Just after sunrise on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Reaserche Reserve (GTMNERR) volunteer Jeff Finnan witnessed one of the quiet closing scenes of coastal wildlife’s annual rhythm: the emergence of the final sea turtle nest of the season.

Over the course of six work days in the past four weeks, Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve and Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve staff removed over 200 invasive tilapia from the headsprings of the Silver River. This is a huge accomplishment and almost 1,000 pounds of fish biomass removed! We are sincerely grateful for our team of three staff members and five volunteers for making this program such a success.

CHAP staff conducted their monthly Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) monitoring in Pine Island Sound AP and were happy to see the wading and diving bird nesting starting again. Staff observed great blue herons nesting on both CWAs as well as over 1,100 American white pelicans using one of the CWAs as a roosting/resting area!

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s alligators have outgrown their tank in the reptile room! Every couple of years, they are exchanged for three babies. Otherwise, they would become too big for the tank. Ranger Zach Lepera and Aquarist Sarah Moulton took the overgrown alligators back to Gatorland in Orlando, and exchanged them for babies that hatched earlier this year.

Early detection and rapid response is the most effective form of invasive species management, so when a downstream neighbor contacted RSAP staff alerting them of a school of tilapia moving in and several plecos hanging around, we had to call in for assistance from the Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve (NCAP). While Trisha was giving the kayak tour, Joe (RSAP) and Tyler (NCAP) searched the lower river for invasive fish and removed 11 plecos.

ORAP and FWC staff completed another successful evening of electrofishing in the headsprings of the Silver River to remove invasive fish. The cool temperature, full moon, and alligator sightings made for a wonderful evening. Within two hours, the boat was full with 72 tilapia and one hoplo. Since January 2025, 647 tilapia have been removed from the headsprings.

Another successful sea turtle nesting season has ended at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, marking a year of encouraging progress for local sea turtle populations. From May through October, staff and interns worked tirelessly to monitor nesting activity across the Reserve, documenting nests, false crawls and hatchlings to support ongoing conservation and research efforts.

Guests and staff at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center were in for quite a surprise recently when a Florida black bear was seen (numerous times) wandering through the grounds! One day the bear even stopped to snack from a bird feeder outside the administrative office and literally tore it down before continuing his stroll around the building and back into the woods.

The cooler temperatures brought in small herds of manatees to the warm waters of the Silver River. Staff, volunteers and visitors all enjoy seeing these friendly, curious giants! The cooler temperatures also pushed the invasive tilapia to the headsprings. Staff focused on the ones in the emergent vegetation this week and any that were showing early signs of spawning, which include pairing up, turning white, and clearing vegetation for beds.

The Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves (IRLAP) staff collaborated with FWC, the Brevard Zoo and Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) to investigate open spaces on the 1000 Islands, near Banana River Aquatic Preserve, for potential least tern nesting sites. Florida’s least terns (Sternula antillarum) are listed as threatened, and their nesting habitat is rapidly disappearing.