In the 1930s, a staunch conservationist named Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling began visiting Sanibel and Captiva islands. As a powerful political cartoonist who twice won the Pulitzer Prize, Darling championed the cause for conservation of natural resources, including Sanibel’s vital wetlands. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed off on its destiny as Sanibel Island National Wildlife Refuge. Upon Darling’s death in 1962, it was renamed for him.

Eventually the three 1908 refuges, along with Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, got folded into the 8,000-acre J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge complex, which also includes Bailey Tract on Sanibel Island.

The three 100-year-old refuges are accessible only by boat, and most of their islands are off-limits to the public because of their populations of

Pine Island celebration

As part of its proactive environmental education outreach program, “Ding” Darling is taking its centennial celebration on the road. And the water. The festivities begin at 9 a.m. at Randell Research Center, 13810 Waterfront Dr. in Pineland, with a free archeological tour of the Calusa Heritage Trail. A second tour begins at 1 p.m.

Tarpon Bay Explorers and GAEA Guides will be conducting a free four-hour guided kayak paddle to the refuge islands, sponsored by “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society (DDWS), the refuge’s non-profit friends organization.
DDWS is also sponsoring a free five-hour boat tour through the islands aboard the Tropic Star starting at 11 a.m. Passengers have their choice between lunch at Cabbage Key or beaching and hiking on Cayo Costa.

Participants are urged to arrive early to sign up for kayaking and boat tours as space is limited. Throughout the day, until 3 p.m., booths will distribute information about the three centennial refuges, the Calusa Land Trust, and Lee County Parks and Recreation. For more information, call 239-472-1100 ext. 236.

Teddy Roosevelt Day

“Ding” Darling NWR has declared Wednesday, Oct. 22, as “Teddy Roosevelt Day,” part of its weeklong “Ding” Darling Days birding and eco-festival. TR Day actually begins the night before, Oct. 21, when Wiegand in the role of Roosevelt makes an appearance at The Sanibel School, a free event open to the public and sponsored by Sotheby’s International Realty. The first 100 kids to arrive at the 7 p.m. event will receive a ticket for a free Explorer pack filled with discovery toys and tools, which will be distributed at the end of the evening.

The morning of Oct. 22, Captiva Cruises’ Roosevelt Channel Coffee & Cruise pays homage to President Roosevelt. Captiva Island’s Roosevelt Channel was named for the president, because it was his favorite fishing anchorage when he visited the island.

Teddy Roosevelt re-enactor Wiegand will come aboard the one-hour cruise, which departs at 8:30 a.m. from McCarthy’s Marina. Narration on board will include discussion of the barrier islands’ fisheries, the conservation island of Buck Key, and “Ding” Darling’s historic “fish house” and studio, recently home to the late artist, Robert Rauschenberg. Staff will serve coffee and muffins.

Captiva Cruises is extending a 20 percent discount for this excursion. Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for children. For reservations, call Captiva Cruises at 239-472-5300.

Later that morning at 11 a.m., Doc Ford’s Sanibel Rum Bar & Grille will sponsor an Anniversary Celebration at the refuge. Activities will include birthday cake, an appearance by “Teddy Roosevelt,” and presentations about the refuges and Audubon warden Columbus McLeod. The one-hour celebration is open free to the public in the Education Center.

Captiva Cruises’ Roosevelt Channel excursion will run again, without Wiegand, on Friday, Oct. 24. That evening, from 5 to 7:15 p.m., the Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge Sunset Cruise travels into Roosevelt Channel and northbound to some of the islands that make up the 100-year-old refuge: Narrows Key, Bird Key, Middle Key, Whoopee Island, Patricio Island, Part Island, Coon Key, and Cove Key. Many of these serve as rookeries where hundreds of birds come to roost close to sunset time.

Narration by refuge and Captiva Cruises staff will focus on local birdlife and other estuary and barrier island ecology, natural history, and the history of the Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge. The tour will conclude with a Gulf of Mexico sunset at Redfish Pass. Tickets are discounted 25 percent: $40 for adults and $20 for children; reservations are required.

Throughout the week of “Ding” Days, DDWS, the refuge, and its concessions operator, Tarpon Bay Explorers, will offer various birding, biking, kayaking, and nature boat tours. For a full schedule of events, visit www.dingdarlingdays.com.

The week culminates in a free Family Fun Day on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the refuge. Live animal presentations, a touch tank, a butterfly house, kids crafts, and hot dogs are all part of the fun. One of the most popular free activities are the naturalist-narrated tram tours of the refuge, home to more than 220 species of birds, including the coveted roseate spoonbill and white pelican. The tours are offered compliments of Tarpon Bay Explorers.

Flora and fauna

Besides the incredible flocks of birds one can readily see and photograph from the refuge’s four-mile Wildlife Drive and its observation tower, “Ding” Darling is home to alligators, river otters, manatees, bobcats, raccoons, black racer snakes, and one lone saltwater crocodile. Its vast acreage comprises mangrove forest, submerged seagrass beds, cordgrass marshes, and West Indian hardwood hammocks. Its diverse biological communities provide habitat for myriad creatures, but its bird populations attract the greatest part of its 800,000 annual visitors.

Part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, the refuge lies along a major flyway that migrating birds follow to flee the cold northern climes. “Ding” Darling NWR is one of their favorite rest stops, and on certain days in winter, the mangrove wetlands literally fill with feeding birds.

From the refuge’s Education Center, you can learn about the different species and habitat through hands-on exhibits, and even watch live footage shot from the observation tower. Admission to the center is free.

The best way to experience the subtle beauty and often secretive creatures of “Ding” Darling is by foot, bike, or paddle. Bikes are permitted on Wildlife Drive and some of the trails. Hiking and canoe trails penetrate the rare environment. First-timers may want to opt for a birding, biking, tram, boat, or paddle tour to learn about what they’re seeing. Visit www.tarponbayexplorers.com and www.fws.gov/dingdarling for tour schedules.

To become more involved, click on the Volunteering link at the latter Web site, or learn how to become a friend of the refuge at www.dingdarlingsociety.org.

Visitors are known to fall in love with J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge after only one outing. Take Beth Gardner, for example, a biology professor from Wellesley, Massachusetts. She and her husband first discovered the refuge on a visit to Captiva Island many years ago. Every year, they returned with their son and Beth’s mother. After her husband and mother passed away, the family donated funds for the live feed video camera on Wildlife Drive in their memory. The family, now including a daughter-in-law and two children, continue their annual pilgrimages.

“Everyone looks forward to those visits with great joy,” says Beth. “It would leave a big hole in their lives if we didn’t come.”

Like Beth, many become easily invested in the mission to safeguard wildlife, an effective mission taken up by Teddy Roosevelt and continued this day forward by committed refuge staff and volunteers.

For more information please contact 239-471-1100 ext. 236 or visit www.dingdarlingdays.com.