Misc

Former state biologist Jim Stevenson said he recently asked a teenager who had grown up in Tallahassee if he’d ever been to Wakulla Springs. The teen replied that he had never heard of the state park and popular swimming spot 15 miles south of Tallahassee. To Stevenson, who is coordinator of state working groups for […]

Following a tour of the Everglades today, Gov. Charlie Crist called on the U.S. Department of the Interior to take a “fresh look” at Everglades restoration and to conduct a comprehensive review of the downstream effects of water withdrawals from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system. Crist toured the Everglades by airboat with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar

Audubon of Florida representative Eric Draper says he’s filing papers today to run for state Agriculture Commissioner as a Democrat. Draper, 55, is Audubon’s deputy director and has been with the group since 1995, previously having worked for The Nature Conservancy. He frequently speaks at the Capitol before the Cabinet and legislative committees on pending

Gov. Charlie Crist will tour the Everglades today with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek. They will receive a briefing on invasive species control and the Burmese python and will take an airboat tour of Alligator Bay, according to a news release from Meek. Assistant DOI

Some anglers and state park visitors are among those who will pay more to enjoy the outdoors under the 2009-10 state budget signed into law today by Gov. Charlie Crist. The $66.5 billion budget also includes $50 million for Everglades restoration but lacks money for the Florida Forever land-buying program for the first time since

By MICHAEL PELTIERTHE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA The state will purchase 403 acres from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution under a $24.3 million deal approved today that will expand state protection of the Indian River Lagoon and bolster funding for the research facility now controlled by Florida Atlantic University. Using money from a pair of financing

Gov. Charlie Crist this morning raised concerns about SB 2080, which would allow the heads of the state’s five water management districts to approve permits without a vote of their full boards. SB 2080 originally dealt with state landscaping requirements and received support from environmental groups. But it was amended late in the legislative session

Visitors crowd Shell Point Beach in Wakulla County on April 25 despite an advisory against swimming that was correctly posted on a state website: www.floridashealth.com/beachwater. Heading to the beach this summer? A good idea might be to check the Florida Department of Health Web site to see if there are advisories against swimming because of

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the agency probably will begin releasing more water in June from its dams upstream from Florida along the Chattahoochee River. But Florida officials say that’s not soon enough. Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been fighting in federal court over water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system since 1990. Over

The head of Florida’s land-planning agency said today the state is being kept busy with speculative development proposals because of concerns about a proposed ballot initiative to require voter approval of local land-use plan changes. During a two-hour question-and-answer session broadcast over the Web, Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham also fielded concerns about