On Florida Coasts, Ghost Forests Serve As Stark Sign Of Sea Level Rise

By Amy Green
WMFE
Among the starkest markers of sea level rise are what scientists describe as ghost forests, coastal thickets left in waste by creeping salt water.

Scientists say it’s happening now at a dramatic rate and are working to understand the ramifications for the landscape, wildlife and local community. Listen here.

Coastal area in Florida begins to plan for sea level rise

By Amy Green
Marketplace
Some 13 million coastal Americans are projected to be displaced by sea level rise by the century's end. As a peninsula, Florida is particularly vulnerable, but one city, Satellite Beach, is taking steps to plan ahead. Listen here.

Plans Begin For Memorial At Site Of Pulse Nightclub Shooting

By Amy Green
NPR
As the first anniversary of the Pulse shooting approaches, there's an effort underway to transform the Orlando nightclub into a museum and a memorial to the 49 people killed. Listen here.

Florida Battles With Tricky Removal Of Costly Muck In Indian River Lagoon

By Amy Green
NPR
In Florida, an effort is underway to remove more than million cubic feet of muck sullying the Indian River Lagoon, considered one of North America's most biologically diverse estuaries. It's a mess. Listen here.

RIVER OF GRASS, DYING OF THIRST: A WMFE, WLRN series examining the Everglades

By Amy Green and Kate Stein
WMFE and WLRN
The Everglades. One of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, where seagrass meets sawgrass and alligators live with apple snails.

Settlers came to the Everglades lured by promises of bountiful land for agriculture and development. They found “land by the gallon” -- a swamp covered with a slow-moving water sheet. But over time, the new Floridians drained the water and developed the land into railroads, farms and cities. They tamed “the monstropolous beast” known as Lake Okeechobee.

They intertwined Florida’s well-being with the Everglades’ well-being. 

Over the past century, it’s become clear we’re sending the Everglades towards destruction. Listen here.

Invasive Fern In Florida Threatens To Take Down More Than Just Trees

By Amy Green
NPR
LeRoy Rodgers spends plenty of time in the Florida Everglades — mainly in airboats. He works for the South Florida Water Management District.

On a recent day, he eases his boat alongside a tree island. He doesn't like some of the changes he's seen, so he pulls a pair of clippers from a bag and hops over the side.

Rodgers will need the clippers to cut a path through the Old World climbing fern that has almost swallowed the island. Listen here.