Environment

Southwest Florida’s landscape is graced by numerous native plant species. From towering longleaf pine trees with their prickly pinecones bobbing in the breeze, to the leatherleaf ferns that blanket the marshy bald cypress forest floors, there is so much more to these native ecosystems than meets the eye.

The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning from noon to 7 p.m. today for Southwest Florida areas including Lee, DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota, and Charlotte counties.A combination of warm temperatures this afternoon, low relative humidity values, and sustained winds greater than 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph will create Red Flag conditions across much of west central and Southwest Florida this afternoon.At the same time a number of brush fires were being fought.

The South Florida Water Management District plans to conduct a 26-acre prescribed burn in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) Management Area in Lee County today.. The burn unit is in the CREW Management Area, approximately 6 miles west of SR 82 and 1.3 miles south of Corkscrew Road. Smoke may be visible in the area of the burn.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period for a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Information about how to submit comments can be found on regulations.gov by searching for docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0137.

Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park gains more than 60 newly conserved acres, further connecting the world’s largest subtropical strand swamp.

Nearly 4,000 acres in Collier and Hendry counties are part of a nearly 35,000-acre package of what is labeled as critical conservation land approved for protection Wednesday.Additionally, approval of a permanent agricultural land conservation easement for a nearly 4,000-acre area in Charlotte County will help support Southwest Florida’s water resources.The approval came via Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet through the Florida Forever Program and legislative appropriations, marking a significant step in preserving the state’s natural heritage.

Pigeons and doves include over 350 species. Some are found on every continent except Antarctica. Pigeons (also known as Rock Doves) have been domesticated for food for centuries and were introduced to North America in the early 1600s. At least 15 species of pigeons and doves breed in the wild in North America and at least 6 species breed in the wild in Florida. Eurasian Collared Doves escaped from a breeder in the Bahamas, quickly became established in Florida in the 1980s, and now is found through much of North America. By far, the most common breeding dove in Florida is the Mourning Dove – so named for its mournful call.

It will soon be a new day in the treatment of sick and injured sea turtles at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island. Hurricane Ian devastated the nonprofit wildlife hospital in September 2022

Fishing for tarpon on the Big Indian Rocks Pier as a teenager, WGCU senior environmental reporter Tom Bayles says he cannot remember ever smelling a red tide or seeing blue-green algae. Now, they are both blooming at the same time where he lives

The Lee Board of County Commissioners Tuesday voted to award a $1.8 million contract for a a Regional Alternative Source Water Study in east Lee County and Lehigh Acres and a $174,334 proposal to develop a countywide wildfire protection plan.In other action, the Lee Board of County Commissioners also voted Tuesday to approve an agreement with Collaboratory to allow the county to address a series of objectives included in the $19.3 million Community Change Grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tackle environmental challenges related to disaster preparedness.