Stephanie Byrne

More manatees died in the last year than ever before in Florida. Now a lawsuit has been filed to hopefully protect their home. The suit was filed against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by conservation groups for failing to revise outdated critical habitat for Florida manatees.” In January, 97 manatees died. And last year, […]

A debate is swirling over a slice of paradise on Marco Island’s Tigertail Beach –to dredge, or not to dredge. Tigertail lagoon and bordering Sand Dollar Island are home to shorebirds, seashells, and strolling visitors. Friends of Tigertail Beach is a nonprofit with a goal of protecting the area and its president, Linda Colombo, fears […]

Water is one of Florida’s most abundant natural resources. It’s a crucial one that impacts the environment and other important industries in our economy, but it’s also being depleted and polluted. People flock to Southwest Florida for its boating, beaches, swimming, fishing, and food. Tourism is tops in the area and helping to fuel the […]

Everyone’s talking about it, whether you live here or vacationing here, plunging –temperatures are on the way this weekend. Freeze Watches have been posted for areas along and east of I-75. They go into effect Saturday night through Sunday morning as we’re expecting lows to plummet to and below freezing for our inland zones by […]

A chilly weekend is on tap for the Sunshine State, which means manatees will have to seek warmer water for refuge. But what if they can’t find enough food on the way? In just the first few weeks of the new year, at least 47 Florida manatees have died, based on preliminary state data. One […]

While we’re not dealing with red tide in Southwest Florida right now, chances are we’ll see it again at some point. Some experts expect climate change to impact future blooms, but the question is, will it make it better or worse. Terry Gibson with the American Water Security Project believes Floridians are in the know […]

On Sunday, one hundred thousand gallons of sewage spilled in a Charlotte County neighborhood. It resulted from a wastewater force main break along Rampart Boulevard in Deep Creek. Charlotte County Utilities say crews found a nine-foot crack in the pipe. While they say they’ve collected most of the wastewater, 20,000 gallons entered a nearby drainage […]

There’s a plan to keep the water flowing not down a river, but across a river. Progress is happening on an idea to move reclaimed water from Fort Myers to Cape Coral. Caloosahatchee Connect construction will soon start on that pipeline to move water across the Caloosahatchee to be used for irrigation and fire protection. […]

Neighbors in a Fort Myers neighborhood are living with worsening water conditions. The water pressure in Ward 6, the eastern portion of the city, is not good. City leaders are planning to take action. The city is exploring different options from booster pumps to also expanding water capacity. The low water pressure is just one […]

Three Florida Panthers have died in Southwest Florida this year so far, but there are ways to prevent losing even more. The Florida panther is iconic in the Sunshine State and is considered endangered. It’s also one of two native cat species in Florida. The other is the bobcat. Adults are brown, about 5 to […]