Florida Cabinet clears way for highway through Everglades wetlands tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
feed to stay on top of the news.
Because iguanas and Argentine black and white tegus are not native animals to Florida s wildlife, their release and population in the wild are a threat to Florida s ecosystem.
In fact, Florida is home to 500 nonnative species that, if not adequately watched, are harmful to the existing environment. Take, for instance, one of the worst offenders: Burmese pythons. These snakes, part of the 16 high-risk invasive species populated in areas like the Everglades national park in Miami-Dade, prey on deer, rodents and alligators, The Guardian reported.
In the case of the Argentine black and white tegu, the microchip is meant for their protection. Since 2012, nearly 8,000 tegus have been killed by hunters or removed by FWC staffers.
Tampa Bay lost 13 percent of its seagrass in two years, study shows
Experts say reducing pollution that fuels algal blooms is critical.
Â
Â
Manatee grass as seen last week off Bishop Harbor south of Port Manatee. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Tampa Bay Times ]
Published Earlier today
Tampa Bay lost about 13 percent of its seagrass in recent years, a survey shows, leaving the ecosystem short of a goal for building upon decades of environmental progress.
Between 2018 and 2020, the bay saw an estimated decline of 5,411 acres of seagrass, according to reviews from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
âThatâs . less area for manatees to feed on, for fish to hide out and crabs to hide out in their early life stages,â said Maya Burke, assistant director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, which announced the news this week. âThatâs not just noise.â
Companies bottle and sell Floridaâs spring water. Should the state get paid?
A debate around Ginnie Springs has invigorated activists who say Florida overuses the aquifer.
Â
Â
Solomon McKinley, 56, an employee at a water bottling plant in Zephyrhills in 2007, inspects bottles moving toward a packaging area. [ Times (2007) ]
Updated Mar. 11
When water managers decided last month to let a private company pull nearly a million gallons a day from Ginnie Springs for a plastic bottling plant, environmentalists were outraged.
Some said they plan to file a lawsuit. Their novel argument is to ask, essentially:
Whatâs in it for us?
The multi-year controversy over the permit application in High Springs has invigorated activists who say businesses are overusing the aquifer, to the detriment of the stateâs sparkling rivers and springs. If private companies profit off Floridaâs water, they say, then Florida should at least get paid.