To pair with the rest of our educational content in each Earth to Florida newsletter, we bring you monthly updates on statewide environmental news. Read on below to see what we found for the month of September:

10 Florida Stories to Watch

• After Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast, many communities are struggling to manage unprecedented flooding, loss of life, and property damage. According to many scientists, this is just one example of the effects of climate change on extreme weather. Many claim that for Tampa Bay, Helene was the worst storm in a century, with storm surges causing 8.5 million gallons of sewage to flood Tampa Bay with an estimated $1.8 billion in residential damage. Also severely affected was Cedar Key, where 25% of homes were destroyed following 10-foot-high storm surges. Communities across the state are now scrambling to begin recovery efforts while also preparing for another potentially record-breaking storm, Hurricane Milton, on track to make landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast this week.   

• A federal judge has imposed a fine on HRK Holdings, the former operators of the Piney Point phosphate plant. In 2021, the plant dumped over 200 gallons of polluted water into Tampa Bay, likely causing a massive red tide event that resulted in extensive environmental damage and displaced dozens of residents. Though the company has filed for bankruptcy and will likely never pay the full fine, the environmental groups emphasized that their goal was never financial gain. The ruling prioritizes remediation and mitigation of continued ecological damage.   

• An invasive sea grass has been spotted for the first time in the United States—in South Florida. Halophila stipulacea is highly adaptable to salinity and depth, causing researchers to raise alarm about its potential to wreak havoc on local ecosystems. It was first spotted in August by a marina worker, but experts conclude that based on its current distribution, the seagrass has been present in Florida for several years. Halophila stipulacea has outcompeted native grasses in the Caribbean, suggesting what’s at stake if it becomes established in Florida’s waters.  

• Recently, Gov. Ron DeSantis received widespread criticism for the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” a plan that proposed building lodgings, golf courses, and pickleball courts in many of Florida’s state parks. Earlier this year, the plans were leaked by a whistleblower within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Since its public announcement, the initiative sparked bipartisan outrage from residents, activists, and lawmakers across Florida. Following the pushback, Gov. DeSantis declared that he would put the project on hold and seek more public input to the project before moving forward.

• This year, counties in Florida have been issued several mosquito-borne illness advisories by the Florida Department of Health as cases of dengue fever and West Nile virus continue to rise. The counties have been investing in mosquito control and disease prevention measures such as spraying scrub bush, testing livestock, and releasing genetically modified male mosquitos. The impacts of these methods on other organisms continues to be a point of contention among researchers.  

• Researchers from Nova Southeastern (NSU) and Texas A&M universities have moved hundreds of endangered sea corals from South Florida to the Texas Gulf Coast. At NSU’s marine science laboratory, the corals are restored and prepared to be transplanted back into the ocean. The lab aims to function as a safeguard for coral research against the mass bleaching events that will continue to occur in the face of rising sea temperatures.  

• Monroe County’s Artificial Reefs Program has begun two more projects in the Florida Keys. The first initiative has been underway since last year and is working towards deploying the first artificial reef in 15 years off the coast of Key West. The reef is being constructed using repurposed cement power poles. These latest projects focus on creating sites to sustain fish populations within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.   

• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a plan to double the critical habitat for manatees in Florida. A revised map showing the proposed habitat areas has been published and now includes Silver Springs, Tampa Bay, and Withlacoochee Bay. The last update to this map was in 1977. This effort between agencies and environmental groups aims to highlight the areas manatees use that are most critical to their survival.

• Lovebugs might be disappearing from Florida. Dr. Norman Leppla, a professor from the University of Florida that specializes in pest management, said that a global insect die-off might be to blame. While there is no conclusive evidence, researchers agree that this downward trend of insect populations could be a result of climate change, urbanization, or chemicals in the environment. Lovebugs disappearing from Florida won’t cause any negative impacts, but it could allude to the looming insect biodiversity crisis in our future.   

• A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2022 against the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that alleges that the state violated the Endangered Species Act due to lack of regulation and enforcement of septic systems that discharge into the Indian River Lagoon. This discharge has killed off massive amounts of seagrass, a critical food source for manatees. The state has seen an uptick in manatee deaths related to starvation in recent years. The plaintiffs, Bear Warriors United, state that the department authorized these discharges for years despite knowing the ecological damage they can cause. The DEP is seeking a dismissal, stating that the group has no legal standing to pursue the case.