Jessica Meszaros

Members of Congress want the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale to be federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.

State wildlife officials are drafting a rule to protect Florida’s native songbirds from illegal trapping. Officers are seeing an increase in bird trafficking for the pet industry.

Patchy toxic blooms have been hanging around the Gulf of Mexico for more than a year now, killing fish and other marine life.

State wildlife officials said this has been the busiest red tide event in recent memory.

The latest red tide report shows high concentrations of the toxic algae blooms in Sarasota and Collier counties. This nearly 16-month red tide event has killed more sea turtles than ever recorded.

Respiratory irritation related to red tide was also reported over the past week in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Seabird specialists say that toxic red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico affect every species differently. Some shore birds are affected later than others.

Pinellas County is publishing regular respiratory forecasts for its beaches online, as toxic red tide blooms still linger.

Hurricane Michael's effects are being felt in the Tampa Bay region. WUSF's Jessica Meszaros spoke with Spectrum Bay News 9 Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay about areas of concern.

A Florida group is planning to use settlement money from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill toward projects along the state's gulf coast. It was a collaboration among 23 counties from the panhandle to the Keys.

State wildlife officials reported this past Friday that elevated levels of the organism Karenia brevis are persisting along Florida's gulf coast, which is creating toxic red tide algae blooms from Pinellas County down to Collier County.

A new report shows that the rate of suicide is increasing in Florida, and across the country. It comes as the nation mourns the suicides of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion icon Kate Spade. WUSF's Jessica Meszaros spoke with the director of organzational development for the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Mordecai Dixon, about what the rise means.

Researchers in Florida received funding from the federal government to restore seagrasses in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal is to protect about 30 acres of the sea floor, and repair about half of that.

Federal agriculture officials are now making a couple billion dollars available to growers, including those in Florida who were affected by Hurricane Irma... seven months after the storm.