October 2015 – The National Parks Trolley that provides free transportation in season from downtown Homestead to Everglades and Biscayne National Parks is not just a good idea, it’s a great example of how partnerships help connect people to parks. Congratulations to the City of Homestead, Homestead Main Street and National Parks Conservation Association for
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August 2015 – The SFNPT and the Rotary Club of Key West are celebrating two milestones this year – the 10th anniversary of a partnership that launched the current incarnation of the Dry Tortugas education program and the completion of two student field trips to the park in May, bringing the total number of program participants
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August 2015 – School may be out but the learning never stops in Big Cypress. Summer camps have kept the boardwalks busy this season, as one group after another visits Big Cypress National Preserve. Forty-two campers & counselors from Lighthouse of Collier’s Summer Camp for Blind and Visually Impaired Children found nature this summer by
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August 2015 – Restoration work is underway in Biscayne National Park on one of two spoil islands located just south of Black Point Marina. Park workers used chainsaws and a chipper earlier this year to strip exotic vegetation from the small island. Next up: Project managers are planning to replant the island with funding support
Continue reading »August 2015 – The controversy over a proposed marine reserve zone in Biscayne National Park just got a little hotter. Two congressional committees are challenging the park’s decision to protect its coral reefs by placing new limits on fishing. The committees will be in Homestead on August 3 for an oversight hearing on the park’s
Continue reading »July 2015 – Endangered sea turtles are benefiting from marine reserve zones in Dry Tortugas National Park and elsewhere, according to a new study by researchers at USGS. Researchers outfitted green sea turtles with satellite tags and then tracked them as they foraged for food. “Given that worldwide declines in sea grasses – one of
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July 2015 – Busloads of kids are getting back to nature this summer thanks to a new partnership between the Greater Naples YMCA, Big Cypress National Preserve and SFNPT. Look for the YMCA’s new “Passport to the Parks” bus on the road this summer!
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July 2015 – Four students are on the job this summer in Everglades National Park, trapping tegu lizards, spotting pythons, counting fish and tracking turtles. The students are participating in BioCorps, an internship program that helps the park monitor native wildlife and control invasive species while providing students with some great field experience. The SFNPT
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June 2015 – National Park Service volunteers supported by the SFNPT removed more than 14,000 pounds (seven tons!) of marine debris earlier this year from nesting beaches in Biscayne National Park, clearing the way for turtles to come ashore this summer. The heavy lifting was accomplished by 200 volunteers from 16 colleges and organizations who
Continue reading »June 2015 – The nesting season for loggerhead, green & leatherback turtles has begun in Dry Tortugas and turtles are on the move! An adult loggerhead named Sally (for Interior Secretary Sally Jewell) left the Bahamas earlier this spring bound for the Dry Tortugas (follow her journey here). No word yet on whether she’s nested
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