Tom Bayles
WGCU Environmental ReporterTom Bayles is WGCU's Senior Environmental Reporter and a 25-year veteran journalist in Florida. Before his tenure at WGCU Public Media, he worked for The New York Times Co. in Sarasota, the Associated Press in Miami and Tallahassee, and the Tampa Bay Times in Clearwater. He earned a master's in journalism and a bachelor's in education, both from the University of South Florida. The proud father of three sons, Bayles spends his free time fishing along the Southwest Florida coast in his 20-foot Aquasport with his Whippet pup, Spencer.
Bayles’ top awards include the Gold Medal for Public Service for Investigative Reporting from the Florida Society of News Editors, the Waldo Proffitt Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism in Florida, and being named the Sunshine State’s top environmental journalist by the Florida Press Club and FSNE. Bayles has been nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize.
Email: tbayles@wgcu.org
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Jon Rubinton of SWJR Naples LLC, previously proposed a 423-home residential community on the former citrus grove in January, then switched to a golf course with cottages -
A tiny ocean organism called rust tide has been spotted in the waters off Southwest Florida and while rare it looks like red tide and can cause massive fish kills. -
Two weeks after the Florida Coastal Corridor created an artificial reef off Naples the nonprofit dropped a second one offshore of Fort Walton Beach -
Using fertilizer is best in moderation, but some people overdo it so communities throughout Southwest Florida have bans against using fertilizers during rain-prone summer, -
Planning for, and recovering from, things that pushed wetlands, beaches, rivers, and other natural systems beyond that ability to quickly bounce back is the focus of the sixth annual Southwest Florida Resiliency Summit Southwest Florida Resiliency Summit in Punta Gorda. -
Florida Gulf Coast University researchers are investigating why nearby barrier islands can respond differently to the same storm to give those communities a blueprint for best hurricane protection -
Audubon Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary draws visitors from around the world for its top attractions -
The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is poised to take the record for the furthest into the season before a hurricane formed. -
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida believes successful flood prevention does not equal lining the coast with increasingly taller seawalls -
Researchers found sea-level rise can cause fewer jobs, fewer businesses, and slower job growth.
