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...
It’s Hot Out There… What Can We Do? Have You Considered SCUBA?
We like to post articles about fun and adventurous activities people can do outdoors in the Florida panhandle… but it is very hot out there this time of year. What sort of outdoor adventure can you have when the temperatures are running in the 90s and the humidity in...