Click Here to
look at a new map showing conserved lands on Pine Island current to
2008
Yellow = Calusa Land Trust lands
Dark Green = 20/20 Lands
Light Green = other conserved lands
!!!!!high speed connections only !!!!!
*****
2008 PETER ORDWAY MANGROVE
ADVENTURES
Guided Canoe/Kayak Trips to
Our Preserves
Next Adventure is April 19th Noon to 3PM
See Events Calendar for details.
*****
Pine Island Loses the Big Duck
Long time Pine Island supporter Norm Gowan passed away in his sleep
early Sunday morning December 30th. For over a decade and a half,
Norm, a,k.a. “The Big Duck”, was an Island icon, working tirelessly
to help the Calusa Land Trust acquire and preserve environmentally
sensitive lands.
Contributions to the Calusa Land Trust
in memory of Norm can be mailed to:
Calusa Land Trust
PO Box 216
Bokeelia, FL 33922
Link to Contribution Form
*****
Letter to the Editor,
Pine Island Eagle
Tribute to Norm Gowan
by Phil Buchanan
Our good friend Norm Gowan passed away on 30 December. He
was one of Pine Islands finest, best known as chair of the
Calusa Land Trust Membership and Fundraising Committee, but
also the past President of the CLT and past Commandant of
the Pine Island Boat Club. He held all three positions
simultaneously when I first met him (I think it was 1994 ),
and it was his enthusiasm that got me involved in the CLT.
He initially invited me to join the construction work on the
St Jude Trail Boardwalk, a project supervised by Capt Chic
Kennedy. I enjoyed the construction work, but perhaps
enjoyed the mangrove area even more. Both Norm and
Chic diplomatically and halfheartedly suggested my
expulsion after I captured a juvenile black racer and
carried it around for them and the volunteer workers to
inspect--none of whom wanted to do so. Norm of course turned
the boardwalk project into an extremely successful fund
raiser that netted 10's of thousands of dollars for the
Trust by offering Pine Islanders an engraved memorial plank
on the boardwalk for a small fee.
In fact, raising money for the CLT was Norm's genius. He
personally invented the Pine Island Poker Run, and he
personally invented the Pine Island Duck Races--the two big
fund raisers for the CLT and two of the biggest annual
social events on Pine Island. Money raised by the tireless
efforts of Norm Gowan is one of the essential elements of
the success story of nature preserves on Pine Island. His
lovely, always smiling wife Marie (also recently deceased, a
crippling blow to Norm), was always at his side, serving as
principal assistant and supporter to "Big Duck" and helping
to organize the numerous volunteers necessary to make such
events a success.
Norm was known as "fund raiser extraordinaire" and he never
tired of finding entertaining ways to convince Pine
Islanders to share their wealth with the CLT. Someone once
said " If he could, Norm would search all persons leaving
CLT fund raisers to make sure they don't have any money
left."
I was a minor volunteer in the fund raisers, but I enjoyed them immensely,
particularly since Norm usually assigned me and Dave Zapka to handle
the sale of keg beer by the cup. The major volunteers and
organizers were Ron and Pink Wesorick and Alex and Jan
Alexander, and it will be up to them and numerous others to
carry on Norm's legacy.
Norm and Marie lived in a beautiful house in St James City
facing San Carlos Bay that they named Golden Pond. It was so
severely damaged by Hurricane Charlie that it was featured
on the cover of the Breeze Newspaper photographic book
collection on the hurricane. They promptly restored Golden
Pond to perfection and resumed their idealistic lives in
Paradise.
Norm was an engineer and retired from a Hughes
Aircraft facility in southern California. He left a brother
and children, but I don't know the details and will leave
that testimony to others.
Thank you Norm. We will miss you.
*****
May 3rd----St.
James
Creek, Dobbs, and St Jude Trail
check the Events Calendar page
for more details
Events Calendar
*****
PETER ORDWAY MANGROVE WATER TOURS
New Trips Scheduled!
more details on the
Events Calendar
*****
Click here
for - February 2008 Newsletter
*****
"Preserving natural habitats on Florida's Pine
Island forever."
Over 2000 Acres Preserved
Almost 900 members
*****
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Calusa Land Trust
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