Author name: bruce

Northwest Florida is a biological hotspot because it stands in the crossroads of different ecological areas and because of the Apalachicola River, Ecologist Bruce Means told a packed auditorium last week. Means, president and executive director of the Coastal Plains Institute and an adjunct professor at Florida State University, was honored by the Tallahassee Scientific […]

After they produced “Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida” in 2004, renowned nature photographer Clyde Butcher joked with cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus that next time, they’d have to film in Butcher’s backyard. And they did just that, to produce “Big Cypress Swamp: The Western Everglades,” which airs this weekend on PBS television stations across Florida. Check

John M. Bethea, Florida’s chief forester from 1970 until his retirement in 1987, was recognized for his contributions to forestry after his death this week. Bethea was an early advocate of the urban forest concept and led innovations in Florida’s forest management, including the use of prescribed burning to improve forest ecology and wildlife habitat.

Florida farm groups supported the Rural Land Stewardship Act in 2001 because they said it would preserve agriculture while helping the economies of rural communities. The bill created a pilot program that allowed landowners with between 50,000 and 250,000 acres to set aside land for conservation and agriculture in exchange for the ability to develop

One of the most active environmental groups before the Florida Public Service Commission says recent controversies show the panel is overly influenced by utilities and lobbyists, including former PSC staff and commissioners. In the midst of electricity rate requests by Progress Energy Florida and Florida Power & LIght Co., three agency employees have been fired

By Bruce Ritchie A diverse coalition of groups within Alabama, Florida and Georgia is trying to encourage a discussion of water issues that have divided residents of the three states in the past. The states have been fighting in federal court since 1990 over water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system. Alabama and Georgia want

In 2005, Gov. Jeb Bush and members of the Cabinet proclaimed victory for Florida when they agreed to pay Coastal Petroleum Co. $12.5 million not to abandon its leases for drilling oil off the Gulf of Mexico. With Florida leaders now deciding whether to debate reopening state waters to drilling, some who were involved in

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Florida’s 160 state parks are open free through Sunday to anyone with a library card, a library book or gently-used family book that they can donate. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is offering the free entrance to celebrate September as “State Park Literary Month.” DEP officials are encouraging

Senate President Jeff Atwater today said a special session of the Legislature in October is highly unlikely and he raised doubts about whether it should include consideration of lifting Florida’s ban on offshore oil drilling. Gov. Charlie Crist last week said drilling should be included in a special session in October to take up an

Witnesses for an environmental group and utilities wanting to build nuclear power plants sparred Tuesday before the Public Service Commission over the predicted costs of construction and how to pay for them. Florida Power & LIght and Progress Energy Florida each have proposed building new nuclear plants and are asking the PSC for approval to