Welcome to 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...

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 "Flo...

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...

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 exclu...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the ghost orchid under the Endangered Species Act. Comment here in support of the proposal . David Bulit is an urban explorer who visits and documents Florida's abandoned places. He tells us how he got into this unusual hobby and what he's seen. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Flor...

The Trump administration's tax bill is gutting funding for clean energy, national parks, science, climate resiliency, emergency weather information, and more, but it's increasing support for BIG SUGAR through additional subsidies.  Rachel Silverstein is the CEO for the Miami Waterkeeper and after listening to this episode, you may think she has the most difficult job in Florida.

Developers run Florida and the state legislature wants to keep it that way , even if municipalities would like less construction to safeguard themselves from hurricanes. Julian Dimock photographed Southwest Florida in the early 20th century . His photographs depict Seminole Indians , African American laborers on Marco Island, and the areas remarkable ecology. Jerald T. Milanich has authored multip...

The people of Florida once again united against their governor and state agencies to protect the environment .  "Welcome to Florida" Episode 1 was about alligators. Episode 257 is about crocodiles. Joining us in Frank "The Croc Doc" Mazzotti. Show patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." For only $5 per month, you'll be up...

In Florida conservation, the old axiom holds true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our topic for this episode is the Lake Wales Ridge . Our guest is Hillary Swain , Executive Director & CEO, and Senior Research Biologist at Archbold Biological Station. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for...

Anyone inspired by our previous episode with painter Christopher Still to go out and see some art can do so at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville where a fantastic show reassembling the first Modern art exhibition ever presented in Florida can be seen through November 23, 2025. Our guest is Ken Meyer, executive director at the Avian Research and Conservation Institute . He's been...

The Florida legislature, the best legislature corporate money can buy, has done the bidding of phosphate giant Mosaic, endangering public safety and making the polluting company less accountable for the harm it creates. Florida artist Christopher Still is best known for his Florida history mural cycle at the State House in Tallahassee. An exhibition of his paintings can be seen at the Tarpon Sprin...

A federal judge ruled that the State of Florida and its Department of Environmental “Protection” violated the Endangered Species Act resulting in the mass manatee die-off of 2021. This occurred primarily in the Indian River Lagoon.  Before Daytona Beach, auto racing's capital was one beach north, Ormond Beach . Ormond Beach Councilman Harold Briley is a student of this history and shares it w...

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Rodney Barreto appears to have lied under oath during his senate confirmation hearing about a proposed development project he attempted. Our guest this episode is Kristina Agard from the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center in Key West.  Since opening in 2007, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Eco-Discovery Center has provided visitors and...

The Florida legislature is spending valuable time this session attempting to enact a law preventing chemtrails and human manipulation of the weather, something that doesn't exist except in the mind of loony right-wingers.  Something that does exist in Florida is black bears. Arix Zalace is a long-time Panhandle resident and Co-Founder, Director & Board Member at The Paper Bear nonprofit w...

A proposed home development in Alachua County threatens the Floridan Aquifer.   John Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper working with a group of concerned citizens in north central Florida and south central Georgia to protect a vast, interconnected basin of waterways flowing into the Suwanee River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico. Check out our new "Florida Black History" YouTube...

A peanut farmer wants to swindle choice gopher tortoise land out of state conservation protection under the guise of a land swap, and Florida officials seem open to the idea. Voice your opposition .  Craig's seventh book, "Welcome to Florida: True Tales from America's Most Interesting State" is now available. His former colleague at the "Tampa Bay Times,"  Colette Ban...

Craig highlights the WORST bill working its way through the legislature this session. It's a "Christmas wish list" for developers and polluting industries. Fernandina Beach vs. Rayonier. Find you state senator and call him/her to oppose SB 1118. Jason Garcia's GREAT newsletter and podcast about Florida politics. Our guest this episode is Mark Mustian , founder of Word of South...

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are again pursuing a black bear hunt for the state. Citizens don't want it, and the last one was a disaster. Read Craig's column and send your comment to state officials in opposition . The Palace Saloon in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island is Florida's oldest bar. Thea Seagraves from the Amelia Island Museum of History joi...

Craig wants America's most hated man, unelected shadow president Elon Musk, to keep his hands off our National Parks . ( Resistance Rangers ) Longleaf pine once covered an area of over 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas along the Southeastern coast and well inland. Today, only about 5% of that original habitat remains . Karl Etters works at Tall Timbers Plantation in Tallahassee , an org...

Alcoholic, womanizing, Islamophobe U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also a climate denier. He has instructed the armed forces to ignore climate impacts and has demanded the Pentagon cut funding on military installations aimed at combating the effects of climate change, including at bases in Florida . The Montbrook Fossil Site roughly 45 minutes south of Gainesville in Levy County has become...

A combination of increasing and increasingly devastating hurricanes along with skyrocketing property insurance prices have resulted in an amazing demographic event in Florida. Our guest this week is Michael Sipos from the Florida Sea Grant who joins us to talk about mullet.   Make it a point one year to attend the Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow held each late January at the Seminole Hard Rock...

Donald Trump's threatened tariffs would be another nail in the coffin for Florida's citrus industry. You can support the "Welcome to Florida" podcast by becoming a $5 a month "patron" at www.patreon.com/welcometoflorida.  Greg Asbed from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers joins us on this episode to discuss the history of working conditions for agriculture workers, es...

Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling , potentially endangering Florida's beaches and economy from the spills that inevitably follow drilling. In 1960, Cuban parents began sending their children, unaccompanied, to Miami on Pan-Am flights to get them out of the country and away from Fidel Castro. This program was called "Operatio...

The federal government in the closing days of the Biden Administration failed to secure a protection for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Stories like this can be found in our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" exclusively available to "Welcome to Florida" patrons at www.patreon.com/welcometoflorida . Marineland opened south of St. Augustine on the Atlan...

Ron DeSantis wants the state to assume responsibility of Everglades restoration from the federal government. Terrible idea for the Everglades . Our guest this episode is Susan Anderson, outgoing executive director of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper . Susan grew up on the river and shares what makes it special and the numerous threats it faces. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive...