During the month of January Governor Ron DeSantis announced funding for several environmental initiatives. On January 10th the Governor signed Executive Order 23-06 (Even More Now for Florida’s Environment). Key provisions of the order include directing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to: Secure $3.5 billion over the next four years for Everglades restoration and [...]
The Florida manatee, designated the state marine mammal in 1975, is among the state’s most popular native animal. Manatees are often called gentle giants. They’re slow-moving, peaceful creatures that tend to flock toward human activity in search of warmth. However, they are not having a good year. More than 1,000 of the sea mammals have [...]
START presents another community pond enhancement success story in Sarasota County. This month’s selection is from Pinebrook South as written by resident, Don Thomas. The community of Pinebrook South is located across from Wellfield Park on Pinebrook Road near Venice Avenue, minutes away from the downtown area and Gulf beaches. It was the second PUD [...]
The Suncoast continues to suffer from the lingering red tide bloom along our shores. Fish kills continue to mount and beachgoers are fleeing the airborne toxins that cause tearing eyes and coughing. START is working on a number of fronts in the Sarasota Bay Watershed to help reduce the excess nutrients in our waterways that [...]
For 36 years scientists have monitored the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone or hypoxic zone, which forms every spring. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists are forecasting this summer’s hypoxic area or “dead zone” — an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life — [...]
More precisely, it is and it isn’t. Karenia Brevis, the toxic alga that populates the spreading, lethal blooms we call “red tide,” is, in fact, a naturally-occurring organism. And yes, much smaller red tides have been documented since the arrival of Europeans on these shores. But there is a vast difference between the naturally-occurring red [...]
Every year for 33 years scientists have monitored the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone which forms every spring. Last year’s dead zone was approximately 8,185 square miles, making it the largest the Gulf had seen since mapping began in 1985. This year NOAA scientists are forecasting this summer’s Gulf of Mexico dead [...]
