Believe It or Not, It’s Time to Start Working on Cool-Season Food Plots
The during the blistering heat of the last week of a Florida July is generally not a time when people think a lot about planting crops, but maybe it should be. Late summer can be a surprisingly active time in the world of wildlife food plots. For those land managers...
Our Environment: Part 14 – Managing Urban Growth
As our human population grows, so grow urban and suburban areas – and our natural areas and farms are decreasing. Much of this will cause problems for us and other species on the planet as well. How do we manage this need for space? Some cities such as Hong Kong and...
2025 Panhandle Landowner Assistance Expo!
This August multiple partnering agencies, land management professionals, and landowners will come together for the first ever Panhandle Landowner Assistance Expo. This will be an all-day event at the Walton County Fairgrounds in Defuniak Springs, FL. The event itself...
Our Environment: Part 13 – We Need Space
We all have our personal space, our personal bubble, where we do not like others to enter. Some have a small bubble, but others have a much larger one. This will play a part in the discussion below but the statement “we need space” initially means – we must have...
Our Environment: Part 12 – Managing Water
We stated in the last article that we have plenty of water on our planet; we just do not manage it well. So, what are some ways to do this? Below we will review some ideas provided by Miller and Spoolman back in 2011 and we will add a few more. Is Extracting More...
Our Environment: Part 11 – We Need Water
I read a story about a group of fishermen from Central America who went to sea one day only to have their boat brake down. As they drifted in the current, they immediately went into survival mode rationing the food they had. As their food reserves became low, they...
What are PFAS? Are PFAS in Okaloosa County’s Waters?
PFAS—have you heard of them? Do you know what they are, or is it more of a term thrown around without much context? PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. PFAS is a class of chemicals found in various industrial and consumer goods. For instance, you may find...
Hurricane Season 2025
There are plenty of jokes about the four seasons in Florida—in place of spring, summer, fall, and winter; we have tourist, mosquito, hurricane, and football seasons. The weather and change in seasons are definitely different in a mostly-subtropical state, although we...
Our Environment: Part 10 – Improving Agriculture
Despite the issues with modern agriculture, we still need food, and we need it for a lot of humans. So, what can be done to help improve things? Let’s look at some ideas that were suggested when I was teaching the class. Pesticides. There have been several methods...
Marine Creatures of the Northern Gulf – Snails and Slugs
Snails and slugs belong to one of the largest phyla of animals on the planet – the mollusks. Mollusks are known for their calcium carbonate shells and seashell collecting along the shoreline has been a popular hobby for centuries. There are an estimated 50,000 to...