Stay updated with breaking news from Elise Bennett. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
More homeowners are coming face-to-face with animals in Florida – like bears, coyotes, raccoons and alligators – among many other wild species on land and in the water.
Boyd Hill Nature Preserve is an important habitat for gopher tortoises in southern Pinellas County. Recent deaths and a lack of protections for the species are getting attention.
Within 100 years, about 75% of the current gopher tortoise population could disappear. Despite these calculations, the federal agency denied Endangered Species Act protection to the Eastern population of gopher tortoises in the U.S.
The court ruling determined the state has no authority to issue wetland permits.
A U.S. district judge ruled that putting Florida in charge of approving permits for projects that affect wetlands in the state, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency violated the Endangered Species Act.Washington, D.C.-based Judge Randolph Moss, in a 97-page decision, found that actions by federal officials did not follow the required steps in 2020 before shifting permitting authority to Florida.