The Trailblazer

Long before us, the flora and fauna of the land mass we now call Florida experienced frequent fire. Hot, dry weather combined with lightning strikes created ecosystems over time that adapted to these fires, with plants and animals coming to expect it and modifying their life cycles to not just tolerate fire but to thrive with it. Indigenous people saw these cycles of fire and growth and harnessed the power of fire to help clear land, hunt, and cultivate the plants they used most. Today, people still use the power of fire to shape natural communities and to protect our own through what we call “prescribed fire.” Hillsborough County Conservation and Environmental Lands Management (CELM) has been utilizing fire for decades. Prescribed fire, also known as prescribed burning, is a safe and economical technique used by land managers worldwide. This time-honored practice is used to restore and maintain fire-dependent ecosystems and to enhance forest health. Fire improves habitat quality by...

  Florida's Hidden Labyrinths Florida's landscape is often overlooked for its apparent lack of topographical interest. This conception may cause visitors and residents alike to overlook geological features worth visiting; locations such as our Sacred Hills of Hillsborough County's Edward Medard Conservation Park, Polk County's Iron Mountain at Bok Tower Gardens, or Devil's Den Spring in Levy County are all worth the trip. But, broadly speaking, the state of Florida is flat. However, it is anything but static. Florida's recent emergence as a land mass has resulted in the development of truly unique habitats, the conditions of which put huge demands on pioneering species to adapt. A gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) peering out from its burrow entrance. Photo by Geoff Gallice, April 27, 2011. CC BY 2.0. Technology has only recently revealed the extent to which our keystone species, the gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ), transforms some of our most ex...

Since 2016 this festival has been a can’t-miss event! The Florida Birding & Nature Festival aims to promote appreciation and conservation of Florida’s birds, its wildlife and their habitats through responsible nature-based tourism and public awareness. This year the festival will be held from October 17 through October 20 at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC) Suncoast Youth Conservation Center at 6650 Dickman Rd, Apollo Beach, FL. Field trips and hikes will be held nearby at Cockroach Bay, Lower Green Swamp, Blackwater Creek, and Fred and Ida Shultz Nature Preserves as well as Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park and many other wild locations throughout Hillsborough, Polk, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties! The festival is timed just right to coincide with the peak migration of more than 180 species of birds and features expert-led field and boating trips to the best wildlife sites in West Central Florida. The festival will also offer two days of live ...