Residential volunteer opportunity for March thru May. We are leaving the beginning of March and our volunteer coordinator, Melissa Perez, is looking for someone to stay in Camp Crane under the live oaks and volunteer at the refuge. 50 amp power, shady site, water and sewer.

Local amenities include a grocery store less than 5 miles away. Walmart about 10 miles away. Costco in Mobile (about 45 miles); Sam's Club in Gulfport (a little closer, but still a straight shot on the interstate). Lots of good local food - seafood and crawfish a specialty, along with good barbecue and other cajun/creole treats. New Orleans is 90 miles west. Birding is good. So is fishing, I've heard.

I think this link will take you directly to her ad at volunteer.gov/gov. Note that the hours are not listed correctly as of 2/7, but you can clear that up easily. She doesn't expect 11 hours a day!

https://www.volunteer.gov/results.cfm?ID=17255

We have volunteered here for several years. It's a good gig at a beautiful time of year, before it gets too hot. The peak wildflower bloom is April and May and there are lots of interpretive opportunities with school groups and others scheduled throughout the spring. Besides keeping the visitor center open, one of the volunteer jobs is to maintain signage for the wildflowers and plants along the 3/4 mile walking trail located at the visitor center site - that's a lot of fun and an interesting learning experience. The area features carnivorous plants, orchids and bladderworts and other cool plants in the spring.

Not to mention the chance to see the endangered Mississippi Sandhill Crane - only about 135 exist in the wild.

I don't think there are only 135 left. If that's the case, I saw all of them in a field in TN, while hunting them last year. (2016)

They are know in TN as "Ribeye in the sky" cause their meat is like beef.

Is there a Specific breed know as the "MS sandhill crane"?

Mississippi Sandhill Crane

  On 2/8/2018 at 7:00 PM, markandkim said:

I don't think there are only 135 left. If that's the case, I saw all of them in a field in TN, while hunting them last year. (2016)

They are know in TN as "Ribeye in the sky" cause their meat is like beef.

Is there a Specific breed know as the "MS sandhill crane"?

Lets hope this isn't the same crane.  It would show why there aren't many left if they are hunted purposely on a regular basis.   I had not heard of the scarcity of these but there is another one that I have heard about that has winter roosts in TX and some were lost due to a hurricane a year or so ago. I finaly remembered via computer the name of that one, Whooping Crane.

This is an endangered subspecies if the sandhill crane. The ones in Tennessee and across the rest of the country are mostly 3 other subspecies that do migrate. Ours don't migrate and their habitat itself is endangered. It's fire dependent grasslands with widely dispersed longleaf pine. Very wet, but not a swamp.

There are two other subspecies that don't migrate - one in Cuba that is endangered and one in Florida that has adapted well to cattle country, golf courses and subdivisions. It's mostly too soggy here to raise cattle. Subdivisions and golf courses, we have a few.

Really pretty country.

sthall571, interesting info update. It would seem  that im most cases as is the norm habitat is the key. Certain ares are more susceptable  to habitat loss and the coastal areas are prime targets.

There are Sand Hill Cranes that are not endangered. We have then on and around our summer place in the UP of MI. Some of the people around us put out feed, corn, for them so they stay around. They walk up and down the street and in peoples yards. We love the sound that they make but we have been warned to keep your distance because they can be mean. We love the wildlife in the UP, deer, bear, moose, wolf, cayote and birds, the cranes, several types of geese, ducks, seagulls etc. Also almost tame Mink!

Edited October 13, 2018 by whj469

Clicked on the link for volunteer.gov and nothing shows up.