Planning out a trip in late December to base it around Biscayne and Everglades National Parks and possibly a bit in Big Cypress. Looking at a boat tour or snorkeling tour for Biscayne, some hiking in Everglades.

Any recommendations on the parks themselves or what to do in the south Florida area as well? Some hidden gems if you will? Will be doing this trip solo, any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks ahead of time!

New proposals for golf courses or new lodging for visitors when instead the FDEP should be concerned with cleaning up Superfund sites. What are these? A Superfund site is a location in the United States that is contaminated with hazardous substances and requires long-term clean up to protect public health and the environment. As of May 2010 there were 52 of these sites in Florida that are on the National Priorities List, 3 more sites are being considered for addition. Supposedly 23 sites have been cleaned up and removed from the list.

The National Priorities List is basically a point of interest to look into these sites because they are eligible for long-term investigation and cleanup.

These contaminants leech into the soil, ground and surface water, the water that you drink or swim in. The list of contaminants range from the usual fluoride, chloride and lead to the more nefarious arsenic, cadmium, chromium, antimony and even to the radioactive radium-226, radium-228 and Uranium.

There are several of these Superfund sites that have been noted as contaminating an areas sole drinking water source. The Biscayne Aquifer in Miami-Dade County (last checked 1999, still not cleaned up) probably because the site is still an active metal plating facility - https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0400561#bkground

The Upper Floridian Aquifer in Hillsborough County (2003 still not cleaned), Floridian Aquifer in Madison County (2017 EPA documented completion of remedy construction).

Other ground water contaminants that have been found in even some private wells are PCE, TCE, DCE and vinyl chloride.

PCE - Tetrachloroethylene exposure may cause adverse effects in the kidney, liver, immune system and hematologic system, and on development and reproduction (Studies of people exposed in the workplace have found associations with several types of cancer including bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma. )*Perchloroethylene (PCE), also known as tetrachloroethylene (PERC), is a chlorinated solvent that can accumulate in the environment because it's resistant to degradation. https://chemicalsafety.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.display?p_lang=en&p_card_id=0076&p_version=2

TCE - Trichloroethylene (TCE) can  can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, confusion, euphoria, facial numbness, and weakness **The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies TCE as a chemical that causes cancer in humans. Epidemiological studies have linked TCE exposure to several types of cancers, including kidney, liver, cervix, and lymphatic system cancers https://chemicalsafety.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.display?p_lang=en&p_card_id=0081&p_version=2

Vinyl Chloride

https://chemicalsafety.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.display?p_lang=en&p_card_id=0082&p_version=2

Florida is mostly complied of Karst foundation - porous rock, this is where we get our water from and there is no definitive wall/barrier to keep out these contaminants.

The attached link is from Wikipedia, if you would like to cross reference the information there below is the EPA

https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live

These are the proposed changes at nine Florida state parks, according to state documents:

Jonathan Dickinson State Park Public golf courses and other facilities, including the removal of the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower, an existing park entrance, staff residences and more.

Anastasia State Park A park lodge with 350-room capacity, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park A park lodge with 350-room capacity, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Grayton Beach State Park Up to 10 cabins, a beach access restroom, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Hillsborough River State Park

Up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Honeymoon Island State Park Up to four pickleball courts.

Oleta River State Park Up to 10 cabins or glamping space, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park Up to four pickleball courts.

Camp Helen State Park Up to 10 cabins or a glamping area.

Visit https://floridawildlifefederation.org/action-state-parks-threat/ to send a customizable email to FL government officials. DeSantis admin wants to put golf courses, pickleball courts and more in Florida state parks

I was fishing in C-13 Canal along the bank near Oakland Park Blvd in Sunrise. I walked up on what looked to be a massive softshell turtle and it quickly swam away before I could photo it. I’ve been coming here every summer since I was a kid and I remember those softshells being in all the ponds and canals but I haven’t seen them the last ~10 years and I never saw one that big. This was easily 3+ feet in length and looked bigger than any I ever saw.

Hey all, I'm planning to head down to the coast area to find some tide pools. I was originally going to GA, but GA doesn't have great tidepools. Does anyone know of places that have decent tide pools but also have places to go snorkeling and just hanging out on the beach? The longest I can drive is around 6 hours.

Is there anyone who fishes Lake Talquin in North Florida that I could chat with about this fishing? I have some questions about the lake. I'm used to pond fishing in south Florida, so this is all new to me.

I've been there a few times with mild success, but I'm on a kayak so I'm limited to traveling very far, but anywhere on the lake is fine.

I also don't have a fish finder which makes it much harder.

Any advice/tips for catching dinner is greatly appreciated!

I was hiking deep in J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area when I heard a deep growl coming from behind a bush. It was really hard to judge how far away this animal was, but I’d guess 15-30 feet. I’d describe the growl as a very loud and deep and I’d compare it to a lion. The animal only growl and never made any other noise. It continued to growl for a long time as I tried to get away from it as fast as I could. I was also ankle deep in water so it wasn’t very fast. I should mention that I am not from Florida. I am from New Hampshire, so have very little knowledge of Florida wildlife. After talking with some people from Florida and doing so research myself, the animal could be a panther or a bobcat. I’ve listen to sounds of both and it definitely sounded like a panther. But I also know panthers are no common in the area. I would like to know what other people think I ran into on the trail.

Hey everyone!

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Updates!

We added Social Media to the candidate profiles. I've also made changes to the Map and added a counter along with a progression bar so you know the total votes. Let me know what you think! :)