U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Manatee Death Toll Has Already Surpassed 2012 Numbers

Manatees have been dying at a record pace in Florida this year, threatening their overall population. in just the first three months of 2013 alone, the number of sea cow deaths have already surpassed all of 2012. See also: -Manatees Dying Off Both Florida Coasts; Scientists Trying to Figure Ou ... More >>

Killing Stray Cats With Tylenol Is "Humane," Audubon Writer Says

Everybody has that neighbor (OK, some of you are that neighbor) whose heart bleeds for all the stray cats in the hood. Cat Lady or Cat Dude leaves paper bowls full of Meow Mix all over the sidewalks, and the scraggly, fiercely independent kitties go tomcatting all over town. You might think you ... More >>

Rick Scott Declares March 16 "Save the Florida Panther Day"

Last year was a record year for Florida Panther deaths (26), which is a bummer. But the good news is that they've been getting it on with hot Texas pumas and making baby panthers. Then, on March 6, Gov. Rick Scott declared that the state would have a "Save the Florida Panther Day." Saturday is th ... More >>

Gator Hunt at Loxahatchee Refuge Gets Approval

As throngs of would-be snake hunters flock to our state in the next 30 days to find and take out some invasive pythons, alligators thought they were in the clear. No so fast, alligators! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to allow 11 hunters to enter the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Natio ... More >>

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Looks to Clamp Down on Illegal Turtle Trade

There's a black market for everything, even turtles. Last month, we told you about an extensive sting operation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that took down a local yokel who was illegally smuggling turtles to China. It turns out this wasn't a one-off incident. Turtle smuggling ... More >>

Here's How the Feds Busted David Feltenberger for Smuggling Turtles to China

In October 2011, an undercover officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arrived at David Feltenberger's "Big Lake Fish Farm" in Okeechobee. Feltenberger was sentenced last week for conspiring to export turtles. He had a license to keep hundreds or thousands of softshell turtles, snapping ... More >>

Center for Biological Diversity Demands Protection for Ten Florida Species

See also "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Faces Lawsuit For Not Protecting Ten Florida Species"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity has filed a massive petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanding that a total of 53 reptiles and amphibians be granted protection under the Endangered Spe ... More >>

Feds Likely To Face Legal Battle Over Burmese Python Ban

Most of us rejoiced earlier this year when Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced a new set of restrictions on the much loathed, much feared, much hyped Burmese python.  But six months after the feds announced a ban on the importation and interstate sale of Burmese pythons and th ... More >>

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Faces Lawsuit For Not Protecting Ten Florida Species

Ten relatively obscure species found in the Sunshine State have landed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a legal tussle.The black rail, the Georgia blind salamander, a siltsnail, and the purple skimmer are among the animals that Fish and Wildlife has failed to adequately protect, accor ... More >>

Invasive Caribbean Termites or Snakehead "Frakenfish": Which is Grosser?

It seems every week a new invasive species tearing through Florida makes the headlines. Maybe it's because we're home to some of the busiest ports in the world, maybe it's due to our ostentatious exotic pet owners constantly trying to one up each other, or maybe it's just that the climate here is so ... More >>

Precious Red and Pink Corals Need Protection Under CITES

In last week's cover story, we looked at why reef-building corals are being plundered from the South Pacific and sent to the shores of Florida. But the curio trade isn't the only industry fueling the death of coral. For centuries, jewelry makers have harvested precious red a ... More >>

The World's Coral Reefs Are Being Decimated, All for a Few Gaudy Trinkets

Nature Conservancy, Surfrider Foundation Hosting Meeting Thursday on Marine Sanctuary Management

Care about the health of local waters? Got beef with how the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is being managed? Don't want to see the Atlantic turned into a barren, polluted wasteland?Then pay attention to what The Nature Conservancy and the Surfrider Foundation are doing this week. 

Save the Turtles: The Misguided, Misinformed, and Misdirected Battle for Hillsboro Lighthouse

​​All they wanted was some darkness for the baby sea turtles. But what started out as a simple request for protection of the endangered animals has ballooned into a yearslong battle among local advocates, the U.S. Coast Guard, and numerous agencies in which the original message has been lost in ... More >>

Public Has Three More Days to Comment on Possible New Wildlife Refuge

Coming to a cattle ranch near you.​The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended the public comment period for a proposal to turn 150,000 acres of savanna ranch land north of Lake Okeechobee into the "Headwaters of the Everglades National Wildlife Refuge." The acquisition would cost $700 million ... More >>

South Florida Environmental Groups Join Lawsuit Against National Park Service

Plaintiffs don't want the Everglades to look like this.​Several environmental groups, led by the Washington-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed a lawsuit last week against the National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Se ... More >>

South Florida Environmentalists Say Sale of Any Water District Lands Is a Dumb Idea

U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceDear humans, Get off my land. Love, this panther​The South Florida agency charged with securing water -- the stuff that makes your shampoo foamy -- for future generations has been having a tough time lately.Rick Scott and the GOP-led Legislature capped property taxe ... More >>

Florida Panther Population Up to a Whopping 160; Everything Is Wonderful Now

​Hunters and environmentalists are clashing over a plan that would open the last unhunted section of Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades to hunting. Opponents argue that a man-made reduction in the white-tailed deer population would reduce a primary food source for the region's dwindli ... More >>

Tree-Huggers and Gun-Toters Trade Barbs in Meeting on Proposed Everglades Hunting

Flickr: artur.pedziwilkReady, aim, fire! Deer in Big Cypress.​A room at the Weston Hyatt was split down the middle last night between hunters and environmentalists who offered two-minute commentaries on what action the Park Service should take regarding deer hunting in the 146,000-acre Big Cypress ... More >>

Tea Party Hates Manatees, Says Protecting Them Is "Against the Bible"

gatewaypundit.comManatees: Work of the devil.​Jesus apparently hated manatees, according to a new Tea Party platform circulating around Florida.Originating from the Citrus County Tea Party Patriots group, teabaggers are crying about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's intent to place restrictions ... More >>

Animal Rights Activists Ask Amerijet to Stop Shipping Monkeys

One of several injured monkeys photographed at a local research facility earlier this year.​Amerijet, the international cargo shipping corporation headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, is one of the few airlines that still transports research primates, specifically the ones used for controversial vivi ... More >>

Birds of a Feather, Art Together

Record Number of Florida Panthers Killed By Vehicles Last Year

flickr.comA panther photographed in Palm Beach county last year.​One of the latest came at the end of December, on I-75 in western Broward county. It was a 110-pound male, crossing the highway around 1 a.m. Last year, 17 Florida panthers were killed by vehicles, according to the Florida Fish and W ... More >>

Six Foot Iguana Lunches on Oakland Park Kid, Panther Gets More Room to Roam

Some cultures know what to do with a nuisance​A six-foot iguana thought Madison Wells tasted pretty good this week. Sorta like a strawberry, in fact. Little 7-year-old Madison was feeding the beast strawberries when it decided to clamp down on her ankle, tearing up her tendons and requiring a coup ... More >>

Brazen Young Panther Killed a Long Way From Home

Flickr user: doncon402You lookin' for me?​Males. When they're young and brash, trying to mark their territory and impress girls, there's no telling what they'll do. Run off to Georgia, even, and get themselves killed.That's apparently what happened to a Florida panther who was shot and killed by a ... More >>

Miguel and the Mouse

Ain't no fairy tale. A doctoral student aims to save a disappearing breed.

Pipe It to Me

Hold on a Bahamian Minute

Enviro-hassles

Yeah, Jeb's boys saved the Miami Blue. But since then, it's been open season on the environment.

The Egg Men

Volunteers spend millions of hours trying to rescue sea turtles. So how come so few people care about busting poachers?

Big Cypress Buyout

Proposed payment of millions to a wealthy clan amounts to nothing more than stealing from taxpayers for the Bush boys' political gain

For the Birds

Should 2700 little sparrows be allowed to hold up the reclaiming of the Everglades?

Slaughter Alley

Big, dead cats in the middle of the road -- lots of them

Take It to the Ribbit

Old-school frogger Norman Padgett may be the last of a dying breed: He makes a living off our slimy, fly-eating friends

A Natural Alliance

Buck Island Ranch is home to the threatened caracara, and it's a laboratory where ranchers and conservationists are learning to work together

Cold-Blooded Smuggling

The recent bust of a Hollywood importer sheds light on an illegal reptile trade that has adventurous smugglers making easy money