Snake Watch 1st Quarter Report; 2024
The Snake Watch Project is one that is helping residents in the Pensacola Bay area better understand which species of snakes are most encountered, where they are encountered, and what time of year. The project began in 2022 and over the last two years between 50-60%...
Now is the Time to Search for Invasive Cogongrass
Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is one of the most noxious weeds in the U.S. and has been a problem in the agricultural and timberland for decades. In more recent years it has been found on our barrier islands. Stands of cogongrass on the beaches are not as massive...
Silvopasture?? What is That and How Do I Learn More?
Silvopasture is a unique and highly effective agroforestry technique that can be a great fit to accomplish some landowners’ land management and agricultural enterprise objectives. Agroforestry is a system which combines forest management and agricultural production...
Earth Day
What is 54 years old and growing better with age? Earth Day! Every year on April 22, we mark the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Prior to 1970, America and Americans lived with a host of environmental threats and concerns from...
Searching for Mangroves in the Florida Panhandle
In 2005 I was leading a field trip with high school students in a salt marsh on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola Beach. As we explored a brackish water creek, we came across a three-foot red mangrove tree, prop roots and all. To say we were surprised and excited...
April is Safe Digging Awareness Month
Call 811 before you dig. No one wants a weekend project to be the cause of Internet, phone and cable outages. Worse yet, what if someone gets hurt from contact with natural gas or electrical lines? That’s why it is so important to have buried utilities in the yard...
The Swallow-tailed Kites are Back
I was having dinner with my family on a cool March evening when one said “I have not seen any Swallow-tailed Kites yet. We usually see them this time of year”. To which I replied, “I saw one today!” – and I had. It was March 23, a very windy afternoon, and I saw it...
Stem to Stern (Northwest Florida November 2, 2023)
Organized and sponsored by Florida Sea Grant, the "Stem to Stern" workshop in November 2023 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center marked a significant gathering in marine conservation and management. This event drew together legal experts, representatives from the...
Beach Wildlife Walk – Late Winter
Though this is titled late winter, it did not feel like winter on this walk. The air temperature was 75°F. There was a blanket of fog over the beach, and it felt slightly humid and sticky, but with a cooler feel than we have in summer. It is true...
Test Your Well Water Once a Year to Help Ensure It’s Safe to Drink
Private well system in Florida. Image: UF/IFAS, C. Wofford About 2.5 million Floridians rely on private wells for home consumption, which includes water for drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene. Private wells are not regulated by the EPA Clean Water Act, and well...