Join Space Coast Audubon Society for our October 18th Meeting: The History of Merritt Island NWR

By Jim Eager, Space Coast Audubon Society Publicity Chair 

WHO:  Space Coast Audubon Society (SCAS)

WHERE:  Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Dr, Rockledge, FL.

WHEN:   October 18, 2013 at 7:30 pm

Charlie Venuto will be our speaker and will be presenting The History of Merritt Island NWR

The refuge traces its beginnings to the development of the nation’s Space Program.  In 1962, NASA acquired 140,000 acres of land, water, and marshes adjacent to Cape Canaveral to establish the John F. Kennedy Space Center.  NASA built a launch complex and other space-related facilities, but development of most of the area was not necessary.  In 1963, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to establish the refuge.

Charlie Venuto was the Environmental Manager, at Kennedy Space Center, for the contractors who operated, maintained and prepared the space shuttle, for more than 30 years.  He is now with Siemens Wind Power and has corporate responsibility for creating and implementing environmental programs at the factories where the turbine blades and engine housings are produced as well as the wind turbine project sites.  He also teaches several environmental science courses at American Public University System, an online university that caters to military personnel.  Charlie has also taught Environmental Science and Biology at Brevard Community College (renamed as Eastern Florida State College).  He is a past president of Space Coast Audubon from 1998-2000 and is currently on the board of directors of the Merritt Island Wildlife Association (MIWA) and has serve on several boards of local nature based organizations.  He enjoys nature and spending time with his wife Barb, who is the Speaker Coordinator for the Friends of Ulumay.
                                                                   
Looking forward to another great turnout.