DING DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY INC
1 WILDLIFE DR, SANIBEL, FL 33957 www.dingdarlingsociety.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: ENHANCE THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEARLY 800,000 ANNUAL JN "DING" DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE VISTORS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION.

FOUNDED IN 1945, THE J.N. "DING" DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CONSISTS OF NEARLY 8,000 ACRES OF SOME OF THE MOST UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE WORLD. EACH YEAR IT BECOMES MORE EVIDENT THAT WILDLIFE REFUGES ACROSS THE COUNTRY RELY ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. BUDGETS ARE TIGHT AND FEDERAL FUNDING DOES NOT COVER ALL THE NEEDS OF A REFUGE LIKE "DING" DARLING. AS A RESULT, THE "DING" DARLING WILDLIFE SOCIETY (DDWS) -FRIENDS GROUP TO THE REFUGE HELPS PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT WHERE FEDERAL FUNDING FALLS SHORT. FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, DDWS HAS SUPPORTED THE REFUGE IN AREAS OF EDUCATION, LAND ACQUISITION, INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE AND EXHIBITS, HABITAT PRESERVATION, BIOLOGICAL STUDIES, WATER RESEARCH AND MUCH MORE. IN FISCAL YEAR 2019-20, DDWS RAISED OVER 3 MILLION IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LEE COUNTY 20/20 LAND ACQUISITION PROGRAM TO PURCHASE THE 68-ACRE WULFERT BAYOUS PARCEL OF LAND OFF WULFERT ROAD WHICH HAS NOW BEEN NAMED THE LEE ANNE CONSERVATION TRACT. THE LAND WILL BE MANAGED BY THE J.N. "DING" DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, AND IT SERVES AS THE "MISSING PIECE" CONNECTING THE WILDLIFE CORRIDOR FROM THE REFUGE TO THE GULF. DDWS HAS BEGUN PLANS FOR RESTORATION OF THE LAND AND WAS AWARDED A 5 MILLION GRANT FROM MITIGATION MONEY BY BP OIL FROM THE DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL A DECADE AGO. EDUCATION IS KEY TO INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS OF CONSERVATION STEWARDS. THROUGH GRANTS, THE DDWS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR MORE THAN 5,000 STUDENTS TO BE BUSSED TO THE REFUGE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. THE INTERN PROGRAM IS AN IMPORTANT LEARNING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE INTERNS AND A GREAT ASSET TO THE REFUGE IN HELPING PERFORM THE CONSERVATION WORK IN BIOLOGY, HABITAT MANAGEMENT, EDUCATION, AND VISITOR SERVICES. DDWS UNDERWRITES THE INTERN STIPENDS AND OTHER EXPENSES OF THE PROGRAM. THE DDWS FUNDS A FULL-TIME CONSERVATION EDUCATOR WHO WORKS DIRECTLY WITH THE REFUGE TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES FOR VISITING STUDENTS. OUR EDUCATOR WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE EDUCATION TEAM FOR OUR NEW MOBILE CLASSROOM KNOWN AS WILDLIFE ON WHEELS (WOW). OVER 350,000 WAS RAISED TO FUND OUR NEW INNOVATIVE, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX MOBILE CLASSROOM THAT WILL PROVIDE HANDS-ON EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE UNABLE TO VISIT THE REFUGE. OUR WOW WILL TRAVEL THROUGHOUT SWFL AND FOCUS ON VISITING TITLE-1 SCHOOLS IN LOW ECONOMIC AREAS TO EDUCATE ON CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION. VISITOR EDUCATION IS ALSO SUPPORTED THROUGH FREE PUBLICATIONS AND MAPS, INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE, VOLUNTEER SUPPORT, AND SUPPORT FOR THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AT THE DING DAY FESTIVAL. DDWS PROVIDES SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT TO THE REFUGE. IN FISCAL YEAR 2017-18, IT SUPPORTED MANGROVE CUCKOO AND REDDISH EGRET STUDIES THAT COLLECTED DATA ON HABITAT NEEDS AND SEASONAL MOVEMENTS. THE STUDIES ENTAILED TRAPPING AND TAGGING THE BIRDS WITH SATELLITE-GPS TRANSMITTERS AND MONITORING THEIR MOVEMENTS. DDWS SPENT NEARLY 29 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO SUPPORT THESE STUDIES. DDWS COMPLETED THEIR SOLAR INITIATIVE IN 2017-18 WITH THE INSTALLATION OF SOLAR PANELS ON THE EDUCATION CENTER. NEARLY 147 THOUSAND DOLLARS WAS EXPENDED FOR THIS PHASE OF THE PROGRAM. AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2019, DDWS HAD 8 NAMED DONOR DESIGNATED ENDOWMENT FUNDS THAT WILL HELP TO CONTINUE THE IMPORTANT CONSERVATION EFFORTS AT THE REFUGE WELL INTO THE FUTURE.

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