Oftentimes, keeping up with our state’s environmental news can be daunting — and sometimes discouraging as we tend to focus on the long list of problems to be solved. But it’s just as important for us to focus on the good news.
We’ve curated a list of this month’s environmental success stories in Florida:
Forest Service agencies and partners finalize Florida National Scenic Trail Big Bend reroute
The USDA Forest Service, several state agencies and other stakeholders have finalized and approved a comprehensive plan to reroute the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST). This plan, known as the Big Bend reroute, will close gaps on the FNST, maximize trail protection and highlight Florida’s natural and cultural resources.
In the Florida Keys, coral is coming back
Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium scientists announced that colonies of their mountainous star coral — an endangered coral species they’re trying to restore — have begun to reproduce near the Florida Keys. Typically, corals can take decades to reproduce, but these Mote colonies can reach sexual maturity after just a few years. Mote’s coral restoration process involves cutting coral into small pieces and growing them in a land-based nursery. Then, the pieces are fused with a deceased coral head in the ocean, quickly creating a coral colony. This is good news to corals along the Florida Reef Tract, which are threatened by disease, rising temperatures and pollution.
Volunteers clean up a record 1,500 pounds of trash along a Miami causeway
The Miami Beach-based environmental group, “Clean This Beach Up,” collected 1,500 pounds of trash from the General Douglas MacArthur Causeway, a six-lane, three-mile-long highway connecting downtown Miami to Miami Beach. The group said that most recently, they’ve seen lots of pandemic-related trash, like discarded face masks. But to combat this, members have started social media campaigns to raise awareness about the amount of medical waste in South Florida.
Loggerhead sea turtles on Sanibel and Captiva islands had their largest nesting season ever
Loggerhead sea turtle nest counts on both Sanibel and Captiva islands have passed their previous records. The species faces many threats, such as habitat loss, pollution and climate change, so this season’s nest counts are extremely encouraging. The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s sea turtle team documented 659 nests on Sanibel Island and 265 nests on Captiva Island.