Snakes on Our Barrier Islands
Over the last two years I have been surveying snakes in a local community on Perdido Key. The residents were concerned about the number of cottonmouths they were seeing and wanted some advice on how to handle the situation. Many are surprised by the number of...
Torpedograss a Challenge to Manage on Land or Water
Tordpedograss (Panicum reopens) is one of the most concerning weeds in Florida and now easily found in the Panhandle. This weed’s favorite habitat is in or near ponds and ditches, but will spread across lawns and pastures. A native grass of both Africa and Asia,...
Help the Monarch Butterfly
Over 1.8 million Monarch butterflies have been tagged and tracked over the past 27 years. This October these iconic beauties will flutter through the Florida Panhandle on their way to the Oyamel fir forests on 12 mountaintops in central Mexico. Monarch Watch...
Bats: Friends of Farmers and Gardeners
Insect pests can destroy substantial quantities of crops, prompting growers to invest heavily in pesticide use. Previ ous research in Texas suggested that bats could reduce pesticide costs by over a million dollars within their state, due to the bats’ fondness for...
Principles of Managing Habitat for Wildlife
Landowners frequently prioritize wildlife abundance and diversity in their management goals. This is often related to a desired recreational activity (hunting, bird watching, etc.). In order to successfully meet wildlife related management goals, landowners need to...
Ospreys: A Tale of Resilience
Big hurricanes like Dorian (Bahamas) and 2018’s Michael (central Florida Panhandle) were devastating to the communities they landed in. Flooding, wind, rain, loss of power and communications eventually made way for ad hoc clearing and cleanup, temporary shelters, and...
Pokeweed: Adding Purple to the Fall Palet
Half a century ago the AM airwaves included a tune by a rock singer who crooned about Polk Salad Annie. While not exactly epic lyrics, it did have a catchy beat which made it to number eight on Billboard’s Hot 100. The basis of this dish was common pokeweed...
Aquatic Weed Control – Common Salvinia
Aquatic weed problems are common in the panhandle of Florida. Common Salvinia (Salvinia minima) is a persistent invasive weed problem found in many ponds in Gadsden County. There are ten species of salvinia in the tropical Americas but none are native to Florida. ...
The Plight of the Bay Scallop
Many people enjoy scallops. Just as many enjoy scalloping. It is a great Florida family activity where everyone gets to snorkel in relatively shallow – safe waters. You explore the grassbeds for a myriad of cool marine creatures yelling across the bay to friends...
Microplastics Awareness Month
It is an amazing product actually… plastic. It can be molded into all sorts of shapes and forms. In some cases, it can be more durable than other products, it is lighter and cheaper than many. Slowly over time, we began to use more and more of it. I remember as a...