• Drought impacting salinity levels in Rookery Bay Published 05/31/2008 at 4:59 p.m.

  By definition, an estuary, such as Rookery Bay, is not quite a sea and not quite a river. But for the past 15 months, Rookery Bay has been a sea. The usual mixture of salt water and fresh water has ...

• Everglades restoration projects in Southwest Florida stalling Published 05/31/2008 at 4:28 p.m.

  Rookery Bay has become a poster child for the federal government’s stalled campaign to restore South Florida’s ecosystem. South Belle Meade and Rookery Bay’s main tributary, Henderson Creek, were among the 68 restoration projects Congress included in the Comprehensive Everglades ...

• Panther killed on Pine Ridge Road is first ’08 fatality Published 03/10/2008 at 11 a.m.

  Clarissa Langston was returning from her parents’ home Sunday night when she noticed something sitting in the grassy median on Pine Ridge Road. She and her husband turned their truck around and pulled onto the median between Collier and Logan ...

• Whatever happened to: Enthusiasts squawked, so new tower site safer for wood storks Published 12/31/2007 at 6:59 p.m.

  When state water managers last summer proposed placing a 300-foot communications tower near Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, wood stork advocates squawked. And they were heard.

• Southwest Florida restoration study: Five years late, costs $5 million more Published 12/25/2007 at 4:42 p.m.

  A map of the ecological restoration needs of Southwest Florida won’t emerge until the end of 2009, nearly five years past its original due date, a South Florida Water Management District official said. In addition, the cost of the long-awaited ...

• Speeding kills: Number of panthers dying on Florida's roads rising every year Published 10/22/2007 at 11 p.m.

  15 dead panthers. With so many cars and so many miles of asphalt, law enforcement officers are facing a near impossible task of slowing down the number of vehicle-related deaths for the species.

• Pushed out: Developments pushing panthers farther from their habitats Published 10/21/2007 at 10:48 p.m.

  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in January 2006 that the top priority of its campaign to rescue the Florida panther from extinction was to “maintain” and “expand” its turf in southern Florida. Before the end of the year, ...

• On the edge: Florida panthers stand close to disappearing Published 10/20/2007 at 11:27 p.m.

  Its snarling image adorns countless sports team jerseys, refrigerator magnets and license plates. But its pop cultural prevalence belies a painful truth: The Florida panther stands as close to disappearing as any living thing on the planet. In this three-part ...

• In the beginning: Creating a town Updated 08/19/2007 at 9 a.m.

  Behind the glittering oratory, manicured lawns and piously titled boulevards at Ave Maria lies a decade-long struggle between developers and conservationists over Collier County’s dwindling open space. It began in 1997, when the state Department of Community Affairs declared that ...

• Collier advisory council urging tougher fertilizer restrictions Published 08/04/2007 at 5:32 p.m.

  A detailed proposal that could go before Collier commissioners as early as their Sept. 11 meeting suggests seven measures to be included in a fertilizer ordinance. One calls for prohibiting the use of nitrogen and phosphorus, two key ingredients in ...

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