Tom Bayles
WGCU Environmental ReporterTom Bayles is WGCU's Senior Environmental Reporter and a 35-year veteran journalist in Florida. Prior to 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 degree in journalism and a bachelors 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 is a recipient of the Gold Medal for Public Service from the Florida Association of News Editors, the Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting, was named top environmental journalist in Florida by the Florida Press Club, and received a Gold Charley Award for public service long-form feature writing from the Florida Magazine Association. Bayles has been nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize.
Email: tbayles@wgcu.org
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Red tide samples are coming up positive throughout Southwest Florida, but it's offshore where it's making an impact when anglers arrive to find out the organism got into the live wells and killed their bait. -
As 2024 comes to an end, some journalists are having difficulty keeping the official panther death count from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission accurate. Why is unclear. -
LOSOM was a hard-fought win for environmentalists was those key components the nonprofits believed would reduce the need for emergency discharges that have previously caused ecological damage -
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 first of many signs marking the Florida Wildlife Corridor was set in place on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2024, at the Fakachatchee Strand Preserve State Park. The sign designates an entrance to a Southwest Florida portion of the 18 million acres being preserved for animals to let people know they are also welcome to explore the growing state-long pathway -
Collier County health officials caution about blue-green algae toxins in Lake Avalon, south of downtown Naples, a popular place to waterski, boat, fish, and swim on a sandy beach, -
Hurricanes Milton and Helene contributing to red tide formation like after Hurricane Ian in 2022 -
Republican Greg Steube is seeking a fourth term serving Florida's 17th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives while Democrat Manny Lopez and Ralph Hartman, a write-in candidate, challenge.
