PICAYUNE STRAND - It all comes back to the water. Water is at the heart of the plan to save and restore the Everglades. How it flows, where it goes and what it contains. From north of Lake Okeechobee to the Picayune Strand State Forest in southwest Collier County, the Everglades restoration plan hinges on a complex system of engineering and environmental projects meant to reverse damage to the fragile ecosystem that defines Florida. For the past seven years, however, the biggest question about the Everglades hasn't been water. It has been money. ...more

November 25, 2007

It all comes back to the water. Water is at the heart of the plan to save and restore the Everglades. How it flows, where it goes and what it contains. ...more

November 25, 2007

Lake levels in Highlands County have remained low, and now, as we head into the winter dry season, all lake levels are expected to drop to near record numbers. In some cases, the levels will clearly break the old marks. ...more

November 21, 2007

The aging earthen dike around Lake Okeechobee - the only barrier between the second-largest freshwater body in the contiguous United States and thousands of residents - presents an "urgent and compelling" need for repairs, stated a report released Friday. ...more

November 4, 2007

Twenty years ago, any biologist who proposed turning Lake Okeechobee into a catch-and-release fishery for largemouth bass would have been summarily handcuffed and slapped on a train to California or Massachusetts, or some other foreign land where people thought fish were useful for something other than eating. ...more

October 24, 2007

LAKE PLACID — After last week's cut-off against water permit holders using Lake Istokpoga's water, the South Florida Water Management District is preparing a brand new drawdown request. SFWMD spokeswoman Missie Barletto wrote a press release last week saying they were going to apply to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a "temporary deviation to Lake Istokpoga's regulation schedule" to allow more water than usually permitted from the lake to supply farms and residents downstream. In other words, Lake Istokpoga's water level could drop down if homes and farms need the water, although given the sluggish approval of the last drawdown request, it could be a few months before that happens. "The District intends to file a new request to the Corps for a revised deviation, which may provide some relief for users whose withdrawal points are directly connected to the lake," Barletto said in the e-mailed release. ...more

October 16, 2007

Snook are saltwater fish, but as winter draws near, many that have spent the summer on the warm, shallow grass flats will change their stripes, so to speak, and become freshwater species. ...more

October 12, 2007

An adventure into the Florida wilderness amongst all its amazing wildlife and landscapes can be experienced within the pages of some great literary works. Many books have been written and recognized for their portrayals of Florida's past as a wild frontier and its present state of having unique environments and habitats of many endangered endemic species. The volume of books specializing in the nature of Florida has increased tremendously and I've chosen a variety of them here to open that wild world to all readers seeking a journey into the past and a view of the present. ...more

October 7, 2007

SEBRING — It's the rainy season, but apparently Lake Istokpoga and Lake Okeechobee don't know that. ...more

September 13, 2007