the third round of the Economic Impact Payments at the end of January. Using this information when preparing a tax return can reduce errors and delays in processing.

The IRS urged people receiving these letters to make sure they hold onto them to assist them in preparing their 2021 federal tax returns in 2022.

To help taxpayers reconcile and receive all of the Child Tax Credits to which they are entitled, the IRS will send Letter 6419, 2021 advance CTC, starting late December, 2021 and continuing into January. The letter will include the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments.

People should keep this and any other IRS letters about advance Child Tax Credit payments with their tax records.

Families who received advance payments will need to file a 2021 tax return and compare the advance Child Tax Credit payments they received in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit they can properly claim on their 2021 tax return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EVERGLADES AIRPORT RENEWAL

By Mike Klein

Everglades City Airport has been approved by the FAA for runway improvement.

The project is tentatively scheduled to begin on January 10th 2022 and will consist of elevating and widening the runway, restriping and marking, and renewed runway number designations (15 – 33).

The cost of the project has been fully funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and includes permitting by various agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, Florida EPA, and other environmental and conservation organizations.

Anticipated time to completion, weather depending, is expected to be about four months; and the airport will be closed to all operations during that time.

Business aviation operations can be accommodated at the Marco Island airport (KMKY –17 airmiles) or the Immokalee Airport (KIMM) 35 airmiles.

For more information about the airport project please contact Mike Klein at 239-595-4203. Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) Other names: none / Status: FL=invasive, rapidly expanding its range, IUCN=LC / Length: 3-5.5 in. (7.5-14 cm) / Weight: n/a / Life span: to 10 years / Reproduces: lays 100-130 eggs in any standing water, including highly saline water, in early spring / Found: All Counties, coastal, near coast, inland / Months found: JFMamjjaSOND.

The invasion of the Cuban treefrog is a case study in what happens when an interloper that is a prolific breeder enters a new environment through human commercial activity. First identified in the Florida Keys in the 1920s, this frog is now found throughout Florida and is rapidly moving into Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as westward toward the Texas coast. The Cuban treefrog spreads not only via ornamental plants, but also by motorized vehicles, trailered boats, and many other unusual methods.

This spread is devastating to the indigenous frogs because the Cuban treefrog grows to twice the size of both the green and squirrel treefrogs and is capable of eating them. Furthermore, the Cuban treefrog tadpole is a superior competitor to native tadpoles, causing even more pressure on the indigenous species. It also appears to be negatively impacting certain smaller fish in the locales it has moved into.

The Cuban treefrog readily gets into homes and condominiums, swims in toilets, can be found under sinks, has been known to short out electrical boxes, and generally wreaks havoc on the environment. Studies are now under way to explore the use of biological or chemical deterrents to halt or at least slow the continued spread of this invasive species.

The Cuban treefrog eats a wide variety of insects, but has also been known to consume Indo-Pacific geckos, green and brown anoles, and bird eggs, as well as some smaller hatchlings. It has become the prey of choice for yellow rat, coral, and corn snakes and is heavily preyed upon by rodents.

You should always take care in handling the Cuban treefrog as its skin secretes a sticky substance that is extremely irritating to the mucous membranes of humans, such as the eyes, ears, and nose. People with allergies are especially vulnerable, and recovery from contact with a Cuban treefrog may take several hours. Although it has not been documented to be responsible in any dog or cat deaths, pets should be kept away from this potentially harmful frog. Given its ability to adapt and thrive in urban environments, the Cuban treefrog battle will probably end with the frog winning.

Photo: Cuban Tree Frog by Eric B. Holt

Charles Sobczak is a writer and photographer from Sanibel Island. His books are available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

Rental Rooms, Efficiencies, Cottages, 3/2 Unit Clean & Comfortable

Parkway Motel & Marina

(239) 695-3261

Valvtect MarineRec 90 gas at the dock Dock, Water & Electric Boat lift, Ice. Groceries

1180 Chokoloskee Dr., Chokoloskee, FL www.parkwaymotelmarina.com

Smalltooth Sawfish: History of an Endangered Species

Sawfish are unique and intriguing animals. The population of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in the United States was once found in coastal waters from Texas to North Carolina. However, smalltooth sawfish populations declined dramatically during the second half of the 20th century due to the loss of important nursery habitat from coastal development and decades of mortality in both commercial and recreational fisheries. Smalltooth sawfish are now found mostly in Florida, and regularly found only in southwest Florida around Everglades National Park.

In response to the dramatic reductions in both their numbers and range, NOAA Fisheries listed the U.S. population of smalltooth sawfish as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2003.

The goal of the Endangered Species Act listing is to recover the population to the point that it no longer needs the protections of the ESA. After the listing NOAA Fisheries convened the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Team to develop a plan to recover the U.S. smalltooth sawfish population. The team worked several years to build additional knowledge of the species and to identify the most severe threats to the population. Published in 2009, the plan recommends specific steps to recover the population, focusing on (1) educating the public to minimize human interactions with sawfish and any associated injury and mortality, (2) protecting and/or restoring important sawfish habitats, and (3) ensuring sawfish abundance and distribution increase. After the plan was published the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Implementation Team was assembled to implement the recovery plan, protect the remaining sawfish population in the United States, and rebuild the population. (Sawfish News author Tonya Wiley is an appointed member of the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Implementation Team)

Newborn sawfish, like many other marine species, use specific habitats referred to as nurseries to protect small sawfish from predators and provide ample food for quick growth. Young sawfish often rely on shallow estuarine habitats fringed with red mangroves, but development has changed or destroyed much of this habitat which potentially affects in which areas sawfish can give birth and the juveniles can survive. Protecting these nurseries is vital to the recovery of the species so NOAA Fisheries designated two areas as Critical Habitat for juvenile sawfish in 2009: one in Charlotte Harbor and one in the Ten Thousand Islands/Everglades. It is important to note that the designation of an area as critical habitat does not create a closed area, marine protected area, refuge, or other conservation area. However, it ensures that federal agencies that undertake, fund, or permit activities that may affect these designated critical habitat areas are required to consult with NOAA Fisheries to ensure that their actions do not adversely modify or destroy the designated critical habitat.

NOAA Fisheries is required by the ESA to periodically reexamine the listing classification of all threatened or endangered species to ensure accuracy. These periodic reviews collect and consider information about sawfish from the public, recovery plans, critical habitat designations, previous reviews, and all scientific literature, reports, and presentations. Two reviews in 2010 and 2018 determined the U.S. smalltooth sawfish population remains in danger of extinction throughout its range and continues to meet the ESA definition of endangered.

All these management documents and more information are available at:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/smalltooth-sawfish

A video looking at smalltooth sawfish conservation and recovery in the United States is available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSRWUjVU3e8&t=3s.

For more information about current sawfish conservation and research in the United States visit:

www.SawfishRecovery.org or call 1-844-4SAWFISH.

Tax-deductible donations to help us continue our mission to promote the sustainable use and conservation of marine resources through research, outreach, and education can be made at https:// havenworth.wedid.it/

Open 8 am to 3 pm Daily

Illustration by NOAA Fisheries: The two areas designated as critical habitat for juvenile smalltooth sawfish.

If you shop on Amazon, at no additional cost to you, you can support a local charity. All you need to do is click on the link and accept the charity and Amazon does the rest. Below, the links are provided:

Everglades Community Church https://smile.amazon.com/ch/22-3934843

Everglades Lions Foundation: https://www.amazon.com/b? node=15576745011

Everglades Society for Historic Preservation: smile.amazon.com/ch/20-2229534

If you know of others, contact us.

December 25, 2021 Puzzle Solution

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