Stephanie Byrne

From the Caloosahatchee, to Lake Okeechobee and everywhere in between and beyond. After a slight delay, the state’s blue-green algae task force has come up with its first set of recommendations to combat toxic algae. “I think these are solid recommendations. We were communicating with the various state agencies through the whole process. They were […]

Fifteen days until Halloween! For many people in Southwest Florida, the spooky night marks the start of end-of-the-year celebrations. But all the decorations and treats can threaten pets and wildlife. Halloween is supposed to be frightening. But for furry and feathered counterparts, they would rather be safe than scared. Dr. Sharon Powell, the veterinarian and […]

Fort Myers fisherman Brandon Moss has fished on Sanibel for a couple of years. “Last year, there wasn’t much activity out here,” he says. “If you came here last year, there wouldn’t be anybody on the pier.” He said while this year’s red tide issues aren’t anywhere near last year’s, we should still protect our […]

Keeping your food clean, while saving money. Researchers came up with a prototype to target the plants they spray, rather than spewing chemicals over crops that don’t need it. That’s the goal for some University of Florida researchers for more reasons than one. “Reduce the amount of chemicals we apply, and that will help us […]

Local scientists continue to search for answers to our water quality issues in Southwest Florida. And special tools will allow them to gather information from the water’s deep. Our crew went out to the Gulf of Mexico with FGCU scientists Wednesday on their research mission off south Fort Myers Beach, as they worked to better […]

Who would drop mothballs into a burrowing owl nest? Surveillance video shows someone doing just that. The chemical could really hurt the birds, so why do it? There is a possibility it could be a real estate move. Neighbors say the reality is, someone tried to harm the owl burrow. “I just know that there […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will start releasing water from Lake Okeechobee into our estuary again. Scientists think releases may have fueled our blue-green algae crisis last year. But right now, the Army Corps has other concerns. The release will begin first thing Saturday morning. “This week was probably the toughest decision we’ve had […]

What’s in your water? That’s what a team of Florida Gulf Coast University researchers are trying to figure out. To better understand our water, researchers had to go beneath the surface. Sometimes, elbow deep. The crew, made up of FGCU students and scientists, is on the job, testing for bacteria in the Imperial River and […]

With too much water during the rainy season and not enough during the dry season, a massive reservoir under construction could solve some of the state’s water woes. In June, we showed you the work going on west of Lake Okeechobee at the Caloosahatchee River West Basin Storage Reservoir (C-43) in Hendry County. We returned […]

It’s been two years since the beginning of the red tide epidemic along our coast that brought hardships to Southwest Florida, and there are now pockets of the bloom popping up along our shores. There are background low concentrations of red tide offshore off Fort Myers Beach  and Naples Friday night. Chris Davison, Island Inn […]