A lawsuit seems to be all that now stands between Florida and a lot of dead black bears.

Paynes Prairie Preserve just south of Gainesville has a fascinating ecological history and history of human habitation as well. Lars Anderson guides tours throughout Paynes Prairie and wrote "Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter."

A new law purporting to ease recovery from hurricane damage for Florida homeowners may have been a Trojan horse from developers looking to get around local growth ordinances.

"Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber," by Blair and Dawn Witherington, is a fantastic resource for anyone walking on a beach in Florida and wondering "what's that?" Blair joins the show to discuss his inspiration for the book and beachcombing finds. The couple have a new book, "Living Beaches of the Gulf Coast: A Beachcombers Guide including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida's Panhandle."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.

Cedar Key is running out of drinking water and wants to take some from their neighboring communities.

Our guest Chad Crawford is a Florida native and creator and host of the popular "How to do Florida" TV Show. He also created the "Flip My Florida Yard" show and "Protect Our Paradise" docuseries. Check out Chad's new podcast, "Sunshine Junkie."

Chad's "Flip My Florida" yard show focuses on using native and Florida friendly plants and landscaping designs to create a lawn that doubles as habitat for insects, birds, and animals, filters and cleans storm water, reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides, and mitigates flooding. Here are the 9 principles of a Florida friendly landscape. If you can't get Chad to come out and flip your Florida yard, your local Florida Native Plant Society chapter or Florida native plant nursery can help.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.

Chadd Scott visited DeSantis and Trump's immigrant concentration camp in the Everglades as far as the public is allowed to go. It was worse than he imagined. $5 per month "Welcome to Florida" patrons can watch a video of what he saw.

Jason Garcia's exceptional "Seeking Rents" podcast and website are a great source for more information about the camp.

Our guest this episode is Ann Colby, author of "Wicked St. Augustine," who tells us all about the storied history of prostitution in the city. She also hosts walking tours in St. Augustine.

Find more information here about the Sierra Club Florida Chapter's statewide charter bus program taking people to the August 12 Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting to speak in opposition of a proposed black bear hunt.

How is human waste from Miami ending up polluting the St. Johns River? Craig explains.

The Stonewall Uprising in New York in 1969 can be viewed as the start of the modern gay rights movement. A teenager in Hollywood, FL was inspired and started a small library to recognize the gay community. That effort gradually evolved into Fort Lauderdale's Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library. Robert Kesten, the museum's director, joins us to discuss its history, and the history of the LGBTQ+ movement in America.

Thanks to all of our $5 per month patrons on Patreon.com who help support the show and receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter.

The Trump regime's attempts to destroy the federal government and sell off the pieces to private business is impacting Florida's public lands. 

Our guest this episode is Dalia Colón, author of the award-winning "The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook" and host of "The Zest," a Florida cooking podcast produced by WUSF radio in Tampa. We discuss popular Florida fruits and vegetables and how to incorporate them into your meals.

Friends of "Welcome to Florida:"

Jason Garcia's essential "Seeking Rents" podcast exposes the financial corruption inherent at the Everglades concentration camp.

Ryan Smart and Ryan Worthington's "As Bad as it is" podcast examines the connection between conservation and politics in Florida.

Unsurprisingly, the Florida Department of Environmental Prostitution/Protection continues putting the interests of industry and developers ahead of the interests of our springs.

One expert source in Craig's latest Florida Phoenix article linked above is springs advocate Ryan Smart. Smart co-hosts an essential podcast for Florida conservationists called "As Bad As It Is." Two recent episodes highlighted the damage Florida's legislature has done to environmental causes through defunding conservation projects in the state budget.

Our guest this episode is author, historian, and lecturer Robert N. Macomber. Macomber has studied the Civil War and Reconstruction in Florida, focusing on the state's freedmen, formerly enslaved African Americans emancipated following the war.

The Manatee County Commission did what county commissions in Florida almost never do: it told a real estate developer "no."

Our guest this episode is novelist, playwright, and Cedar Key clam farmer Michael Presley Bobbitt.  Michael joins us to discuss Cedar Key history, his Cedar Key novel series, and clam farming in the Gulf of Mexico.

More Florida history can be found at our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel and on Facebook where our friends and fellow Florida podcasters Cathy Salustri and Ryan Worthington have started a Florida history group titled "Submerged Stories" which is free to join.

Remember to sign up for our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." Just $5 per month gets you exclusive access to a weekly accounting of the state's top environmental stories.

The governor wants to put a concentration camp for immigrants in the Everglades, following in the footsteps of "Florida's Worst Idea."

Previous “Welcome to Florida” podcast episode about "Florida's Worst Idea," the Everglades Jetport, which gave rise to conservation legend Marjory Stoneman Douglas. 

Our guest on that episode was Michael Grunwald, author of "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise," and he joins us again for this episode to discuss his new book about how the global agriculture system is destroying the planet. "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate" prominently features a Florida man and a "super tree" that could replace failing Florida citrus.

Florida has a sewerage treatment problem.

Our guest this week is Michael Adno who wrote a beautiful story about the life of north Florida native Ernie Mickler. Mickler became famous in the late 1980s for his offbeat Southern cookbook, "White Trash Cooking," which merged old country recipes with folklore, storytelling, and ethnography.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month. The newsletter is a summary of the most important environmental stories from across the state and those across the nation impacting Florida.