Latest Flooded grasslands and savannas Stories

Police responding to a report of an alligator at a South Florida apartment complex found the 8-foot gator tied to a tree with an extension cord.The alligator was struggling, trying to escape, while an audience of about 30 people had gathered outside the River Oaks Apartments in Oakland Park to watch its thrashing, Mike Jachles, a spokesman for the Broward Sheriff's Office, told The Miami Herald. The alligator is believed to have crawled from a canal into the complex swimming pool.A trapper...

Observers in South Florida say 2009 has been a good year for the wood stork, with an estimated 3,500 young birds expected to fledge. Last year, no young birds survived in a season when the area was hit by a drought, the Miami Herald reported. Scientists say that may have sent potential parents into overdrive this year. ''We haven't seen this kind of nesting efforts and eggs laid since the 1930s,'' said Dean Powell, of the South Florida Water Management District. The storks, which were...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Crystals has learned today of the new deal announced between U.S. Sugar Corp. and the State of Florida and is carefully analyzing the details. Florida Crystals is hopeful the new deal will refocus efforts on the connection between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. Florida Crystals owns the parcels comprising the missing link within this "sweet spot" identified by Governor Crist and will continue to work with the Governor to...

Exotic fish threaten native species in Florida's Everglades but marine biologists say the threat is hard to assess because the invasive species are underwater. Walking catfish and other species pose a threat much greater than the python, the Everglades' most notorious invasive species, The Miami Herald reported Monday "This is a problem that is 10 times worse than the python, but it's all under water, so nobody knows about it,'' said Dave Hallac, the park's chief biologist. Since 2000, park...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ New islands, rising from Lake Okeechobee like a bass fisherman's version of Atlantis, could become a tourist-attracting, economic alternative for the Florida city of Pahokee's life after U.S. Sugar. The state's proposed $1.75 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar to further Everglades restoration threatens to leave Pahokee and other Glades cities without a major employer. This comes at a time when lingering low lake levels have hurt marinas and other water-dependent...

By Andy Reid, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul. 24--After another lawn-soaking, puddle-producing summer storm rolls through, familiar taunts rain down on the top forecaster for the South Florida Water Management District. "Nice drought!" neighbors tease Geoff Shaunghnessy, lead meteorologist for the agency that is imposing Water restrictions on South Florida. Above-average rainfall in June and July forces the district to dump storm water into the ocean to avoid flooding. Yet the...

By Andy Reid, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul. 17--South Florida water managers warned a federal judge Thursday that a lingering lawsuit threatens to cut off funding needed to speed up Everglades restoration. In addition to stalling projects to store and clean water needed to revive the Everglades, the lawsuit could hurt the borrowing power of the South Florida Water Management District, now negotiating to purchase U.S. Sugar, district representatives said. The $1.75 billion deal calls...

Talk to executive chef Toby Joseph at Cero in the St. Regis Resort Fort Lauderdale or executive chef Ryan Artim of the Ritz Carlton, Palm Beach, and they are proud that they serve local seafood and produce. They are like many chefs today who brag of using organic ingredients in season. They go to great lengths to label such foods on their menus and build relationships with growers, fishermen and foragers who can supply them. The Slow Food movement with 80,000 members worldwide has formed to...

By Jonathan Del Marcus, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul. 6--A planned trailhead and parking lot will provide convenient access from Coral Springs to a vast Everglades conservation area. The joint venture between the city and Broward County will provide an access point near the intersection of West Atlantic Boulevard and the Sawgrass Expressway, where a dirt path now extends just beyond city limits. Plans for the Atlantic Boulevard Trailhead project include a paved two-lane road that will...

The dramatic and, in some cases, damaging environmental changes sweeping planet Earth are brought into sharp focus in a new atlas launched to mark World Environment Day (WED). Produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), One Planet Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment compares and contrasts spectacular satellite images of the past few decades with contemporary ones, some of which have never been seen before.Astrobiology Magazine -- The dramatic and, in some cases,...