Gopher tortoise entombment policy reversed

Finally! The last day of this month is the last day the state will allow developers to submit permits for the "incidental take" (aka death) of gopher tortoises when building on and paving over gopher tortoise burrows, according to this Sun Herald article. Many people have been concerned about such permits since the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started offering them in 1991. Now, the FWC will require the tortoises to be relocated so they aren't buried alive in their burrows.

The article points out that tortoises' burrows are used by other wildlife species, however -- but stopping tortoise entombment is a start.

Judge recommends permit for development that could harm Audubon sanctuary

The legal battle over whether to allow golf-course community Mirasol to destroy wetlands and move in took another turn. A judge recommended the South Florida Water Management District give Mirasol the permit to build, according to this article in the Naples Daily News. The fight has been going on since 2000, the article says. Environmentalists are concerned about wetland destruction and the effects of development on nearby Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and the Cocohatchee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. If you click over and read the article, read the comments too. One person asks why another golf course is being allowed when we already have water restrictions . . . besides, won't the fertilizer used to keep that course green run off and pollute Corkscrew, the river and eventually the Gulf?

Florida: water vs. growth

The water-vs-growth issue is ongoing in Florida. This long article in the Palm Beach Post outlines the history of Florida development and how the state is trying to keep pace with making sure there's enough water for all of the people that development brings in. Reporter Robert P. King concludes that development wins over water, and water issue continue to be a problem. Are all us Floridians going to be water-poor?

As Corps works to fix Glades, it approves golf course in it

A controversial golf-course development, Mirasol, that will wipe out more than 650 acres of wetlands in the western Everglades has been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - May 18, St. Petersburg Times

Concrete jungle threatens Everglades

Today, conservationists worry that the biggest threat to eagles is loss of habitat as Florida rapidly converts its rural lands into housing developments and roads - April 22, Tampa Tribune

Toll agency to rethink treatment of gopher tortoises

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority decided Friday to delay some construction of a major road south of Apopka where hundreds of gopher tortoises already may have been entombed or crushed by heavy equipment - April 7, Orlando Sentinel

Critics: Wetlands proposal harmful

Environmentalists and local government officials say a bill moving through the state Legislature could severely restrict efforts to preserve a key feature of their natural resources — wetlands - April 4, Bradenton Herald

Hearing on long-running wetlands battle gets underway

The challenge over a permit for Saturnia Falls is part of a larger campaign by environmental groups to preserve a natural path for water the groups say is getting choked off by development - Feb. 27, Naples Daily News

Road extension route irks residents

The path makes more economic and environmental sense than the straight route, but that doesn't mean it makes residents happy - Dec. 12, Palm Beach Post

Eagles' new nest tree puts new twist on debate

Biologists have predicted for years that a dead and decaying pine tree near Wiggins Pass is on its last legs as a suitable host for nesting bald eagles -- now it seems the eagles have finally agreed, building a new nest in a new tree — and flying into a new face-off with Signature Communities, which wants to build five high-rise condominium towers northwest of Wiggins Pass Road and Vanderbilt Drive - Dec. 12, Naples Daily News

Steady movement in tortoise protection

The Citrus County development director wants county commissioners either to establish county-owned land preserves for displaced tortoises or use established "gopher camps," where the county would pay private landowners for relocation - Dec. 12, St. Petersburg Times

St. Joe wins Florida land dispute

The U.S. District Court in Jacksonville rejected a legal challenge to the permit brought by Natural Resources Defense Council and the Florida Sierra Club - Nov. 20, AP