Latest news with #Sanibel-CaptivaConservationFoundation
Miami Herald
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida's new ‘Boater Freedom Act' could be boon for illegal poachers, critics say
A measure prohibiting vessel searches that stem from safety inspections on the water is among a slew of laws to be enacted in Florida this week. It halts a long-running practice in which state and local marine law enforcement could stop boaters and board their vessels without probable cause. Gov. Ron DeSantis says long-standing vessel searches have 'unnecessarily created friction' between boaters and law enforcement. The governor signed the bill, which he has dubbed the Boater Freedom Act, at a May news conference in Panama City Beach. 'If you're walking down the street, law enforcement can't just go up to you and stop you and search you,' DeSantis said. 'But, yet, on the water, that really isn't the case.' Opponents of the measure say it takes away a major tool for enforcing fishing rules and deterring poachers — random cooler searches. They worry that fish populations carefully monitored by state biologists could subsequently dwindle. DeSantis and state Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who sponsored the bill, have said they expect a different outcome. They predict law enforcement will be free to spend more time and resources going after the few bad actors who are boating recklessly and endangering others on the water. 'It's about trusting the vast majority of Floridians who are doing the right thing and letting law enforcement officers focus on those who are truly violating the law,' Trumbull said at the same news conference. 'We're not removing oversight. We're reinforcing fairness.' 'Bag limits are irrelevant' under law For Matt DePaolis, the environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation in Southwest Florida, the new law favors boaters' rights over protection of the state's marine ecosystem. 'It's a real worry that it will be much easier to get away with poaching now, because it is very difficult to catch someone in the act,' DePaolis said. 'Having the ability to go and do a quick check seemed like an important enforcement mechanism.' The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency tasked with managing fish populations by setting catch limits and season lengths, is also responsible for upholding those rules through its law enforcement arm. The agency has endorsed DeSantis' initiative and is expected to issue guidance on the new law. Capt. Matthew DallaRosa, a supervisor for the wildlife agency's Tampa Bay area branch, said he isn't concerned that the law will impede officers' ability to enforce marine rules. 'We've always conducted regulatory inspections,' DallaRosa said. 'We've adjusted to a million changes. I don't see any significant impact.' DePaolis said he would expect the wildlife agency to reduce bag limits if biologists observe a decline in populations. 'If they feel confident that they're able to correctly manage fishery stocks even with this bill, that's great,' he said. 'But I would still be worried that this is an important tool in managing healthy fisheries and stopping poaching that is now being taken away.' Alan S. Richard, a former captain for the wildlife commission and maritime law adjunct professor at Florida State University, recalled one safety inspection he conducted in 1984. He was relieving another officer from his post when he saw a boat spot their patrol vessel and sharply turn away, cutting across the flats where it could have easily run aground. That maneuver wasn't illegal, but it was suspicious, Richard said. He stopped the boater and waited for backup to arrive. Under the deck, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 486 pounds of cocaine. 'That just wouldn't have happened under this new law,' he said. Richard called the measure an 'abomination' and said he expects it will be repealed in a future legislative session after lawmakers realize their mistake. He was careful not to speculate on how the wildlife agency and county courts will interpret the law but said it would make officers' jobs more difficult — whether that be upholding public safety, busting drug runners or catching poachers. The law undermines the state's conservation efforts, Richard added. 'Bag limits are irrelevant if you can't stop a boat and check them,' he said. Private lawyers who defend those accused of fishing violations expect to see fewer charges filed and even fewer that stick. 'We've had clients where ... they've caught something they shouldn't,' said Ranger Jackson, a Pinellas criminal defense attorney. 'And if this law was in effect, that wouldn't have gotten off the ground.' But Jackson said fears that the law gives boaters 'carte blanche' to catch 'whatever illegal fish you want' are unfounded. 'If you're violating law, if your registration isn't up to date, if you're violating the wake zones, if you're anchored to something that you're not supposed to be, then you can still run into problems,' he said. The search law also seems to apply only to enforcement on the water. It's likely that wildlife officers would keep the power to conduct random searches on boaters returning to public boat ramps as well as those fishing from shore, Jackson said. 'There's guardrails that are in effect,' he said. Springs, seagrass threatened Environmental groups have taken issue with other parts of the law, including language that raises the bar for creating protection zones for springs that impose restrictions on speed, anchoring, mooring, beaching and grounding boats. Under previous rules, the wildlife agency must prove recreational boat use is harming a sensitive spring area to limit boating there. The law will make it so the agency must now prove there is 'significant harm' and that boating is the main cause of that damage. It has already cast a chilling effect over consideration of a protection zone at one north Florida spring after the wildlife agency pulled its proposal in the wake of the legislation. Other parts of the law preempt local governments from banning 'the sale or use' of gas-powered boats. DeSantis cited a California rule — blocked by the Senate in May — that seeks to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. DePaolis, the environmental policy director, said he's worried the law could be stretched to do away with boat engine restrictions on environmentally sensitive land like manatee zones, seagrass beds and bird rookeries. 'If you're saying now that you can't differentiate between energy sources, then it seems like you can't make a canoe or kayak or paddle or sailing-only area,' he said. 'So now it's really going to restrict the ability of recreation.' It's the vague language of the bill and its uncertain implications for fisheries and conservation that gives DePaolis pause. 'Boating is about freedom. Florida is about freedom. It's great to not have to worry about the cops breathing down your neck,' he said. 'But at the same time, our environment is a shared resource, and we have tools to manage it. Until we are managing it effectively, we need to be able to utilize those tools.'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Apex predator may be mating on remote island for first time in at least 30 years: 'It's the most incredible creature you ever saw'
Residents of Sanibel Island, Florida, were in for a surprise after discovering a possible crocodile nest on the island — the first reported in at least 30 years. Until recently, conservationists believed only female crocodiles inhabited the island. But the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation found two crocodiles exhibiting "typical courting behavior," fueling speculation that Sanibel may finally have a viable nest belonging to crocodile mates. According to WINK News, Sanibel has historically not had warm enough temperatures for long enough to be hospitable for crocodile eggs, but increasing average temperatures observed in the area and worldwide have led to slight changes in animal nesting preferences geographically. "We appear to be a little bit too far north for that, but just in the last few years, they successfully nested at Rookery Bay, which is further north than we've ever had that happen," SCCF Wildlife and Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz told WINK. One island resident had a 10-foot crocodile spending a lot of time in her backyard for over a month — at first believed to be a female but now thought to possibly be a male if the courting indicates males finding homes nearby. "It's the most incredible creature you ever saw," said the resident, Carolyn David, in an interview with WINK News. "This is their territory. It's not ours." The first Sanibel crocodile documented came in 1979, and the island was actually designated as a crocodile refuge in 1998. Unfortunately, no successful nest has been documented there — perhaps until now. "The three significant storm surge events that occurred over the last two and a half years have transformed most waterbodies on Sanibel to a more crocodile-friendly habitat consisting of brackish water," Lechowicz said in a blog post. "As a result, they move more freely around the island and use other water bodies." It's too soon to tell if the crocodile in David's yard or any others have actually mated, but the presence is a good sign — for conservation purposes, at least, as David said she was initially "freaked out" to find the croc so close to home. The SCCF reported that the Florida population of crocodiles was listed as endangered, with only a few hundred left, in the 1970s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the classification to threatened, as the population has grown to roughly 2,000. A similar instance happened on a small island in Oceania when a bird once thought to be extinct reappeared. England also saw the reemergence of a rare mammal species. The successful conservation of the American crocodile and the potential new Sanibel nest are testaments to what happens when communities come together to help preserve wildlife and the environment. If you're looking to make an impact in your community, see how you can take local action here. Do you think we still have a lot to learn from ancient cultures? Definitely Only on certain topics I'm not sure No — not really Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
DeSantis urged to declare emergency over toxic red tide algae off Florida coast
Environmentalists in Florida are calling on the governor, Ron DeSantis, to declare an emergency as a worsening 'red tide' algae bloom off the state's south-west coast threatens popular tourist beaches and is being blamed for the deaths of wildlife including fish and dolphins. Several counties have issued health alerts in response to the outbreak, which scientists say began in the Gulf of Mexico last year when Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore up nutrient-rich waters that feed the algae. The Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) has been monitoring a sizable patch of red tide, a naturally occurring phenomenon caused by overproduction of the harmful algae Karenia brevis, along a stretch of the Gulf coast. Dead fish have washed up on several beaches, and the outbreak is suspected in the deaths of two dolphins found offshore in Collier county. Related: Scientists brace 'for the worst' as Trump purges climate mentions from websites Red tides can cause skin irritation and respiratory distress in humans and animals, and have become increasingly common in recent years, partly due to a combination of changing environmental conditions, including soaring ocean temperatures, and pollution. In many instances they dissipate by January, but in other years can linger and worsen, such as the severe summer 2021 outbreak that left heaps of fish, turtles, dolphins and manatees rotting on the Florida shoreline. The conservation groups say not enough is being done to tackle the cause of the problem, even though they applaud efforts such as DeSantis's reactivation of a red tide taskforce in 2019, and his signing of a house bill last year extending funding for research. 'While providing funds for engineering solutions, the government has not done a very good job at controlling or fixing polluted waterways,' said Eric Milbrandt, marine lab director of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). The group has previously linked human activity, including toxic run-off from agricultural production, as an aggravating factor in the intensification of red tide events. 'We have a lot of them in the state of Florida, and it's non-point source pollution, so it's difficult to tackle. It's great that the state has been investing in engineering technology, and it does have promise, but it likely would be limited to smaller blooms,' Milbrandt said. 'From a response perspective, it should be kind of an emergency management response like a hurricane. At this point it's reliant on the department of health to post it, the Florida Wildlife Research Institute to collect the samples, and by the time it's affecting a community there's potentially millions of dollars in revenue and tourism economy [at risk]. 'We just want something to happen here. A statewide approach, like an emergency management approach, would be useful.' FWC researchers, in partnership with scientists from the Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory, and Florida's department of environmental protection (DEP), share responsibility for red tide mitigation, and point to improvements made under DeSantis's watch. 'FWC has increased routine sampling, added new measurements, and are planning an event response survey with a collaborative team. We have improved communication tools, like creating a series of educational red tide animated videos,' a FWC spokesperson, Jonathan Veach, said in a statement. 'FWC works with partners to produce metrics of severity based on bloom extent and duration. Our agency is not the entity who would make an official declaration of emergency.' Veach added: 'Thus far, while recognizing the current intensification, this red tide bloom is still fairly typical in terms of timing, intensity and location.' A DEP spokesperson said department personnel had been working closely with FWC and health department workers to engage stakeholders and local governments in south-west Florida since the first red tide formations appeared in October. 'Florida remains committed to an all-hands-on-deck approach and continues to monitor the bloom and while remaining ready to assist affected counties,' its communications director, Alexandra Kuchta, said. 'Dedicated funding is available to support local communities in their red tide response efforts, including assistance for this event if necessary, although none has been requested so far. For fiscal year 2024-25, $5m was allocated, with an additional $5m proposed for 2025-26.' Kuchta added that DeSantis had also approved funding for innovative technologies that can be 'deployed immediately to protect water quality and public health from future harmful algal blooms, including red tide response'. A Mote representative told the Guardian that the south-west Florida bloom provided its researchers a first opportunity to 'field test' several mitigation technologies on an active bloom in uncontrolled open water. 'We've made a lot of progress on understanding the lab rat version of this species. The wild type, so to speak, that's out in the ocean can behave in ways you can't replicate in the test tube,' SCCF's Milbrandt said. Meanwhile, a page on the federal Environmental Protection Agency website still online as of Tuesday blamed the climate emergency, especially warming ocean waters, for more toxic and frequent algal blooms such as the one menacing the Florida Gulf coast. 'With a changing climate, harmful algal blooms can occur more often, in more fresh or marine waterbodies, and can be more intense,' it states. So far, at least, the page appears to have escaped a Trump administration purge of mentions of the climate crisis on government websites. Florida already has a law scrubbing mentions of 'climate change' from state legislation, and the University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said DeSantis and Florida 'were indeed the test bed' for similar censorship at the federal level. 'Nothing would surprise me at this point, including efforts by the administration and the polluters who are running it to ban all references to climate change by administration agencies,' he said. DeSantis's office did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
DeSantis urged to declare emergency over toxic red tide algae off Florida coast
Environmentalists in Florida are calling on the governor, Ron DeSantis, to declare an emergency as a worsening 'red tide' algae bloom off the state's south-west coast threatens popular tourist beaches and is being blamed for the deaths of wildlife including fish and dolphins. Several counties have issued health alerts in response to the outbreak, which scientists say began in the Gulf of Mexico last year when Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore up nutrient-rich waters that feed the algae. The Florida fish and wildlife conservation commission (FWC) has been monitoring a sizable patch of red tide, a naturally occurring phenomenon caused by overproduction of the harmful algae Karenia brevis, along a stretch of the Gulf coast. Dead fish have washed up on several beaches, and the outbreak is suspected in the deaths of two dolphins found offshore in Collier county. Red tides can cause skin irritation and respiratory distress in humans and animals, and have become increasingly common in recent years, partly due to a combination of changing environmental conditions, including soaring ocean temperatures, and pollution. In many instances they dissipate by January, but in other years can linger and worsen, such as the severe summer 2021 outbreak that left heaps of fish, turtles, dolphins and manatees rotting on the Florida shoreline. The conservation groups say not enough is being done to tackle the cause of the problem, even though they applaud efforts such as DeSantis's reactivation of a red tide taskforce in 2019, and his signing of a house bill last year extending funding for research. 'While providing funds for engineering solutions, the government has not done a very good job at controlling or fixing polluted waterways,' said Eric Milbrandt, marine lab director of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). The group has previously linked human activity, including toxic run-off from agricultural production, as an aggravating factor in the intensification of red tide events. 'We have a lot of them in the state of Florida, and it's non-point source pollution, so it's difficult to tackle. It's great that the state has been investing in engineering technology, and it does have promise, but it likely would be limited to smaller blooms,' Milbrandt said. 'From a response perspective, it should be kind of an emergency management response like a hurricane. At this point it's reliant on the department of health to post it, the Florida Wildlife Research Institute to collect the samples, and by the time it's affecting a community there's potentially millions of dollars in revenue and tourism economy [at risk]. 'We just want something to happen here. A statewide approach, like an emergency management approach, would be useful.' FWC researchers, in partnership with scientists from the Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory, and Florida's department of environmental protection (DEP), share responsibility for red tide mitigation, and point to improvements made under DeSantis's watch. 'FWC has increased routine sampling, added new measurements, and are planning an event response survey with a collaborative team. We have improved communication tools, like creating a series of educational red tide animated videos,' a FWC spokesperson, Jonathan Veach, said in a statement. 'FWC works with partners to produce metrics of severity based on bloom extent and duration. Our agency is not the entity who would make an official declaration of emergency.' Veach added: 'Thus far, while recognizing the current intensification, this red tide bloom is still fairly typical in terms of timing, intensity and location.' A DEP spokesperson said department personnel had been working closely with FWC and health department workers to engage stakeholders and local governments in south-west Florida since the first red tide formations appeared in October. 'Florida remains committed to an all-hands-on-deck approach and continues to monitor the bloom and while remaining ready to assist affected counties,' its communications director, Alexandra Kuchta, said. 'Dedicated funding is available to support local communities in their red tide response efforts, including assistance for this event if necessary, although none has been requested so far. For fiscal year 2024-25, $5m was allocated, with an additional $5m proposed for 2025-26.' Kuchta added that DeSantis had also approved funding for innovative technologies that can be 'deployed immediately to protect water quality and public health from future harmful algal blooms, including red tide response'. A Mote representative told the Guardian that the south-west Florida bloom provided its researchers a first opportunity to 'field test' several mitigation technologies on an active bloom in uncontrolled open water. 'We've made a lot of progress on understanding the lab rat version of this species. The wild type, so to speak, that's out in the ocean can behave in ways you can't replicate in the test tube,' SCCF's Milbrandt said. Meanwhile, a page on the federal Environmental Protection Agency website still online as of Tuesday blamed the climate emergency, especially warming ocean waters, for more toxic and frequent algal blooms such as the one menacing the Florida Gulf coast. 'With a changing climate, harmful algal blooms can occur more often, in more fresh or marine waterbodies, and can be more intense,' it states. So far, at least, the page appears to have escaped a Trump administration purge of mentions of the climate crisis on government websites. Florida already has a law scrubbing mentions of 'climate change' from state legislation, and the University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann said DeSantis and Florida 'were indeed the test bed' for similar censorship at the federal level. 'Nothing would surprise me at this point, including efforts by the administration and the polluters who are running it to ban all references to climate change by administration agencies,' he said. DeSantis's office did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
