The Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program announced it has already spotted the first loggerhead sea turtle nest along the Gulf Coast. Sea turtle patrol in Destin-Fort Walton Beach has also spotted a nest of Kemps ridley.
"Even though the sea turtle hatching season is winding down, several late-season nests are successfully hatching in the park," Cape Lookout National Seashore officials said.
When Hurricane Idalia churned past the Tampa Bay area in August, a battering storm surge sliced Pinellas County beaches. In the first weeks after the storm, a glimpse of the economic toll was quick to emerge: Idalia had caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to Pinellas coastlines. The county has already signed off on $23.5 million to restore destroyed sand dunes. The environmental toll .