Jessica Meszaros

Members of Congress want the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale to be federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

State wildlife officials are drafting a rule to protect Florida’s native songbirds from illegal trapping. Officers are seeing an increase in bird trafficking for the pet industry.

The latest red tide report shows high concentrations of the toxic algae blooms in Sarasota and Collier counties. This nearly 16-month red tide event has killed more sea turtles than ever recorded.

Respiratory irritation related to red tide was also reported over the past week in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Researchers in Florida received funding from the federal government to restore seagrasses in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal is to protect about 30 acres of the sea floor, and repair about half of that.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After being contacted by a representative of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, WGCU would like to make clear that the second to last sentence of this story in no way indicates that human remains are being excavated by the Seminole Tribe. 

A 7,000-year-old indigenous burial site was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico near Venice. The finding shows this kind of preservation can exist on the continental shelf, surviving hurricanes and sea level rise.

A senior at Fort Myers High School used chalk to write mass shooting victims' names outside of her school this past weekend.

Lisa Marteeny survived 8-to-10 feet of storm surge during Hurricane Irma in Everglades City. But her husband of nearly 13 years Lee Marteeny did not. He died at the age of 72 from a bacterial infection days after wading in nearly chest-deep floodwaters with his wife. Lisa Marteeny, 62, describes in her own words what it was like to wait out the major storm on her neighbor Adela Butler’s back porch, which is on stilts. And she talks about losing her husband days later:

Nearly a month after Hurricane Irma washed 8-to-10 feet of storm surge onto Everglades City in southern Collier County, residents with damaged, unlivable homes are still waiting on emergency temporary housing. City officials estimate about 100 homes in the area are uninhabitable due to flood damage and mold. But officials say they expect relief within a week.

It’s rare to see an unfiltered night sky in many parts of Florida. Artificial lights in highly populated areas, like Fort Myers or Miami, cover up views of constellations and the Milky Way. But, Big Cypress National Preserve in Ochopee is now an “International Dark Sky Park.” That means the preserve removed unnecessary lights. And the ones they kept were changed to be “night sky friendly” by using different bulbs or making the lights point down to the ground, rather than up to the sky.

The Florida Supreme Court will not overturn the governor’s vetoes of money the state owes some residents for destroying their citrus trees. However, justices did appear to agree the homeowners are due their compensation.

A Lee County circuit court judge said the state agriculture department needs to repay local residents for destroyed citrus trees, or explain why it refuses to pay. The Florida Department of Agriculture has less than 40 days to respond.

Residents in Lee and Broward Counties took Gov. Rick Scott to the Florida Supreme Court this week. They’re trying to overturn Scott’s vetoes of state money owed to them after agriculture officials destroyed their healthy citrus trees. The homeowners also took the state’s agriculture commissioner to lower courts.

UPDATED: Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 2:20 PM

Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed a part of the state budget that would’ve compensated residents in Lee and Broward Counties years after the state removed their healthy citrus trees. The 16-year battle for reimbursement continues.

Federal environmental officials said Tuesday they will not force Florida to update its standards for potable and surface waters. This response comes eight years after environmental advocates petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to prepare and publish revised regulations for the state’s waters. Activists want the feds involved because state environmental officials have not updated the state’s water quality criteria in 25 years. 

This past state legislative session, Florida’s beaches got the most funding for renourishment than they have in more than a decade: $50 million.