Look out for nesting coastal birds in the Panhandle
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Look out for nesting coastal birds in the Panhandle

BySpecial to the Times

Both the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Audubon Florida, are reminding the public that the first shorebird nest of the year has been spotted, and that giving birds their space allows nesting parents to successfully raise the next generation of sea and shorebirds. Spring and summer mark critical times of year for several…

Dead wood: Nature’s invitation to your yard
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Dead wood: Nature’s invitation to your yard

ByMegan Winslow

Katy Deitz’s laurel oak was decades old, the trunk half the length of her body, when the hollowing effects of heart-rot decay rendered the tree unsafe to stand. Arborists felled the oak, and Deitz intended to grind the stump. “I’m glad I didn’t, because one, it saved me money, and two, it brought a lot…

Ice, ice, and more ice, baby
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Ice, ice, and more ice, baby

ByDavid Adlerstein

It wasn’t technically the storm of the century but in most people’s lives in Franklin and Gulf counties, it might as well have been. While the record in late January is 9 degrees set in 1985, for three days last week, highlighted by temperatures in the low 20s, schools and businesses throughout the Forgotten Coast…

FCHS Beta Club forms ‘trash mob’
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FCHS Beta Club forms ‘trash mob’

BySpecial to the Times

The Franklin County School Senior Beta Club met last Friday with Lynn Wilder, from Keep Franklin County Beautiful, for a “Trash Mob,” which is a group clean-up effort. The club chose Millender Park in Eastpoint for clean-up. “Now, they would like to challenge other groups or organizations in the community to pick a location for…

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Small levels of red tide detected offshore

BySpecial to the Times

Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 85 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast.  In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations in Franklin County. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 21 samples, offshore of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee and Collier…

Now is the season to exclude bats
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Now is the season to exclude bats

ByFWC | Staff Report

While Florida’s 13 native and beneficial bat species typically roost in trees, caves or other natural spaces, they can also be attracted to human-made structures. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is reminding the public that the fall season is an ideal time to exclude bats from your home or other structure. Bat maternity…

FWC Report
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FWC Report

ByFWC | Staff Report

During the week of Oct. 11 to 17, Officer Butts responded to a complaint in Gulf County about a subject who was observed trespassing. During the encounter, the subject was found to have a shocking device for harvesting freshwater fish. Butts took appropriate action.  Master Officer M. Webb was conducting resource inspections at a local…

FWC Report
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FWC Report

ByFWC | Staff Report

During the week of Sept. 27 through Oct. 3, Officers Hartzog and Forbes observed an individual fishing under the John Gorrie Bridge while they were patrolling on Apalachicola Bay. The officers moored their patrol vessel to conduct a resource inspection and discovered he was in possession of an undersized red drum and two undersized spotted…

Clean-up plucks two tons of trash from landscape
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Clean-up plucks two tons of trash from landscape

BySpecial to the Times

Volunteers across Franklin County removed over two tons of trash and debris from the shorelines and landscape on Saturday, Sept. 21.  The 220 volunteers of the annual International Coastal Clean Up, fanned out across 14 sites from Bald Point State Park to Apalachicola’s Seafood Landing Park, removed litter and debris, including cigarette butts, cans, vape…