Environment

The Peace River Wildlife Center in Punta Gorda is moving forward and officials are hopeful that the facility's education center will soon be back open. They have removed buildings at the education center and will use temporary structures so they can bring the wildlife residents home and reopen. PRWC has resumed medical care at their hospital facility.

A special Sanibel Island-wide cleanup will be held Dec. 14 celebrating Sanibel City’s 50th Anniversary.

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.

A conservation-oriented project funded via a U.S. Forest Service grant will decrease erosion and improve water quality at Lee County's popular Lakes Park.

Little Blue Herons are medium in size among herons – bigger than a Green Heron, but much smaller than a Great Blue Heron. The “blue color” of adults often tends towards gray and it helps them blend in with their aquatic environment. This heron is unusual in that its juvenile plumage is all white – a characteristic that allows it to blend in with other white birds – which it readily does, thus gaining “group” protection from potential predators and access to food resources found by the other species. Adults are much more solitary.

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation is offering prizes and specials for new volunteers as the group continues to grow.

Five acres is a decent amount of land for a home if you want to keep the neighbors at a decent distance. It turns out that five acres is a rather healthy amount of land to conserve, too, especially when connected to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

Despite strong indications that billions of gallons of water would not gush down the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers from months on end when the new management plan for the big lake was finalized earlier this year that's exactly what is poised to occur

The Marco Island Historical Society is hosting a retrospective exhibition of works by Naples-based impressionist painter Paul Arsenault titled, “Reflections of South Florida: A 50-Year Art Adventure,” through Feb. 15, 2025. We listen back to our conversation with Arsenault ahead of the opening reception about his work, his storied career, and his advocacy for protection of our natural world.

Molt is defined as the routine loss and replacement of feathers. It can occur at any time of year, but in most birds a complete molt occurs in late summer and fall and a partial molt may occur in early spring. The timing of each molt is important. In late summer and fall, there is generally an abundance of insects, seeds, and fruit that provides the energy for molt. This molt provides birds with fresh plumage and often colors and patterns that help conceal it in winter environments.