His little arms held out his brown stuffed spider, named Lucas, in comparison to the picture of the wolf spider on the museum wall. Fitted in his favorite “Spiderman” shirt, Jamie Mallard, 4, strutted across the new exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. …
Read More »Gainesville man seeks compensation for home destroyed by flooding
Mark Dake has notified the city of Gainesville and Alachua County in December that he is seeking compensation for the destruction of his home, which was flooded during Hurricane Elsa. Dake said he hopes the city or county will take over the property, destroy the home and refrain from building a new home on the land.
Read More »Alachua County Forever eyes new property in Lochloosa Creek Flatwoods
“I love headwaters and sand,” Kristen Young said. To most, this is an odd remark about environmental features. But to Young, the newly elected secretary of the Alachua County Land Conservation Board (LCB), it was good reason for Alachua County to purchase the Lochloosa Creek Flatwoods property, “Sherouse and Flowers.” …
Read More »A cancer survivor, Jo Carver rededicates his life to cleaning the Santa Fe River
Jo Carver, 60, is a stage 4 cancer survivor who has dedicated his life to the Santa Fe River. Now, he spends every Saturday on the river with a new mission to clean up Florida’s diverse freshwater springs and the rivers that stem from them. For his 60th birthday, his family of volunteers organized a clean-up in his honor.
Read More »Year starts with high numbers of manatee deaths across Florida
TAMPA, Fla. – Lluvia and her calf Morado glide to the bottom of their habitat to munch on romaine lettuce; this is hour one of the eight they spend eating daily. They are the lucky ones, survivors from what wildlife experts are worried could be another year full of unusually …
Read More »Manatees eat more than 66,000 pounds of food in first month of supplemental feeding program
Hundreds of manatee swim in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) near the Cape Canaveral Energy Center. The power station discharges warmer water that manatees seek during the winter. The area also hosts the supplemental feeding program the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) launched in December 2021. Now in …
Read More »How one fisherman is sustaining his livelihood through environmental advocacy
Steve Friedman, 52, always thought he’d spend his days in a cubicle surrounded by buttoned up shirts and staplers. Instead, he passes the time in a rash guard and polarized sunglasses on the waters of the Florida Keys. After growing up in what he calls “John Hughes-Landia,” or Chicago, Illinois, …
Read More »Large-scale alligator farming affects Florida tanneries and small businesses
Alligator farming has become a critical source of skins for the leather industry. The skins are more pristine and can be raised in the most optimal conditions and many more of them can be supplied. Alligator farming has also played a role in conservation efforts for the species. But a consequence of the advent of farming has been an oversupply of skins that has made their value plummet. This oversupply has mainly come from large-scale industrial farms that can slaughter thousands of animals every week and have chomped smaller operations out of business.
Read More »Newberry in talks with Archer and High Springs about new $40M regional wastewater treatment facility
The City of Newberry is negotiating with the cities of Archer and High Springs about joining onto its planned regional wastewater treatment facility. The new facility is part of an effort by Newberry to overhaul its wastewater infrastructure to accommodate new development and meet new environmental regulations the state legislature …
Read More »NASA’s Orion capsule splashes down, concluding Artemis I mission
NASA’s long-awaited Artemis I mission concluded Sunday with the Orion space capsule splashing down west of Baja California in the Pacific Ocean, paving the way for an ambitious program ahead. The 25.5 day long mission began in the early morning hours of November 16 after several false starts going all …
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