Environment

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Florida, we have a lionfish problem

Gone Coastal by Alan Peirce, FWC Let’s talk straight. Lionfish are a challenge. Native to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, these beautiful yet venomous creatures are spreading through our waters like a bad cold. Within their native range, lionfish fit nicely into the natural food web and their populations remain in check. But not in Florida. Our native predatory fish are simply not ordering the new and bizarre-looking menu item, leaving little to control the lionfish population. Initial sightings...

Feral cats and the threat to wildlife

Feral cats are one of the top carriers of rabies By Stan Kirkland, FWC It’s fair to say Americans love their house cats. Although no one knows how many house cats Americans own, it’s in the millions. However, the practice by some of releasing unwanted cats outdoors under a trap-neuter- release (TNR) program is under increased scrutiny as some communities and businesses have banned the practice. Cat advocacy groups say in theory feral cats that are spayed or neutered and...

Seagrove home earns green certification honors

Public invited to open house Nov. 15 Arbor Homes of Seagrove is raising the bar for local home construction standards by being the first project in the Walton County area to achieve a gold-level Florida Water Star certification for water efficiency and a platinum-level green home certification by the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC). For many years, builder Rod Joly and his wife, GREEN REALTOR® Michelle Joly, understood the importance of green home features and how to communicate its value...

Learn about vultures at Topsail Nov. 2

Time: 1:30 p.m. Come learn about vultures at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park on Nov. 2. These often misunderstood birds play a vital role in the health of our forests. Meet at the Day-Use entrance off of Hwy 30A and take a short hike to the clubhouse. All programs require a $6.00 per car entry admission into the park. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is located at 7525 W. County Highway 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, FL  32459 Phone: (850) 267-8330...

Walton ecologist educates children on monarch butterfly migration

Sharing the wonders of nature through education Joe Wyatt, ecologist at Hammock Bay in Freeport has been tagging migrating monarch butterflies for the last six years. As part of a study with the University of Kansas, tiny paper tags are placed on the butterfly to document its travel. Weighing less than a gram, the tag has unique alpha numeric number, a phone number to call if you recapture the butterfly, and a website address to Monarch Watch, the sponsors of...

Choctawhatchee Audubon events for November

November 1: A program titled, “The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, Instilling Environmental Stewardship through Monitoring, Education, Research, and Restoration,” will be presented by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance’s Director, Julie Terrell, at the November Meeting of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance of Northwest Florida State College (CBA) has been coordinating programs in Okaloosa and Walton counties inculcating watershed stewardship, estuarine education, and restoration of critical habitat in Choctawhatchee Bay. Ms. Terrell will describe CBA’s activities, including monitoring programs, both...

Look to the sky for migrating white pelicans in Northwest Florida

Migration time for white pelicans By Stan Kirkland, FWC One of the many benefits of living in the Florida panhandle and particularly near the coast is the vast variety of wildlife we often see. Daily, you’re apt to see bald eagles, ospreys, fox squirrels, black bears, wild turkeys, deer and numerous other species. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time. One species you may miss that’s migrating through our area now are white pelicans. Just...