Jim Turner/News Service of Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Cabinet could be poised to approve spending more than $318 million to buy conservation land and enter other deals that would shield rural properties from development.State staff members have recommended that DeSantis and the Cabinet approve 20 proposals totaling 86,819 acres in 15 counties, from Santa Rosa County in the Panhandle to Glades and Martin counties along Lake Okeechobee. DeSantis and the Cabinet will meet Tuesday.

Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo handed over the reins of the Senate to Wauchula Republican Ben Albritton after the November elections.But Passidomo, who is now chairwoman of the Rules Committee, has some unfinished business to resolve during her two remaining years in the Senate.

Florida could move toward its first sanctioned bear hunt in nearly a decade.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday directed officials to bring forward proposals for a possible bear hunt. The proposals are expected to be completed by a May commission meeting, giving staff members time to compile data from ongoing studies about bear populations and gather more public input.

Damage from Hurricane Milton is driving down citrus production from what was already expected to be a historic low in the current growing season, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

About 67 percent of voters supported what appeared on the ballot as Amendment 2 and was titled “Right to Fish and Hunt.” Constitutional amendments need support from 60 percent of voters to pass.

Florida has ramped up debris-removal efforts and recalled emergency workers who provided aid in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, as residents of Florida’s West Coast face another potentially major storm barreling through the deep, warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.With Tropical Storm Milton expected to become a hurricane before hitting Florida in the middle of the week, state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie on Sunday urged residents to immediately start putting storm plans in place, which could include evacuating further inland.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said members of the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will go to ports where union longshoremen are on strike seeking higher pay.“At my direction, the Florida National Guard and the Florida State Guard will be deployed to critical ports affected by the strike to maintain order and, where possible, resume operations,” DeSantis said in a post on the social-media platform X.

Four busy Florida ports will see direct impacts from an International Longshoremen’s Association strike for higher wages that began Tuesday.

Ranchers, farmers and timber growers are reporting widespread damage from the wind and rain of Hurricane Helene, which raced through rural North Florida last week.Chicken houses had roofs blown off. Acres of sweet corn and carrots were laid horizontal. Irrigation systems have been uprooted. Fences were destroyed by fallen trees. Hay has been left wet and moldy in damaged barns.Incoming Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican and citrus grower, described conditions in fields across North Florida as “worse” than after Hurricane Idalia in August 2023. Idalia took a similar track, crossed many of the same fields and inflicted more than $400 million in damage to the industry.

Trying to quell a bipartisan uproar, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that “half-baked” plans to bring golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts to state parks will be revamped.DeSantis said the Department of Environmental Protection will gather more public input before it could move forward with what is dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative.”