J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge reopens on Sanibel

The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is back in business, reopening on Tuesday for the first time since Hurricane Ian hit.

Toni Westland, a supervisory refuge ranger with the refuge, says it’s “like riding a bike.” She and others are getting back to normal with the re-opening of the national wildlife refuge after more than six months of hurricane recovery.

“I think everyone’s been waiting for this moment,” Westland said. “I mean, as a refuge, but as a community, people want to visit; they want to get out and have normalcy. They want to be active and enjoy nature.”

Moments after opening the gates, people started trickling in.

Wildlife biologist Pete Squibb had been itching to return to his favorite fishing spot.

“I have always been attached to wildlife refuges… this one is one of the neatest ones around,” Squibb said. “Shows that things are starting to recover and we’ll be back to normal here again soon.”

But there’s more to catch here at “Ding” Darling than fish. Binoculars in hand, Mary Scheider is ready to get back to bird-watching.

“I love this place; it’s one of the best places to view birds,” Scheider said.

All different kinds of wildlife have slowly returned.

“I think the first time we saw a gopher tortoise, personally, I think I might have cried, because you’re just like, ‘What’s going to be here when we get back?'” Westland said.

The observation tower is still standing, and the 4-mile wildlife drive is open. Mangrove Overlook and Calusa Shellmound Trail aren’t open yet, but “Ding” Darling says to stay tuned.