Tom Bayles
WGCU Environmental ReporterTom Bayles is WGCU's Senior Environmental Reporter and a 25-year veteran journalist in Florida. Before his tenure at WGCU Public Media, he worked for The New York Times Co. in Sarasota, the Associated Press in Miami and Tallahassee, and the Tampa Bay Times in Clearwater. He earned a master's in journalism and a bachelor's in education, both from the University of South Florida. The proud father of three sons, Bayles spends his free time fishing along the Southwest Florida coast in his 20-foot Aquasport with his Whippet pup, Spencer.
Bayles’ top awards include the Gold Medal for Public Service for Investigative Reporting from the Florida Society of News Editors, the Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism in Florida, and being named the Sunshine State’s top environmental journalist by the Florida Press Club and FSNE. Bayles has been nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize.
Email: tbayles@wgcu.org
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AccuWeather joined Colorado State and NOAA in lowering slightly its hurricane numbers for the 2025 Atlantic basin season -
A Charlotte Harbor-based member of the national estuary program will host a summit later this month designed to expand the region’s ability to prepare for and recover from climate change -
The first black bear hunt in Florida in a decade takes place in December under a rule adopted Wednesday by state wildlife officials. This is despite strong opposition to the eventual use of dogs and hunting the animals in baited locations. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted unanimously in favor of the plan during a meeting that drew 168 people. The public hearing took place in the Panhandle town of Havana. Opponents called the hunt cruel, unnecessary and an excuse for hunters to bag a trophy animal. They say the real issue is the encroaching human population in bear habitat as Florida continues to grow. -
Supporters of a regulated hunt say it's a scientifically sound method for controlling a growing bear population; animal rights folks often disagree on ethical grounds -
On Sanibel and Captiva islands this year, there were 14 green turtle nests — but the loggerhead turtle rules -
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is a highly popular attraction located in the Western Everglades, straddling the line between the eastern portions of Lee and Collier counties, and will stay open late August 7, 2025. -
The immediate concern this weekend will be the heat, which is expected to be oppressive, intense, and dangerous. Afternoon showers are not expected Saturday due to a “sprawling plume of Saharan dust” blanketing South Florida. -
A new report from The Everglades Foundation found the River of Grass will generate more than $1 trillion for Florida’s economy during the next half-century. -
Wildland firefighters in the Big Cypress National Preserve are planning to light the first of three prescribed fires on June 9 to clear out dead underbrush. The so-called Mullet fire is being lit less than a week after decent rains fell on Florida for the first time in five months, and Southwest Florida and the Everglades are still gripped by drought. -
Enough rain fell during the end of May and beginning of June across the southern portion of the Florida peninsula to significantly lower the drought conditions — except for Southwest Florida including the Everglades, which remain in "extreme drought" according to the U.S. Drought Monitor
