conservation

The South Florida Water Management District reported overall nesting down although snowy egrets, South Florida's dominant wading bird, had back-to-back good years. While rainfall played a part, the it suggests more work needs to be done to fix the region's wild landscape and keep water where birds need it to successfully raise chicks.

A group called Force Blue, which does conservation work across the country, is providing what they call "mission therapy" to veterans who miss the camaraderie and the sense of purpose of service.

Florida’s sea turtle nests survived an intense hurricane season. But climate change poses an uncertain future for the beloved beach icons.

For 30 years, developers and conservationists fought over the flowered sand banks of Castle Hill in Lake County. As construction crews move in, a driven group of plant experts and retirees races to salvage the area’s native plants.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged delegates at a major biodiversity summit to follow through on pledges to help save global biodiversity and for the private sector to come on board.

A new report by scientists from four major Florida universities, the wildlife corridor — if completed — will not only allow wildlife to survive in the coming decades, it will make climate change less destructive to humans.

Researchers at the University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions and Center for Landscape Conservation Planning recently developed a tool to help identify conservation lands in Florida that could help improve water quality if they are protected.

The more than 12,000 acres along Fisheating Creek in Highlands County is surrounded on all sides by previously preserved lands.

Legislative leaders have agreed to use hundreds of millions of dollars in gambling money to help pay for further expansion of a state wildlife corridor and other environmental projects.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet next week could approve spending more than $141 million to conserve 42,000 acres of land from the Panhandle to the Devil's Garden area southwest of Lake Okeechobee.

“I'm sure there's folks in the agricultural industry that are probably like me scratching their heads wondering ‘what was he thinking?’ Because he didn't veto any of the other conservation funding,” said land broker Dean Saunders.

Florida Forever would receive $100 million, another $100 million is earmarked for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, and $800 million would fund projects connecting the Ocala and Osceola National Forests.