Kingfisher Landing1. Put a kayak or canoe in at

Kingfisher Landing

Miscellaneous 1. Take a camping trip in the

wilderness of the swamp (permit required in advance)

2. Eat a picnic lunch in the pavilion at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area or Stephen C. Foster State Park

3. Become a member of Okefenokee Wildlife League (OWL)

4. Sit in silence for 1 minute and listen to the sounds of nature

5. Practice “Leave No Trace” principals when visiting

6. Bring a friend to visit the refuge

7. Download the refuge’s Discover Nature/Discover Oke App!

8. Learn the call of a barred owl and a great horned owl

9. Listen to the bugling of sandhill cranes (best areas are on Chesser Island Boardwalk or at Suwannee Canal boat basin)

10. Take a photo with a Ranger

11. Listen to an alligator bellow

12. Purchase a federal Duck Stamp in support of conservation

13. Find out why the Blue Goose is important

Oke is 80

Name

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Passport Challenge

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WELCOME!

14. Spot a frog on a lily pad and take a photo

15. Share a photo you took at the refuge to the refuge’s Facebook page

16. Find out what rivers flow out of the Okefenokee Swamp

17. Buy a refuge-specific annual pass so you can visit the Okefenokee NWR throughout the year!

Special Events (Pioneer Day)1. Watch the syrup making process and

try some cane syrup on a biscuit

2. Buy an event t-shirt

3. Watch volunteers making palmetto brooms

4. Learn about blacksmith techniques

5. Take a ride in a mule cart

6. Make homemade butter

7. Put a stitch in a quilt

8. Take your picture with the LARGE inflatable alligator

9. Participate in the Endangered Species Parade w/ IBEX Puppetry

10. Learn how to shoot a compound bow from refuge staff

11. Visit the exhibitors by the refuge visitor center

12. Learn about Georgia wildlife

Welcome to the Oke is 80 Passport Challenge

We are excited that you have accepted this challenge as a way to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. It is guaranteed to be FUN, EXCITING, and bring you back to the refuge several times to enjoy nature, the outdoors, wildlife, and the beautiful OKEFENOKEE!

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge officially became part of the National Wildlife Refuge System on March 30, 1937 after several decades of concerned citizens working to conserve and protect this vast swampland. We are thankful to those early conservation pioneers to have the foresight in protecting this special place, and as a national wildlife refuge, Okefenokee is actually set aside for Wildlife First! Fortunately, there are countless ways (as you will see from this passport book) to get out and enjoy the refuge. Although the challenge is to complete 80 items out of this passport book, we encourage you to finish as many as possible to really experience what the refuge has to offer.

Rules of the Oke is 80 passport challenge1. Participants can begin the challenge the day they receive

the passport book.

2. The goal is to complete as many activities out of this passport book as possible.

3. As you complete activities, check them off and write the date next to it.

4. The passport book is organized by entrance or area within the refuge to help you group activities during each visit.

5. Once you have completed at least 25 activities in the passport book, visit the Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center at the Main Entrance to secure your prize. Check out the refuge website (www.fws.gov/refuge/okefenokee) for visitor center hours of operation or call 912/496 7836.

(For families working on the “Oke is 80” challenge, a limit of 4 prizes for completion will be given).

6. You must submit your passport book no later than April 22, 2017 to be eligible to receive a prize.

And don’t miss an “Oke is 80” celebration at the Main Entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on Earth Day – Saturday April 22, 2017.

Suwannee Canal Recreation Area (Boat Basin/Concession Operation/Hiking Trailheads)1. Take a photo by the refuge entrance

sign

2. Take a photo with the alligator statue (located near the boat basin)

3. Take a guided boat tour with Okefenokee Adventures

4. Hike the Cane Pole Trail

5. Learn about the animals that live in Mizell Prairie (at end of Cane Pole Trail)

6. Complete the Animal Olympics Trail Challenge

7. Hike the Canal Diggers Trail

8. Canoe or kayak out to Chesser Prairie (rent a canoe or bring your own!)

Richard S. Bolt Visitor Center1. Visit the Richard S. Bolt Visitor

Center

2. Stamp the Blue Goose into your passport book

3. View an award-winning film in the Visitor Center theater

4. Listen to a story told by an “Old Swamper”

5. Identify 3 things from the touch table

6. Fill up your water bottle at the bottle filling station

7. Ask a Ranger a question

8. Find out what creates methane gas in the swamp by reading the exhibits

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9. Find out who Richard S. Bolt was

10. Sign the guestbook at the Visitor Center

11. Write a wildlife sighting on the board at the Visitor Center

12. Learn about the different entrances to the Okefenokee and what you can do at each location

13. Identify 3 animals in the underwater exhibit

14. Find out what it means to be a National Wilderness Area

Swamp Island Drive1. Take a drive down Swamp Island

Drive

2. Find an area where pitcher plants grow along the drive

3. Look for turtles basking

4. Stop at the pond and look for alligators

5. Look for woodpecker cavity on a tree marked with a white band

6. Identify a longleaf pine tree

Chesser Island Homestead1. Look for and identify animal tracks

in the sand in the yard at the Chesser Island Homestead

2. Walk through the Homestead with a refuge volunteer

3. Use the hand pump on the back porch of the Chesser Island Homestead (remember not to drink)

4. Find out why the yard was always swept clean and without grass

5. Check out the tools in the syrup shed

6. Find out what year the Homestead was built

7. Learn about the family that lived in the Homestead on Chesser Island

Chesser Island Boardwalk1. Hike the Chesser Island Boardwalk

2. Climb the Owls Roost Tower

3. Find water lilies blooming along the boardwalk

4. Use the scope at the third shelter and look out into the prairie

5. Identify scat seen on the boardwalk

Stephen C Foster State Park/Suwannee River Sill 1. Camp at Stephen C Foster (tent

camping, RV camping, cabins available)

2. Visit the Richard S. Bolt Memorial near SCFSP

3. Visit the Suwannee River Sill and count alligators (but don’t feed!)

4. Learn about the history at Billys Island

5. Paddle out to Billys Lake

6. Learn about the man who the park is named for (Stephen C. Foster)

Okefenokee Swamp Park (OSP)1. Participate in the reptile program at

Okefenokee Swamp Park

2. Take a ride on the train at Okefenokee Swamp Park

3. See if you can find the Queen Bee in the bee exhibit

4. Visit the Okefenokee Swamp Park for the Christmas Light Show