Environment

There is no better word than “blistering” to describe the reaction of local water-quality nonprofits to how the Army Corps has managed the level in Lake Okeechobee. But Col. James Booth has a tough job.

Studies of Southwest Florida's shorelines — from Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park to Naples Beach — helps in understanding coastal ecosystems and how dunes protect the coast from wind and water damage. Long-term observations have yielded novel insights into the kinds of plants that anchor local dunes, the roles they play in collecting and holding sand, and how they respond to storms and regenerate in their aftermath.

The European Starling is one of our most obvious exotic species. We see them everyday because we provide them with food and shelter. The next time you are at a stoplight, look around. You are likely to see starlings. Fast food restaurants and snack-providing gas stations are often located at intersections and garbage dumped in open trash bins, or dropped accidentally or on purpose by patrons of those businesses or by drivers getting a snack while the light is red create a smorgasbord for starlings. The convocation of utility wires at intersections also play a role. They provide perches where starlings wait for their next meal. Starlings are social birds and -- especially in late winter and early spring -- starlings can be lined up evenly spaced by the dozens – or hundreds – on the wires.Why are they so evenly spaced? They leave just enough space to allow them to take off quickly without their wings hitting their neighbor while still taking advantage of the body heat of their neighbors.

Jill Sander and Mary Laser picked up two top spots in the Fort Myers Beach Tarpon Hunters Club annual tournament.Sander won Angler of the Year. Laser won the most tarpon caught on light tackle.

Organizations with projects in Florida will share in more than $40 from the Inflation Reduction Act to connect private forest landowners with emerging climate markets. That portion was part of an investment of nearly $145 million announced Friday by the USDA and the U.S. Forest Service that will benefit nearly every state in the Southern Region, with more than half of the funding awards granted within the Southern Region alone.

A four-million-plus-acre conservation area proposed for Southwest Florida has become a reality.The U.S. Department of the Interior recently announced the establishment of the Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area as the 571st and newest unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new 4,045,268 area will provide crucial protected wildlife corridors, enhance outdoor recreation access to the public and bolster climate resilience in southwest Florida.

Climate change is made clearer by the fact that environmental conditions are becoming more confusing, VoLo Foundation’s fledgling annual climate correction conference is coming into its own at just the right time.

Is artificial intelligence a viable tool in the fight against invasive species?UF/IFAS scientists are exploring that question on a small scale in a project using traps equipped with AI technology. For this study, the traps are targeting Argentine black and white tegus in Fort Pierce.Scientists hope these AI ‘smart traps’ will help suppress and remove an established population of these lizards that have quickly invaded this Treasure Coast city. St. Lucie county has become a hot spot for tegus over the last seven years.

Representative says he's taking a wait and see approach

Lake Okeechobee is high for this time of year so we must consider releases to lower water levels before the wet and hurricane seasons no date to open the floodgates has been determined — or has it?