Ongoing Land Management at Coffeen Nature Preserve
The committee met with Sean Hendley, Wiregrass Ecological Associates, regarding land management of the Coffeen Nature Preserve over the next 3-5 years. The intent of this email is to begin an educational series of steps to help the property owners comprehend the plan through visualization and explanation of the approach. The first control burn is […]
Learn how to be alligator aware
Courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission With summer in full swing, many people are working and recreating near Florida’s lakes, rivers and wetland areas. Warm temperatures also mean alligators are more active and visible. While serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) […]
Roadkill Fauna – Coffeen Nature Preserve
Increasingly, speeding vehicles in Four Mile Village are being witnessed. Other than the concerns such observations present, the most damaging of these would be an injury to a child playing exuberantly in the winding roads on the pretense by parents that this place is safe, like our backyards. On a less tragic note, but one […]
Living with Bears
BLACK BEAR- The Florida black bear is the smallest of American bear, but the largest terrestrial omnivore or carnivore in Florida. Diet consists primarily of plants and invertebrates, but will consume vertebrates and carrion. They are territorial, so will defend a home range against other bears, which is an adaptation that reduces competition for food, […]
Video: Coastal Dune Lakes
Film by Elam Stoltzfus The coastal dune lakes of northwest Florida are home to many diverse species-some of them endangered such as the loggerhead sea turtle, the snowy plover, and the Choctawhatchee beach mouse. These lakes also offer locals and visitors a peaceful haven, which has led to an increase in human activity resulting in […]
Hidden In Plain Sight: The Story of Coffeen Nature Preserve
Feature Article in Niche Magazine, Spring 2022 Tucked just out of view off Highway 98 between Tops’l Resort and Topsail Hill State Park, you’ll find the entrance to a veritable wonderland of nature and wildlife. It’s a rarity to see so much “green” in an area that has become not just one of the fastest-growing […]
Celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day with a tortoise friendly yard
Courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) invites you to celebrate Gopher Tortoise Day by making your yard gopher tortoise friendly. Gopher Tortoise Day is on April 10 but you can celebrate year-round when you have a tortoise friendly yard. With more than half of […]
BearWise® Communities Making a Difference Across the Southeast
Written by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Reducing human-bear conflicts one community at a time RALEIGH, NC (November 29, 2021) – Sprawling development, increasing human populations, the desire to live and recreate in areas that were once remote, combined with the successful restoration of black bear populations by state wildlife agencies have resulted in more […]
Birds Across Borders: Prothonotary Warblers
It can be sad to say farewell to fall migrants, their springtime return with bright breeding plumage and musical songs seeming ages away. While we might miss them here in the U.S., their presence is enjoyed by wildlife watchers on their wintering grounds in Central and South America. The Prothonotary Warbler is a small songbird […]
Species Spotlight: Brown-headed Nuthatch
Look high in the canopies of pine forests and you might see these smalls birds with chisel-like bills as they hop from trunk to tree branch. The tiny rubber-ducky squeaks of these vocal insect eaters are hard to miss when they gather in small flocks. Controlled burns can help create the standing dead trees where […]