The Trump administration wants to open up the eastern Gulf to oil drilling, pushing closer to Florida shores. The pushback is swift, with Gov. DeSantis urging the feds to reconsider thttps://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2025/11/20/oil-drilling-florida-gulf/

Earlier this summer, Floridians felt blindsided by a rushed proposal to trade away 600 acres of pristine wilderness preserve in St. Johns Now, a Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill for more transparency around possible sales of conservation lands www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Many thanks to the journalism of @maxchesnes.bsky.social and the Tampa Bay Times.

I dug a bit into Cabot’s dealings with the Florida gov over state parkland last year. What I read should be a warning to Nova Scotians. In short, secrecy, money and contempt for the public. The post was to inform my local community on fb, but here it is with links: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/37x8c...

NEW: I’ve interviewed more than a dozen longtime Florida conservation experts, including former regulators who combined have worked under 5 governors All shared concerns with me about the state’s recent purchase of a 4-acre property for $83 million. More: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Dr. Jane Goodall was not just a force of nature. She was a fearless and unrelenting champion of it. I had the honor of interviewing Jane in 2023 and 2024. Our conversations were optimistic and future-focused. They always centered on one thing: hope. www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

NEW: Despite concerns from conservationists and Republican officials, FL leaders just voted to approve a fast-tracked deal to pay a campaign donor $83 million for his companies’ 4 acres of Destin land “Let’s just say I have concerns,” said CFO Ingoglia www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

🚨 In today’s Tampa Bay Times: The Florida Cabinet votes Tuesday to buy 4 acres of Destin land for a steep price tag: $83M The land •is not on the state’s conservation priority list •is owned by a large campaign donor Read more here: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Florida’s wildlife agency gave a license to a company to capture a manta ray — a federally designated threatened species — for Sea World in Abu Dhabi. After a video of its capture went viral, a bipartisan collation of lawmakers is calling for a change: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Less than four months after #Florida’s state lands director abruptly resigned amid a controversy about the state trading away a wildlife preserve, her replacement is also stepping down. www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

Popular #Florida campground to close because of hurricane damage & there's talk of selling the land, much to the horror of its many fans. www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

State water managers are considering selling the 40-acre Chassahowitzka River campground, a popular destination for Floridians who want access to winding the spring-fed river www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

A pair of Florida panther kittens — sisters born just a few months ago — were both hit and killed in Naples That brings the statewide panther death total this year to 12. All but one have been caused by car strikes @tampabaytimes.bsky.social www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

A man shot and killed a bear in his yard. Under a new Florida self-defense law, he won’t face charges. www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

NEW: i spoke to nine (!) scientists across several disciplines whose work was cited in the new Department of Energy report that downplays the severity of climate change. all of them say their work was misrepresented, cherry picked, and/or lacked context —

In just four hours of marine debris cleanup in Tampa Bay: •50+ abandoned crab traps •Thousands of pounds of plastic •Hundreds of feet of ropes and fishing line

In 2016, Florida’s Big Cypress became the nation’s first “dark sky” preserve, a key designation to help endangered nocturnal species But the leading group that classified the park now says artificial light from Alligator Alcatraz “directly threatens” that www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

82-year-old Clyde Butcher, world-renowned photographer who last year earned a presidential medal for his life’s work documenting the Florida Everglades, joined protests yesterday against the state’s proposed “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center

Fired #Florida state parks whistleblower sues the state over his firing www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

Poaching, sweeping habitat loss and dwindling wetlands have plummeted the population of one of Florida’s most beloved flowers Now, U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposes bolstering ghost orchid protections by adding it to the endangered species list www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

BREAKING: DeSantis signs bill prohibiting golf, hotels on Florida state parks www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

This week marked the 30th story in our series about the DeSantis’ administration’s plans last year to develop state parks with hotels and golf courses All of those stories are now in one place 👇 www.tampabay.com/topics/state...

BREAKING: The Legislature just delivered a decisive victory to Floridians who treasure their state parks, passing a bill to ban golf courses and hotels in parks The bill heads to the desk of the governor, whose admin’s plans prompted protests last summer

Congrats @maxchesnes.bsky.social & Emily Mahoney of the @tampabaytimes.bsky.social for winning the Lucy Morgan Award for their #journalism exposing DeSantis administration plan to put hotels, golf courses and sports courts on #Florida parks. Lucy would be proud. www.tampabay.com/news/2025/04....

Florida’s natural history is etched by hurricanes pushing wildlife from one place to the next I wrote about the most recent example: these land tortoises survived miles of open water in Hurricane Helene’s storm surge They’re now thriving on a new island: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

State water managers are proposing to trade away 700 acres of North Florida state forest land to a peanut farming operation. More here @tampabaytimes.bsky.social www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

The City of Tampa was slated to get a $1.6 million grant to plant more trees in low-income areas to combat extreme heat Calling it DEI, the Trump admin is canceling the money: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

This is the kind of local journalism we really need to be supporting right now...

This scientist was making #Florida beaches more resilient to hurricanes. Then Elon Musk's DOGE fired him. www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

This is Michael Slattery, a PhD and former professor who joined USGS to make coastal science more accessible to the public. When people evacuated beaches during Hurricane Helene, Slattery rushed toward them for research. He was fired Feb. 14 www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

To protect one the rarest whales on earth, the government advised oil and gas ships to slow down in known Rice’s whale habitat to avoid deadly collisions The Trump administration just rescinded that guidance: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

NEW: The nation’s only dedicated refuge for manatees just lost two of its park rangers — a quarter of the staff — amid the Trump administration’s federal layoffs This is their story: www.tampabay.com/news/environ...

Phosphate giant Mosaic wants to inject its (radioactive?) wastewater underground at 4 #Florida sites. Public hearing on this next month. www.tampabay.com/news/environ... via @maxchesnes.bsky.social

Happy Independence Day