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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Connie Ramos-Williams is the new director of Calusa Waterkeeper in Southwest Florida
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Forecaster says 2024 hurricane season could be a 'blockbuster'; Others say -- it's too early to tellAccuWeather hurricane experts warn that all the ingredients are coming together for explosive tropical development in the Atlantic this year — especially in the second half of season.But, there is still a lot of time before the start of the season and weather is a notoriously fickle thing at times.
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Lake O is so polluted with centuries-worth of phosphorous and nitrogen from agriculture runoff that water released from the lake down our Caloosahatchee River, or to the east down the St. Lucie River, carries bad stuff with it.
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A U.S. district judge ruled that by putting Florida in charge of approving permits for projects that affect wetlands in the state, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act.Washington, D.C.-based Judge Randolph Moss, in a 97-page decision, found that actions by federal officials did not follow the required steps in 2020 before shifting permitting authority to Florida.
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The Army Corps of Engineers is planning to open three spillways in the dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee this weekend
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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?
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Lake Okeechobee is nearing the high-water level mark that the Army Corps is comfortable with, but a strengthened Herbert Hoover Dike and better management seem to be alleviating fears to this point
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Blue-green algae has been detected for the first time this year in canals near the Midpoint Bridge into Cape Coral and the Florida Department of Health issued a warning
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The Everglades restoration is among the largest aquatic restoration efforts to ever occur, with dozens of projects spanning 18,000 square miles from Orlando to Biscayne Bay, and from Florida Bay to the Caloosahatchee River.Dozens of the projects were discussed in sessions at the year’s Everglades Coalition annual gathering, which brought together the more than 50 nonprofits working toward a restored River of Grass for a weekend of panels on completed projects, lessons learned, and what else still needs to be accomplished.
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The Everglades Coalition met this past weekend and the heart of it all was water