A massive belt of floating seaweed is on track to make 2026 one of the worst sargassum years on record, with the brown algae already smothering Caribbean beaches and drifting into the Gulf, according to the latest satellite data from the University of South Florida.

The April bulletin from the Sargassum Watch System, run by the USF College of Marine Science's Optical Oceanography Lab, shows sargassum increased in every region tracked.

Nearly all set a record for the month.

Sargassum is a free-floating seaweed that drifts in mats across the open ocean. In small amounts it shelters fish, crabs and sea turtles.

In the volumes now crossing the Atlantic, it piles onto beaches, rots in the sun and releases hydrogen sulfide gas — the rotten-egg smell that has driven tourists off Caribbean sand for more than a decade.

By mid-April the seaweed, which looks a lot like a watery sweet potato casserole with the brown, crusty topping, had spread across the entire Caribbean Sea, with substantial amounts pushing into the Gulf. Huge amounts washed up along many Caribbean shorelines, what USF researchers call “beaching events” in the bulletins issued at the end of every month like this mention in late April:

“Sargassum amount in most regions will continue to increase in the coming months,” wrote Brian Barnes and his fellow sargassum scientists. “Beaching events around the Caribbean and southeast coast of Florida will continue and likely increase.

“The year of 2026 is set to be another major Sargassum year — and likely to be a record year by summer.”

Researchers at USF’s Sargassum Watch System, which works with NOAA to use satellites to improve forecasting of the algae blooms and their size, warn that the huge mats are growing larger this month as feared.

MORE NEWS ABOUT SARGASSUM:

• Atlantic sargassum mass growing early, setting records, eyeing Florida
• Sound at sea, sargassum buries beaches and threatens tourism
• Massive swath of brown algae angles toward Southwest Florida beaches, but need we worry?
• Water Quality Report: Sargassum? What Sargassum?
• Listen to WGCU’s Tom Bayles discussing 2024’s sargassum onslaught on NPR’s All Things Considered with Mary Louise Kelley

The huge mats of seaweed were first recorded growing bigger in 2011 and have been pushing or surpassing previous years’ totals many summers since, creating environmental, ecological and economic problems in many regions, Barnes said.

The increases in sargassum are likely due to the cascade of effects from global warming, which include increasing air and ocean temperatures, which in turn affect ocean currents and provide more nutrients in the water.

Sargassum can, and does, bury beaches in Southeast Florida and in the Florida Keys.

Major beaching events have hit the Lesser Antilles, and lesser ones have fouled Florida's southeast coast.

The USF lab's scientists say sargassum may also gunk up Louisiana and Texas shores.

Southwest Florida has been spared so far, mainly due to the Loop Current.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

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Most boating dangers announce themselves. A pop-up storm. A big wake. Another boat coming too fast can sound alarms.

One killer does not.

Open-air carbon monoxide poisoning

"One risk that people really don't think about is open-air carbon monoxide poisoning," said Peg Phillips, director of the National Safe Boating Council. "And unfortunately, there are fatalities each year from carbon monoxide poisoning on a boat."

Phillips works with the parents of children who have gone to sleep on the back of the family boat and never gotten up.

"They had spent the day out on the boat. Had a great day," she said. "And just decided to lie down and take a nap and breathed in the carbon monoxide."

Carbon monoxide pools at the back of the boat. It gets worse whenever the vessel slows down, like in a long no-wake or manatee zone. And it gives no warning.

"One thing to remember is that carbon monoxide is odorless. You're not going to smell that," Phillips said. "If you have small children, put them towards the front of the boat."

National Safe Boating Week

Memorial Day Weekend kicks off National Safe Boating Week, an annual reminder to people nationwide that many boating crashes and deaths are preventable. Wear a life jacket at all times. Stay sober. Give the captain a dedicated second pair of eyes, or a person watching out for hazards in all directions.

Those are the things mentioned year after year, common sense precautions that can keep nearly any day boating safe.

This week is also when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues its yearly boating accident numbers.

The agency said Florida boaters logged 439 injuries last year, a five-year high, even as personal watercraft accidents stayed near the bottom of their recent range at 161.

The pattern in who got hurt was familiar. Most injured people were not wearing a flotation device, and 40 percent were thrown from their boats.

Lacerations, contusions, and broken bones accounted for most of the wounds, and the most common cause was simply one boat hitting another.

On personal watercraft, inexperience drove the numbers. Nearly two of every five operators in crashes had logged fewer than 10 hours on the water and a big contributor was failure to have a second set of eyes watching for hazards other than the vessel’s operator.

Crashes also peaked in July and cluster through the warm months, a reminder that summer is when the water gets most crowded and least forgiving.

The more familiar danger still kills most people. Boaters are far more likely to die or be injured because they were not wearing a life jacket.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found 87 percent of drowning victims were not wearing one. Most boating fatalities are drownings.

"The most important boating safety tip is to wear a life jacket," Phillips said. "That is the easiest way to keep the boat operator and all your passengers safe. So just go ahead and wear it."

Boating a big business in Florida

Boating in Florida is not only a way to relieve stress, strengthen family bonds, and have fun. It is also big business.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association says recreational boating in Florida generates an economic impact of more than $31 billion a year. That includes about $5.4 billion in annual sales of boats, engines, and accessories. More than 100,000 jobs across the state are tied to the industry.

Florida leads the nation with about 1.2 million documented vessels, roughly 10 percent of all the boats, dinghies, personal watercraft, canoes, and paddleboards known of in the country.

Even paddleboards count. Anyone on the surfboard-looking craft, the kind a person stands on and moves with an oar, must carry a life jacket and, after dark, a white light visible from all directions.

The wildlife commission compiles its boating accident report and issues it about 18 months after the end of the year it covers. The 2024 numbers are in the 2025 report, which came out in May 2026.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have reopened spillway gates at three dams along the Caloosahatchee River -- and boaters need to pay attention.

The spillways were opened this week to restore the downstream flow of freshwater, which is necessary to counteract the tides pushing saltwater up the river. If incoming saltwater meets no outgoing freshwater resistance, and the spillways are open, the saltwater will travel too far upstream, which can wreak environmental havoc within the delicate river ecosystem.

The spillways are now open at the Julian Keen Jr. Lock and Dam, the Ortona Lock and Dam, and the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam. The structures stretch from Moore Haven downriver to just east of Fort Myers.

Army Corps records do not show the locks have been closed to boaters, meaning vessels are passing through the locks, which are a chamber a boat glides into, the water level inside rises or lowers, then the other end of the lock opens, and the boat continues its way up or down the river.

A spillway is the gated section of the dam that controls how much water flows downstream. Same structure, different jobs.

But both moving water and navigating the river during the worst drought in 25 years is not without risk.

The drought has dropped Lake Okeechobee’s water level, which fluctuates throughout the year, enough that lakebed is not just showing but has become parched along the north and northeastern shoreline.

Ecological reasons have kept the Army Corps from releasing much, if any, water from the lake into the Caloosahatchee River through a spillway in Moore Haven, the river’s main source of water.

Water running into the river from its surrounding watershed allows some downriver flow and , in this case, the spillways to open. However, water gauges in the area around the locks show the river’s depth at between six inches and several feet.

The Army Corps has been warning boaters to expect lower-than-normal channel depths between the lock sites.

The shallow river between the dams will behave differently with the spillways open. Channels that were already shallow may shift. Sandbars may appear where boaters did not expect them. Currents may change.

“All boaters are requested to exercise caution while navigating lower-than-normal channel depths, which are expected between lock sites,” the Army Corps said in a press release. “There may be impacts to local docks and marinas.”

Specifically, as the river’s water levels rise and fall, boats tied up at private docks may sit differently in the water. Some shallow marina basins may be impossible to enter or leave.

The Army Corps’ notification did not say why it’s opening the spillways now, where the water is coming from, or how long the releases will last. Calls and texts to the agency were not returned.

Boaters with questions can reach the lock operators directly between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. by clicking contact information here.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

About seven months and $25 million from now, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s campus will reopen transformed into what leaders hope becomes far more than a traditional nature center.

The John and Carol Walter Nature Experience will include a new amphitheater, a food truck and picnic area, expanded walking trails through the preserve and additional electric boats for visitors exploring the Gordon River.

Allow for more people to connect with nature

The goal is simple.

Get more people to connect with nature in ways that inspire them to care about the region’s environment long after they leave the property.

“My family has become deeply connected to the natural beauty and our shared way of life here in Southwest Florida,” John Walter said. “This area is important, and holds great significance to all of us. We feel a great responsibility to get involved and care for our surroundings since they offer so much meaning and enjoyment. Like many, we want our community to thrive for future generations.”

The renovation reflects a broader transformation that has reshaped museums, aquariums, science centers, zoos and wildlife facilities across the country during the last several decades.

Evolution in the style of exhibits

Beginning in the 1980s, many institutions moved away from quiet exhibits and static displays toward immersive, interactive experiences designed to make visitors stay longer and engage more deeply. Children’s museums and major science centers helped lead the movement by replacing glass cases with hands-on exhibits and attractions built around participation rather than observation alone.

That same philosophy eventually spread to aquariums, marine laboratories, wildlife rescue campuses and nature centers.

The idea was not simply to educate visitors, but to create places families actively wanted to visit and revisit.

What to expect at the conservancy

The result has been larger campuses, outdoor gathering spaces, food venues, walking trails, interactive exhibits and live demonstrations designed to compete for attention in an increasingly entertainment-driven culture. The conservancy’s expansion appears to fit squarely within that national trend.

When the campus reopens in late 2026, conservancy leaders hope the redesigned property will help deepen public understanding of the organization’s environmental mission while creating a stronger connection between residents and Southwest Florida’s ecosystems.

Cranes, crews and construction equipment are reshaping the campus, but the conservancy’s core mission remains: protect the landscapes, water, and wildlife that makes Southwest Florida worth preserving.

The $25 million cost is being provided by a grant from the John and Carol Walter Family Foundation, the largest gift in the conservancy’s history.

“There’s our hope that the re-imagined nature experience will continue to positively transform this critical regional destination so that residents and visitors will better understand how fundamental the conservancy’s mission is to each of our personal lives,” Walter said. “We hope our commitment inspires others to learn more.”

The von Arx Wildlife Hospital will remain open during construction to continue caring for injured and sick wildlife.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

It’s the first week of sea turtle nesting season in Southwest Florida, and this year the thousands of loggerheads and greens that nest on our beaches have a new ally in nine-year-old entrepreneur Naomi Haynam.

The Cape Coral pre-teen so loves sea turtles she’s making beach-themed earrings and selling them at home, online, and in parks to raise money to donate to volunteer sea turtle protection groups.

Her Turtle Treasures by Naomi line of custom earrings cost $6 per pair, but — and here comes one of her sales pitches — buy three pairs at once and get a really nice discount!

“I was about like, maybe like eight when I went and got to see sea turtles get released,” she said. “It was really cool because I got to watch them swim out and get released.”

Naomi also remembers falling in love with sea turtles swimming off an island near Okinawa when she was a very little girl. Well, she sort of remembers.

She was swimming with her dad, who was in the Air Force, on a day in the middle of sea turtle nesting season. The animals were thick in the crystal blue waters. Hundreds swimming all around her.

Naomi isn’t quite sure if she was old enough to remember the adventure, or if her dad’s many recollections of the event and family photos, that have made the memory more real to her. Not that it matters.

It’s all about sea turtles now.

Naomi is not only her own best spokesperson, she’s the jewelry maker, inventory supervisor, graphic artist, merchandise photographer, advertising executive, spreadsheet sales analyst, fulfillment officer, charity coordinator, and serves as what counts as her own CEO.

The homeschooler is also supervisor of sales.

She’s set up a self-service counter on the front porch. She devotes space online to photos, order forms, and a QR code to make buying a snap. And she also walks to a nearby park with her display case, packed with earrings, to make sales.

In short, Naomi is more organized than many adults.

Her production line, however, is all nine-year-old.

Safety first: “My mom makes me wear goggles, so I don't get any like metal in my eye.”

Then: “I get, like, tweezers. I get kits off of Amazon, otherwise it would take a long time to make it,” she said. “So, what I do is like, there's this little thing, I open it, and then I put the charm, and then I add in the beads. Then I, like, twist it.”

Note the variety: “This one has sand dollars. That one has, like mermaids, turtles, seahorses. It always varies. I sometimes always make them different.”

And the pitch: “This is how we can help sea turtles. We can help them by spreading awareness. And not only sea turtles. We can help other wildlife.”

She’s really good at all of it. Naomi’s sold $650 of her hand-made earrings in her first six weeks, each pair hanging in a hand-made holder emblazoned with her own design.

That’s allowed Naomi to adopt sea turtle nests with the North Captiva Sea Turtle Foundation and another in Port Saint Joe in the Panhandle. Adopting a nest is akin to a sponsorship

To visit her online store, click here.

Or watch her 30-second Facebook spots, which like any good infomercial, is packed with enthusiasm.

The set-up: “I have something really exciting to share. I just sponsored a real sea turtle nest. That means I'm helping protect baby sea turtles while they grow and get ready to hatch. Soon I'm going to get pictures of the baby turtles, and I can't wait to show you!

The hook: “Right now, I'm working toward adopting another nest so I can help even more sea turtles survive."

The pitch: “If you want to be part of this, then help save sea turtles too. Every pair helps protect sea turtles in their homes."

And the close: “Thank you for supporting Turtle Treasures. Bye!”

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

Joe Cavanaugh, the Calusa Waterkeeper hired last May, is no longer with the organization.

Calusa Waterkeeper is a nonprofit that works to protect and restore the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee to the coastal waters of Lee County.

When hired, the group said: “Cavanaugh brings decades of experience in marine science, water quality monitoring, and community engagement to the role. With a long-standing commitment to the Caloosahatchee River and surrounding ecosystems, he has worked extensively at the local and federal levels to promote clean water policies and protect critical habitats — most notably through his former role at NOAA, where he helped monitor and protect smalltooth sawfish critical habitat in the Caloosahatchee.”

Cavanaugh said despite no longer being with the nonprofit he's still going to work toward conservation goals.

“As of last Friday, I am no longer Calusa Waterkeeper,” Cavanaugh said. “But I do plan to continue work on habitat and sawfish conservation in the river. I’m worried about the extinction of the species.”

Calusa Waterkeeper is one of 15 Waterkeeper organizations in Florida. Each is led by a Waterkeeper who acts as the primary advocate for a specific watershed.

Together, they form Waterkeepers Florida, a statewide coalition of all 15 groups. Their mission is water-focused: drinkable, swimmable and fishable, achieved through science, education, and advocacy.

The Florida coalition is part of the global Waterkeeper Alliance which, according to its website, unites more than 300 Waterkeeper groups on six continents.

Related stories

• Joe Cavanaugh appointed as new Calusa Waterkeeper
• Calusa Waterkeeper mourns the loss of Captain Codty Pierce
• Calusa Waterkeeper meets to discuss future, area's water status

Florida's 15 Waterkeepers work to improve waters across the state, including Tampa Bay Waterkeeper in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, Suncoast Waterkeeper in the Sarasota and Manatee region, Calusa Waterkeeper, and Collier County Waterkeeper to the south. Other Waterkeeper groups monitor and 11 more watersheds, including the St. Johns River, the Indian River Lagoon and the Apalachicola River.

Jason Pim, a Calusa Waterkeeper board member, said, “we parted on good terms.”

“It is an at-will contract and it was not working out. We have a lot of passionate board members who are working hard to complete our mission and that won’t change.”

Waterkeepers Florida and the Environmental Defense Alliance recently sued EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

The coalition argued the agency failed to adopt updated water quality protections for toxic and cancer-causing chemicals in Florida waters.

Standards for dozens of toxic pollutants, including known carcinogens such as benzene, are supposed to be reviewed every three years, the coalition said. Many have not been updated since the 1990s.

The movement traces its roots to Riverkeeper on New York's Hudson River, established in 1983.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

The cute, tiny sea turtle hatchlings crawling out of their sandy nests in droves, each the size of a silver dollar, flailing little flippers like crazy to reach the relative safety of the ocean, that endears so many people to the loggerheads and green turtles that hatch on Southwest Florida beaches.

But a whole bunch of the little ones don't make it.

More than 100,000 hatchlings don't make it

David Godfrey, director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said more than 100,000 hatchlings don’t make it annually. A more precise number, he said, is rather impossible.

In many cases, hatchlings paddle like crazy but go the wrong way. Away from the water. Drawn by the lights of the beachfront towns on the opposite side of the beach than the Gulf.

They run out of steam never realizing they were headed the wrong direction. Dozens are found dead the next morning, strewn about the beach far from the water line. Or worse, squashed by cars as they tried to cross the paved road that runs along the shoreline of many beach towns.

When hatchlings go the wrong way, it's — almost kindly — called a "disorientation."

A preventable death

But the fact is, nearly every time they perish headed in the wrong direction, it's a preventable death.

Nowhere in Southwest Florida do hatchlings crawl the wrong way, often to their demise, than at Fort Myers Beach. Even town officials admit it, and say they are working hard for that to change.

"The recent spate of hurricanes, Hurricane Ian, Idalia, Milton, Helene, they took their toll on the trees, knocked down a lot of structures," Chadd Chustz, a Fort Myers beach environmental manager who oversees sea turtle issues, said. "And as a consequence, our beaches are a lot more exposed to light. And that light pollution poses a problem to sea turtles that orient themselves with the moon and starlight reflecting off the Gulf. Whenever they are misoriented, they go the wrong direction and suffer as a consequence."

From nest to water

Sea turtle eggs incubate for two months before all of the hatchlings dig out of the nest at once, which can take several days.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that as a group, hatchlings usually wait until nighttime and all dash for the water at once. Hatchlings die of dehydration if they don't make it to the ocean fast enough. Birds, crabs, and other predators also zero-in on the young turtles.

If they make it into the water and live, that process "imprints" their home beach into the hatchlings, which is what causes the females, when grown, to return to lay nests on the same beach.

Only about one in 1,000 sea turtles survive to adulthood.

Sea turtle ordinances

Most beach towns in Southwest Florida have sea turtle ordinances, and a main focus of them is preventing disorientations. Fort Myers Beach can levy fines on beachfront home and business owners — $250 for a first offense and $500 for a repeat.

Chustz, from Fort Myers Beach, said he talks to the light polluters first, and 90% of the time, everything is resolved right then and there.

"The sea turtle ordinance does apply to all properties on the beach, so you don't necessarily have to be beachfront," Chustz said. "We just want to let people know how to come into compliance, what the issues are. Education is a real big component. Educate, educate, educate. I don't like paperwork, and people don't usually like whenever they get paperwork from me.”

Nesting season in Southwest Florida runs officially from May 1 through Oct. 31, though sea turtles don't carry calendars. Mama turtles sometimes show up earlier, and some clutches of eggs incubate into November.

“If you have any questions or concerns,” Chustz said. “Just give me a call and we'll point you in the right direction."

Chustz can be reached at (239) 462-8127.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

The Newman Fire, which broke out in east Naples along the Picayune State Forest this week, was the third of four notable wildfires in the Western Everglades over the last six weeks.

The fourth, the Jetport Fire, broke out this weekend near the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in eastern Collier County. A Florida Forest Service spokesman said it was just over 41 acres, 75 percent contained, and no threat to the controversial prison on Saturday.

While likely, it's impossible to say whether the foursome of blazes in or near the Big Cypress National Preserve would have happened in Southwest Florida so close to each other — in time and in distance — if not for the drought that’s locked onto Florida for more than a year.

What’s easier to attribute to the worst drought in Florida in 25 years is this: nearly 100,000 acres has burned across the Sunshine State so far this year. That’s just shy of 1,000 acres a day and far ahead of last year’s pace.

Florida’s wildland firefighters knew this was coming.

Nearly a dozen firefighting agencies gathering at the Naples Airport in January to prepare the public — and each other — for what appears to be in play now.

“We’re anticipating that we're going to see and early and more active than regular brush fire season in the upcoming year,” Chris Wolfe, chief of the Naples Fire District, said during the January event. “This is mostly due to the significant drought that we're experiencing.”

Wolfe got the “early” part right: Wildfires this year have burned 75 percent more acreage in Florida than at this point in 2025.

And it’s looking like he’s going to get the “more active” part correct, too: The heart of wildfire season in Florida begins now and typically peaks through July.

Newman Fire a near tragedy

Thanks to teamwork things are quiet on a Newman Fire that otherwise could have burned through homes in Collier County.

“Everybody’s monitoring the future weather conditions were going to have some shifting winds coming up this weekend,” Jesse Lavender, a Florida Forest Service spokesman, said Friday. “It’s not really a concern but it’s a change so we have to be prepared.”

Until the next one, which ended up being the Jetport Fire that was first spotted Saturday.

The Newman Fire was first noticed on April 13, and within a few hours that Monday, it had grown to nearly 1,000 acres.

The Florida Forest Service and Greater Naples Fire Rescue were first on-scene and went to work with tractor-mounted rangers and brush trucks, everything they had.

They also called for help.

When dawn broke the next morning, the Newman Fire had grown to 1,500 acres and was barely contained.

Then more than 100 firefighters from various agencies arrived and hit the fire hard. Aerial drops of water and firefighting slurry rained down on the blaze.

By the end of the day the fire was largely beaten and was 60 percent contained. Lavender said the state forest service will monitor what remains of the blaze while the firefighters who came to help head home.

“We’re going to remain on site and make sure it doesn’t spruce back up,” Lavender said. “Crews are working on hot spots, maintaining lines, overall, there’s very low fire activity.”

The Newman Fire was 95 percent contained at just over 1,700 acres by the end of the weekend.

The first full day of the Newman Fire on August 13 caused some evacuations east of Naples — people and animals.

Nearby residents said at the time some homeowners in the vicinity who keep horses had evacuated or were preparing to move the animals.

While evacuating a residence by oneself isn’t an easy chore, it’s made more difficult with a large animal that may often have a sense of an impending emergency situation.

"They 100% sense what's going on. I have a lot of experience with horses, and one of the biggest things is that, like, you can't involve yourself with their neuroses. So I just had to turn all that off, and they don't have a chance to say no. They can't say no," Kristin Peterson of Fort Myers, helping to move horses, said at the time. “They need to get on the trailer. I have training in getting horses on trailers and getting difficult horses on trailers, and I just ran up and grabbed horses and don't give them time to say no, and just load them up."

The encroaching fire forced her to move several horses — and not just to one place.

"Seven horses from Belle Meade went to Naples Therapeutic Riding Center, and then I grabbed a horse,” she said. “I don't even know whose horse it was. I still don't. I just know it was an older horse. I grabbed him and loaded him up, and he went to Stepping Up Farms."

At the same time, the Florida Forest Service and Greater Naples Fire Rescue were working the fire, and the Collier County Sheriff Office’s Aviation Unit soon assisted by dropping huge buckets of water.

On April 14, the reinforcements arrived from other local, state, and federal wildland firefighting agencies and the wildfire was largely brought under control.

Rains have helped

Spotty showers throughout Southwest Florida during the first two weeks of April lowered drought levels in certain areas. But rainfall levels have not been close to enough to quench the worst drought to blanket the region in 25 years.

Much of Charlotte County will remain under a once-a-week watering restriction imposed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District through July 1.

Lee and Collier counties are under the regional jurisdiction of the South Florida Water Management District, which has issued water warnings, not watering restrictions. However, Lee County officials revised their water conservation ordinance in 2024 to require one-day-a-week watering through the end of May and no watering between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The Florida Forest Service reports counties with bans against outdoor burning to sparks from campfires or trash burns don’t start a wildfire include Collier, Lee, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, and DeSoto.

All of Southwest Florida is still dealing with extreme levels of dryness, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.

You can discover the wild and free areas of Florida — for free — as part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Florida WildQuest statewide scavenger hunt April 25 through May 3.

The event takes place across Florida’s Wildlife Management Areas, offering participants a chance to complete interactive challenges while discovering lesser-known outdoor destinations.

The free experience uses the GooseChase app, where users can submit photos, videos and responses to prompts tied to wildlife and conservation.

Participants can join by downloading the app, creating an account and entering the game code EBN6F2. Missions can be completed at any participating location during the event period.

WildQuest is free, though some Wildlife Management Areas may require a daily-use permit. Officials recommend participants bring water, snacks, sun protection and bug spray, noting that cell service may be limited in some areas. Submissions can be uploaded later if needed.

To qualify for a prize drawing, participants must complete at least 10 missions and finish a short survey by midnight May 3. Winners will be randomly selected on May 12.

Travis Blunden, a wildlife viewing program specialist with the FWC, said the event helps introduce people to public lands they may not have previously explored.

“Raising awareness of Wildlife Management Areas and how they protect habitat is one of the main goals of Florida WildQuest,” Blunden said. “Around a quarter of participants are first-time visitors, and nearly half of returning visitors explore a new location.”

Blunden said organizers hope the event encourages long-term engagement with Florida’s outdoor spaces.

“Our hope is that more members of the public will realize that Wildlife Management Areas are a good option for many types of outdoor recreation,” he said, noting activities such as hiking, birding and cycling.

Planning a statewide event presented logistical challenges, particularly with limited staff, Blunden said. The use of the GooseChase app allowed organizers to create a flexible, self-guided experience accessible across Florida.

Participants may encounter a wide range of wildlife, including wading birds, gopher tortoises, otters and alligators, depending on where they explore. The event spans more than 150 locations, from marshes and wetlands to pine flatwoods and scrub habitats.

Blunden said the broader goal is to connect people with Florida’s natural heritage.

“We want WildQuest to be an invitation to visit the WMAs and also to provide some education about plants and animals found in them,” he said. “Ultimately, we want people to connect to Florida’s unique wild lands.”

More information, including an interactive map of participating locations, is available at FloridaWildQuest.com.

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One researches dolphin pods in Sarasota Bay.

Another studies the impacts of pollution in area waterways.

A third leads a consortium that strives to bring awareness to the work of local scientists.

Those experts, along with another local environmental advocate, will lead a panel discussion moderated by Suncoast Searchlight on April 15 at The Bay Park.

The conversation will offer a rare chance to hear directly from the scientists and advocates studying the region’s most pressing environmental challenges, from microplastics in local waters to the loss of natural habitats, and what those changes mean for the future of the Suncoast.

The free event — dubbed “Beneath the Surface: The Environmental Stories Shaping our Community” — starts at 3 p.m. inside the Bayfront Community Center behind the Municipal Auditorium. Presented in partnership with the Science and Environment Council, it is part of Suncoast Searchlight’s ongoing community engagement series supported by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

• Free: Register here for the event

The panel coincides with the Giving Challenging, a biennial, 24-hour fundraising event supporting local nonprofits, including Suncoast Searchlight. This year, organizers will host nearly a dozen pop-up stations throughout the community, including one from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at The Bay, where people can learn more about the organizations.

Organizers said the goal is to pair information with action, giving residents a clearer understanding of the environmental challenges facing the Suncoast and an immediate opportunity to support the organizations working on them.

“There’s a lot of important environmental research and work happening in this region that doesn’t get a lot of public attention,” said Emily Le Coz, executive editor-in-chief of Suncoast Searchlight. “That’s why we’re proud to partner with the Science and Environment Council on this and other initiatives designed to promote the organizations involved in the work.”

Panelists for the environmental discussion include Randy Wells, director of the Dolphin Research Program; Abbey Tryna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper; Jennifer Shafer, co-executive director Science and Environmental Council; and Jon Thaxton, director of policy and advocacy at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Randy Wells – director of the Dolphin Research Program

Wells has spent 56 years conducting dolphin research in Sarasota Bay, helping shape protections for bottlenose dolphins throughout the southeastern United States.

Since The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program was founded, the organization has identified a year-round population of 170 dolphins in the bay — a group that offers insight into the health of the local ecosystem.

The research has revealed troubling signs, like the discovery of microplastics in dolphins at concentrations sometimes higher than those found in humans. Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that degrade from larger plastic products and can carry harmful chemicals into living organisms.

“They breathe the same air, eat the same fish and swim in the same waters,” Wells said. “They are impacted by the same factors that can impact us.”

Studying where plastic contamination is originating could help understand how to combat the problem, he said.

“Where we find them is at the mouth of Phillippi Creek. That begins to point the finger at humans and wastewater discharges.”

Abbey Tryna – executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper

Much of Suncoast Waterkeeper’s work, Tyrna said, focuses on helping the public understand emerging challenges facing one of the region’s most important natural resources — water.

But Tyrna said she’s often surprised by how little the public understands about the resource that drew many of them to the Suncoast.

“People love the beach, the bay and the water,” she said. “They love going out there, but they don’t stop and think about what’s keeping it in its condition and how tenuous that system is.”

The region is under phase three water restrictions that limit the times and days that people can irrigate their lawns, yet Tyrna continues to see people with sprinklers turned on when they shouldn’t and homeowners pressure washing their driveways and fences. Water resources are so low that restaurants are restricted from providing tap water to patrons until they ask for it.

“Do they know what that means, how much water we have, when phase three water restrictions are in place?” Tryna asked.

Jennifer Shafer – co-executive director Science and Environmental Council

Shafer spends her time trying to increase environmental understanding through public discussion and collaboration with more than 40 leading science-based nonprofit and governmental organizations.

The Science and Environmental Council partnered with Suncoast Searchlight for the panel discussion to increase the public’s awareness of pressing environmental topics in the community.

It’s not just one topic about the environment that deserves more attention, she said, but a general public understanding about the interaction of the environment and how those systems work. The Science and Environmental Council recently launched EcoBeat — a resource for reporters to connect with local scientists and environmentalists about topics that impact the region.

“We have to think of our ecosystem as a utility and maintain it accordingly,” Shafer said.

Jon Thaxton – director of policy and advocacy at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Thaxton has been an environmentalist since he was in high school. Years later, he often clashed with real estate interests during his time as a Sarasota County commissioner from 2000 to 2012. He said he worries that the current generation will be the last to experience native Florida ecosystems as more and more projects continue to be developed.

He said one topic that deserves more attention is the loss of natural habitat in the region’s pine flatlands, which has largely been developed into residential housing communities.

“We give no consideration to the wildlife that is endemic to those environments,” he said.

It isn’t just native species that suffer as their habitats get bulldozed for housing, but also impacts natural processes that manage stormwater and currently prevents flooding.

“Pine flatlands hold water,” he said, “and purify it. That protects property from flooding.”

This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.