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While many large tracts of land in Southwest Florida have been forever lost to development over the past century or so, quite a bit of it has been preserved thanks to the dedicated efforts of countless people and organizations — and the local, state, and federal elected officials who environmental advocates could convince that wetlands were valuable for their own sake. For example, more than 70% of land in Collier County has been preserved as public land. Think Fakahatchee Strand State Park, Picayune Strand State Forest, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Big Cypress National Preserve, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, just to name a few. We explore some of this fascinating history with the co-authors of the new book, “Enjoyment of the Same: A History of Public Lands in Southwest Florida.”

We get a first-hand account of the storm’s impact on Estero Island, and the Town of Fort Myers Beach and its residents and business owners, from Bill Veach. He is a member of the FMB Town Council and a resident of Estero Island. He has lived there with his wife in an old beachfront cottage for thirteen years — it was one of many structures on the island completely washed away by Hurricane Ian. We talk with Mr. Veach about his storm experience, how the rebuilding process is going so far, and how this storm is invariably going to change the character of the island.

Several weeks after Hurricane Ian made landfall a team of faculty and student researchers from Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School joined a weeklong, offshore research trip to collect water samples and survey sea beds to better understand the storm’s ecological impact. We talk with two of the research team members to learn more about the trip and what they found.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is embarking on a new study during the 2021 algal bloom season — roughly now through September — to assess the health effects of exposure to cyanotoxins, in part to help health officials better inform the public. The “Cyanotoxins in Air Study” (CAST) will look at exposures to cyanotoxins produced by blue green algae among people who live or work near Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, Cape Coral’s Canals, and the St. Lucie River on the east coast.

A new study led by scientists with University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences maps out the status of crocodile populations in south Florida over the past 40 years to learn how they’ve responded to changes in the Everglades ecosystem. "American Crocodiles as restoration bioindicators in the Florida Everglades" was published in PLOS ONE on May 19.

While multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown that cannabis can be effective in treating anxiety, much less is known about the specific ratios of cannabinoids that work best to alleviate anxiety symptoms. Now, a new study led by Florida Gulf Coast University, Releaf App, and CannaMD hopes to further clarify just what ratios of cannabinoids best reduce anxiety symptoms.

David Futch’s family has deep roots on Gasparilla Island — about as deep as they come. His family first came ashore in the 1880s to fish, and it was his great-grandfather Frank Futch who first figured out how to catch tarpon on a rod and reel and started the guide-fishing industry on the southwest Florida coast. In his new book, Historic Tales of Gasparilla Island, Futch shares stories about island life and its history that come from both his family’s tales, and historical records.

A recently published review in the journal Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries brings together more than 150 years of data collected by researchers from all over the world. A team of researchers reviewed more than 3,000 documents and extracted data from 834 studies to determine that 989 fish species have been shown to produce active sounds.All that data has now been compiled on a website called FishSounds.net. This new repository acts as a global inventory of fish sounds easily accessed and added to by contributors around the world, and members of the public who are curious or have an interest in fish species.

Florida's congressional redistricting process is again facing legal scrutiny. After lawmakers passed a congressional district map, governor Ron DeSantis vetoed their selection and in the end the legislature wound up approving a map submitted by the governor’s office during a special session. Civil and voting rights groups say the governor’s map violates the Fair Districts Amendments and diminishes the voting power of minorities. To get the latest on this ongoing process we spoke with Ellen Freidin, a Miami-based attorney and leader of the Fair Districts Coalition.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a dispute about a 2011 state law that threatens stiff penalties if city and county officials pass gun-related regulations. The so-called ‘preemption law’ is being challenged by more than 30 local governments and dozens of local officials, as well as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried. We talk with Fried about the lawsuit and issues around gun violence. Fried is also a Democratic candidate for Governor.