1-6
National Geographic Sustainable Tourism for Travelers
EcoFlorida Magazine is all about Florida's nature and promotes responsible use of Florida's natural areas when visiting them. But most of the ecotourism/sustainable tourism efforts out there are for far-off locales and, many times, developing countries. While I don't think you need to go abroad to do your part for reducing your impact on the areas you visit and for giving back to the communities you visit, exotic destinations seem to be the main focus of ecotourism. In any case, this page by National Geographic's Sustainable Tourism Resource Center offers a list of links to other Web sites where you can get information on the subject. (Some of the sites were even previous EcoFloridians hot links.) Here, you'll find "green" tourism program Web sites, ecotour package travel sites and even cultural/historical tourism links for travel around the world. So if you do leave Florida or travel to the other side of the globe, you can use this page as a resource for planning.

1-13
Leave No Trace
As long as you are going outside to enjoy all this great weather, then you'll want to get acquainted with the Leave No Trace principles. These are common-sense guidelines for exploring wilderness areas that have you "leaving no trace" of having been there. As a nationwide group, Leave No Trace is a group you can join to learn more about protecting natural lands and to support educational efforts in this regard.

1-20
Interactive Tour of the Everglades
For a look at the history and present of the Everglades ecosystem, check out this Flash presentation. Click on a map of southern Florida, and find out what the natural habitat used to be. Click on an animal, and find out how its survival was affected by draining the River of Grass. Hear an alligator bellow and a snowy egret call. It might be an elementary site for many of you, but it's interesting and fun.

1-28
National Scenic Trails Mailing Lists
At the expense of inviting EcoFloridians' mailing list defectors, here is a site that hosts forums for the major trails in the United States, including the Florida National Scenic Trail. You can link to Web sites for each specific trail -- Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Ice Age Trail, Florida Trail, Continental Divide Trail and the North Country Trail -- or subscribe to their lists right from this page. Whether you're planning to hike these trails or not, to look at the photo gallery and get wilderness tips from others.

2-3
Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) just announced the publication of this Web site, which is a record of breeding bird populations from 1986 to 1991. You can click on the search icon at the top of the page to start searching for your favorite bird. Or check out the "Results and Highlights" page to learn about birds that appeared to be breeding in Florida for the first time, birds that are the most common and most rare, and non-native birds that are breeding in Florida. Click on "Species Maps" to see where a particular bird has been spotted in Florida (maybe your neck of the woods) or "Species Accounts" to see a picture of a bird and read a brief description of it.

2-10
Florida Earth Foundation
The Florida Earth Foundation Web site puts out the usual verbiage you might expect of a group with a purpose. But don't stop at its "About" page. The main thrust here is the Everglades ecosystem and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). It recently announced a class offered to college students and the public on southern Florida ecosystems, offered by the University of Florida. You may also want to check out the Florida Earth Journal, a collection of articles on Everglades restoration, but be warned that it's a slow download with 410 pages!

2-18
Identifying and Preserving Wildlife Tracks
This page on the New Mexico State University Web site is just one of many places to start learning how to identify animal tracks. Many times when you're in a refuge, forest or preserve, you don't see the actual wildlife, but you do see tracks. Learning to identify animals' tracks -- and even their scat -- can make a wilderness trip more exciting. This page includes species you won't find in Florida, but others are there: deer, panther (mountain lion), bear, coyote, raccoon, bobcat. The page also includes tips on how to preserve the tracks you find.

2-24
Florida Climate Alliance
If climate science is correct, then Florida faces some problems. The effects of global warming will be felt in Florida by coastal erosion and flooding, the death of coral reefs, saltwater choking the Everglades, heatstroke danger and more. Florida's 2 biggest industries, tourism and agriculture, could decline. This site offers reports and maps showing what could happen in Florida if the temperature rises. (See the summary of one of these reports.) But it also calls for a Florida Global Warming Action Plan that encourages emissions reduction and a plan for communities to minimize the risks that would come with the heat, and asks citizens to voice their concern about global warming to elected officials.

3-3
Preservation 2000/Florida Forever Wallpaper for Your Computer
It's been some time since I recommended the Preservation 2000 site, which has changed since then. The Preservation 2000 program -- set up to buy land for conservation in Florida -- has since become the Florida Forever program, which has preserved a lot of land since EcoFlorida was first published 3 years ago. The elements that are available on the site has changed, too. Here is a gallery of beautiful images from around Florida that you can save as free wallpaper for your computer desktop. While you're viewing the images, read the short descriptions on these great Florida natural areas.

3-11
Florida -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
This is the gateway to Web sites for all the national wildlife refuges in Florida. Find the closest refuge to you to see if there's a centennial celebration taking place, and bookmark this page for future reference for when you want to get outside and explore Florida's natural lands. Note that some refuges aren't open to the public or don't have public access for most of the year. You also might want to check out the National Wildlife Refuge Association.

3-17
Wildlife Viewing: Florida Wildlife Calendar
Right now, great blue herons are sitting on their nests in Florida. Mangrove cuckoos are returning to the Keys. Toads and frogs are trying to get lucky. If you've ever wondered when birds start nesting, when alligators are mating, when migratory birds leave Florida for the spring and summer, and even when certain plants are in bloom, check out this Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) site. Just click on a certain month, and you'll see a list of the spectacular things that are going on out there in the Florida wild.

3-24
Sustainable Seas Expeditions -- Florida Keys 2000
This is a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site detailing a scientific expedition of the reef area of the Florida Keys. While that may not sound exciting on the surface (no pun intended), the site offers information any Floridian should want to know about, in an attractive page layout. The front page sports a log of what the science team did each day of the expedition, but the fun stuff is along the side of the page: dive, reference and habitat maps; articles on Keys sea life, cultural history and shipwrecks; takes on the threats to coral, seagrass and fish. There are nice photos, too. You could spend a lot of time on this site if you are into Florida's underwater ecology.

3-31
Florida's Endangered Species, Threatened Species and Species of Special Concern
This page is a great candidate to be bookmarked or saved in your favorites file. If you've ever wondered if a certain animal or plant is considered endangered or threatened, this is the place to look. The page is basically a chart that shows those species that are protected by both the state of Florida and the federal government. (Note that the state and the feds can have different designations for the same species.) EcoFlorida refers to this page often.

4-7
Visiting Parks? Take Your Time
Here is an article about one family's plan to visit some national parks, with tips on how to prepare for visiting the parks yourself, and helpful links. Like so many travel articles being published these days, this one also proclaims that many Americans will forego international travel in wake of the war, and stay in the United States to travel instead. That could mean more crowds at national parks. So you may want to plan now, and get ready wait in lines or sharpen those elbows.

4-14
Lee Island Coast Nature Guide
I just found out that Lee County offers a beautiful nature guide to its area and that anyone can ask for it for free. The small, square book includes a shell guide and a map to easily find places like J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and a lot more places you might not know about. It's kind of too bad the area refers to itself as being tropical; visitors and residents should know that Florida is subtropical. Anyway, to get this great guide, click this link and request the nature guide in the "Comments" field of the form you fill out.

4-21
Reservoir of Contention
This recent Orlando Sentinel article covers the controversy surrounding the restoration of the Ocklawaha River in northern-central Florida. (The spring 2003 issue of EcoFlorida touched on it a bit.) It appears that the question of whether to tear down the Rodman/Kirkpatrick Dam may lead to a lawsuit. To find out about both sides of the issue, it helps to read the article, which tells the restoration story through the folks who live in the area.

4-28
Expeditions in Conservation
So maybe you have a desk job or are retired and sometimes think about what your life would be like with a more adventurous occupation. Maybe you know you could have become a scientist or an explorer, if only. Maybe you already are, and neither of these statements applies to you! But in any case, take a look at this minisite of the World Wildlife Fund, which gives Web site viewers a sneak peek at what researchers are doing to help wildlife around the world. The latest expedition is the job of moving rhinos from one national park to another in central Asia. Others include the creation of a national park in Africa, the study of biodiversity in South American and a tour of restoration projects in Central America. Watch videos of the wildlife and scientist interviews, read daily dispatches about the expeditions, send e-postcards to friends, see maps and even play games relating to these expeditions.

5-5
A Gallery of Florida Insects
Insects have a tough job, being on the lower end of the food chain yet contributing so much to the environment. (I can just see a Far Side-esque cartoon with a Rodney Dangerfield bug saying, "I can't get no respect.") Whether you swat them, avoid them or collect them, you may at some point want to look up an insect. Here is a photo gallery of Florida bugs from roaches to butterflies. Each species' scientific name is provided. (I think I may have seen an Arhopalus rusticus nubilus, but I'm not sure.)

5-12
The Tamiami Trail
A couple weeks ago, Florida quietly celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Tamiami Trail, the first road that bisected the Everglades. This St. Petersburg Times minisite covers each section of the road that stretches from Miami to Naples and farther toward Tampa. Reporters spent a month chronicling the trail, and the outcome is a series of articles and photos that touch on Tamiami's history, people and wildlife. Related links and an interactive road trip completes the segment.

5-19
The Last Great Marsh
If you're wondering about the Matanzas Marsh land acquisition celebration taking place this week, this article explains. Calling the acquisition "A last, big chunk of untouched marsh on Florida's East Coast," the article describes the tract and how the deal was worked out. For more on the Matanzas River area south of St. Augustine, see the fall 2002 issue of EcoFlorida.

5-27
Florida's Historic Places
Hope you don't mind the detour from nature to history; it's still all Florida! (Some people lump cultural/historical and nature tourism together, anyway.) This site was developed from a book published through Florida State University. Click on a county -- either the map or from a list -- to find historic buildings, battlefields, lighthouses, ruins and districts, along with the date each was dedicated. A picture accompanies most entries. Addresses are provided so you can visit. All are recognized historic sites.

6-2
On Dangerous Ground/Dropping in to Help
Here is a fun Flash page that demonstrates why seagrasses are important and how their destruction results in poor water quality. Scientists are now using perches in seagrass beds for birds like pelicans, hoping that their, um, droppings will fertilize the shallow areas and help seagrass grow. See more about this idea.

6-10
Tampa Bay Estuary Program Free Publications
Free, free, free! If the economy has got you down -- or if you're just a sucker for free stuff -- then check out this page of brochures and booklets about Florida's environment. Get the scoop on manatees, salt marshes, seagrass, mangroves, boating, the Tampa Bay estuary, environmentally friendly landscaping, fishing and other guides. You can request any or all of the guides from one order page. While you're there, check out A Portrait of the Tampa Bay Estuary, which includes a map, lists of the wildlife that live there and other tips.

6-16
The Why Files: Science Behind the News
This has been one of my favorite sites for a long, long time. I don't know why it took me so long to recommend it. This University of Wisconsin site takes the science behind things that are happening in the news, and explains it in fun, real language that just about anybody can understand. Check out the environment archives or plants and animals. Here, you can also learn about how mad cow disease works or how DNA is used to capture criminals, for instance. If you often ask, "Why?" then you may want to bookmark this site.

6-23
Florida Ecosystems
What's the difference between a marsh and a swamp? What are the different kinds of forests in Florida? To get the basics of the different kinds of ecosystems / plant communities / habitats found in Florida, this University of South Florida minisite is a good introduction. Maps show you where to find a particular ecosystem, photos show you an example, and drawings illustrate the kinds of wildlife that live there. You can read about the threats to each particular ecosystem. By the way, you'll find more good stuff at this site, the Florida Internet Center for Understanding Sustainability.

6-30
The Florida Environment Radio Program
You may have heard the Florida Environment show on the radio. It's also on the Web. If you can play sound files such as RealAudio on your computer, you can listen to experts talk about what's going on in -- what else? -- the Florida environment, with a different topic each week. Exotic species, butterflies, black bears, reefs and other topics important to Florida are discussed. And if you can't remember to tune in or log on, you can sign up for an e-mail message reminder and a preview of the week's current topic.

7-7
St. Johns River Keeper
Here is the site of an advocacy group for the St. Johns River. Here, you can get facts about the river -- the longest river completely in Florida -- and news about its restoration, including the $4.6 billion planned effort.

7-14
Pinellas County Utilities Reef Guide
Here's something handy: information and maps on the reefs in Pinellas County. You'll find links to inshore and offshore reefs, along with the coordinates of mooring buoys. You'll find more links to pages about reefs around Florida on one of our pages about snorkeling.

7-21
Frequently Asked Questions About Nature & Outdoors Activities
For answers to questions about Florida wildlife and outdoors activities, try this FAQ on the My Florida Web site. There are 4 pages of questions that have already been answered online, mostly about hunting and fishing, but also questions like where to see a manatee, what to do about sick or injured wildlife, where to take boater education classes and how to treat stingray stings.

7-28
Coral Reef Adventure
An expedition to study the reefs in the South Pacific was turned into IMAX film "Coral Reef Adventure," now playing in Pensacola, Tampa, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Even if you don't go to see the movie on the unique 60-foot-tall IMAX screens, you can enjoy this site. Get the scoop on coral reefs. Learn about reefs with puzzles and games -- and get screensavers. Try an interactive virtual reef and learn about the expedition.

8-4
Florida Hometown Democracy
You all know EcoFlorida tries to stay out of political jockeying. But I'd like to provide this link this week as just an FYI. Act on it if you want to; don't act if what you read at the site sounds bogus to you. You have probably heard of the possibility of an amendment that would allow voters to regulate growth in their local areas. Well, this site (which is for the amendment) provides information about the whys and hows of such a thing, saying that politicians aren't doing a good job of regulating community growth in Florida, so the voters should take over that job. Apparently, if enough people petition, the amendment proposal will become a reality. The site doesn't look very pretty, but I guess it gets the job done.

8-11
Coleman Outernet
If you're a gear head or you're all about camping, here's a site for you. Coleman has been a household (campsite?) name for generations, and there are probably few people who've gone camping without some kind of Coleman product. At this site within a site, Coleman helps you find a campground and even lets you make reservations -- something EcoFlorida always recommends. You also can get maps (so you don't have to open a new browser window at your favorite mapping site), and get articles and recommendations on places to camp. Die-hards will want to sign up for a free "membership" to the Outernet.

8-18
The Aquatic Preserves of Florida
There are 41 aquatic preserves in Florida, yet few people know what they're there for, or that they even exist. Photographer Clyde Butcher and cinematographer Elam Stoltzfus are attempting to change that with a documentary film about several of these areas. Find out more about the preserves and the film project at this site. You'll see lots of beautiful images, as you'd expect, if you poke around and explore the site's links.

8-25
2003 Cave Cavort
If you've ever been curious about spelunking -- exploring caves -- check out this cave diary on the Florida Speleological Society Web site. The page offers details of a cave diver's trip, along with some nice photos of caves in Florida. For more info on the FSS and to learn about caves in Florida, see links on the home page.

9-3
The Wildlands Project
When it comes to conserving land, standing by wilderness areas and working toward species restoration, the Audubon Society and Nature Conservancy aren't the only groups out there. The Wildlands Project also supports these measures, and it publishes its own magazine, Wild Earth Journal, to let members know what's going on in the world of conservation. The site offers some articles and briefs about successes and debates in wilderness, such as the question of whether mountain biking should be allowed in designated wilderness areas. One link that caught my eye goes to a site where you can view a lecture delivered by Florida's own Reed Noss.

9-8
Protect Florida Whales
"Save the Whales!" became both a rallying cry and a mocking statement as species activism gained speed a couple decades ago. Whatever the case may be today, some whales are indeed facing extinction, like the right whales EcoFlorida presented in the winter 2003 issue. This site promotes the sale of specialty Florida license plates featuring a whale tale, with the proceeds going to the development of the world's first marine mammal teaching hospital at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce. The plate costs $25 and can be purchased at any time. Most of the links here take you to the HBOI Web site, where you can see photos of marine life and find out about visiting HBOI.

9-15
Hawk Watch, Florida Keys
September brings us a greater chance of hurricanes and tropical storms, but it's also when bald eagles begin courting and when raptors and other birds begin migrating toward Florida. It's not too early to think about visiting the Keys next month, when hawk migration is at its peak, especially around Curry Hammock State Park. This page on the eNature Web site (a great one to spend your online time at) has a nice chart that shows the best times to see various raptors in the Keys. However, the link to the Florida Keys project site is broken; try this one instead. This is the national Hawk Watch Web site, where you can sign up for a newsletter and find out more about hawk migration and hawk watching. (Watching like a hawk?)

9-22
Everglades Trail
If you're familiar with the concept of the Great Florida Birding Trail, then you'll "get" the Everglades Trail. While not a trail per se, this collection of noteworthy areas you can visit to get acquainted with the Everglades have been pulled together and presented at this site. From Orlando to Homestead, Everglades-seeking day trippers can explore this amazing freshwater marsh that is all Florida. Click on the map of our state, and find out how to visit the area. Print it out and take it with you. See the Everglades from north to south.

9-29
Climate Prediction Dot Net
Calling itself "the world's largest climate prediction experiment," CPDN is running a computer program to determine Earth's future climate. Anyone with free space on his or computer can sign up and be part of the experiment. The program runs in the background while computer users use other software. Already there are more than 30,000 people around the world running CPDN and using the discussion forum here.

10-6
Heart of the Earth
This is a group of folks who are promoting "sustainable strategies" in the bioregion of the red hills and coastal lowlands of southern Georgia and northern Florida. At the site, you can read the group's newsletter and link to interesting ecology articles on other sites. This site also touches on the region's culture and provides inspirational writing. If you live in the area, you might consider joining. If you don't, you might consider starting a group like this where you live!

10-13
Deep Trouble: The Gulf in Peril
Naples Daily News has run an excellent 15-day series of articles on the environmental problems of the Gulf of Mexico. I wouldn't be surprised if the series wins the paper an environmental journalism award. This page offers an overview and links to all of the articles. There's a lot of good stuff here, too much to cover in a couple sentences! Check it out for yourself.

10-20
Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement
Calling itself the "largest senior environmental action network in the world," EASI does it! Even if you don't consider yourself a senior, you may want to check out this site for a friend, family member or neighbor who is. At the site, you'll find out what EASI members are doing for pollution prevention, community revitalization, environmental education and other programs. You can also download PDF newsletters and find out how to volunteer.

10-27
Florida National Natural Landmarks
Many people are familiar with national parks, but perhaps not national natural landmarks. This page shows a map of, and provides a list of links to pages about, all the national natural landmarks in Florida, run by the National Park Service. A national natural landmark is a place the federal government recognizes for its natural beauty and/or preserved habitat. Many of them in Florida are state parks, like Manatee Springs, Paynes Prairie and Torreya, but others are owned by organizations or managed by water management districts. Get a brief description of each one here.

11-3
Florida Geocaches
It's fun, gets you out there, works your mind and sometimes helps the environment. How could geocaching get any better as an outdoors pursuit? As in a hide-and-seek/treasure hunt game, you find out the location of a hidden cache, hike there (using clues and/or your GPS unit) and find it. Some caches contain items (like arcade tokens, ribbons, patches, pencils, etc.), one of which you take out and replace with a trinket of your own. Log your find here at the site. Make and report your own geocache! The "cache in, trash out" motto encourages geocachers to remove any junk that's not supposed to be along the trail. It's addicting. Explore the site for the nuances of this "sport."

11-17
The Living Sea
In the Keys, the ocean is all around you, and it gets to you. It certainly got to two diving buddies who developed this site. Visit their Ocean Gallery to see the fish and other marine life they've photographed. Read about their trip to see coral spawning in Key Largo, the release of baby loggerhead sea turtles into the wild, and a week of diving with dolphins in the Bahamas. The site is nicely done.

11-24
Audubon Premium Shade-Grown Coffee
This is Thanksgiving week, so here's a hot link related to food. If you're on the Audubon e-mail list, you may already know about the group's effort to promote sustainable coffee farming. This is a coffee club that sends you organic, habitat-friendly coffee every month (or whichever frequency you choose). Shade-grown coffee has become important to many environmentally conscious people because coffee plants grown under trees supposedly means the trees aren't cleared to make way for the coffee plantation. Rainforests are saved, and birds have a place to live. Check out the site's species profile for a brief about birds who live in coffee-growing regions.

12-1
Nature-Based Recreation
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hoping to have this site fully functional soon, by the looks of the Dec. 1 deadline announced on this page. The agency already has begun promoting nature-based recreation on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs), as indicated in the winter issue of EcoFlorida. This site will complement the brochures and booklets that are available. We can't wait to see what new guides and opportunities there might be for wildlife watchers, hikers, photographers and the like.

12-8
Marine Mammal Commission
It's right whale time in Florida again, and this new Web site was announced in a recent right whale newsletter. At this federal committee's site, you can find marine mammal legislation (the site is new, so there's not much there yet), letters, reports and events. But what probably most of us will be interested in is the species list, where you can get basic information and photos of whales, otters, polar bears, our manatee and more.

12-15
South Florida Virtual Tour
When the temperature dips, more people visit southern Florida. Whether you're a resident or a tourists, winter is a good time to visit the tip of the state because of the abundance of wildlife and (generally) pleasant weather. It's a great time and place to be outdoors. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has put together a nice mini-site about some of the best natural areas here. Read about Everglades National Park, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Jonathan Dickinson State Park and more. Even West Lake Park/Anne Kolb Nature Center, a Broward County park threatened by a new proposed airport runway that's been in the news, is listed. Each profile gives you photos, flora, fauna and links for more information.