Octopuses can rival the creatures of science fiction: big-eyed, multi-armed, soft-bodied, intelligent, alien, yet home-grown during the Earth’s late Jurassic period, about 140 million years ago.”…
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
Here we are in mid-September, and the number of remaining incubating nests continues to steadily decrease as the last nests hatch. No new crawls have occurred sinc…
BY THE BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY
Editor’s Note: This is the last of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our is…
BY KAREN GRACE, BOCA GRANDE HISTORY CENTER
Betty and Jack Barndollar first came to Gasparilla Island in 1959, a year after the bridge had been built. Three years later, they built a house and mov…
Despite challenges, we still enjoy special ‘place of paradise’
I understand we will see hotter weather again. I’m enjoying our recent overcast skies and cooler fall-like days. Our Gulf and Bay wa…
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated reframes of nature in the assurance that da…
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
As I’m writing this article, BGSTA turtle patrollers have completed 278 inventories involving the sea turtle nests on Gasparilla Island. In previous articles, I’ve…
BY THE BARRIER ISLAND PARKS SOCIETY
Editor’s Note: This is one of six weekly wildlife articles submitted by the Barrier Island Parks Society to raise awareness about the issues facing our island…
“All magic comes with a price, dearie”
Rumpelstiltskin, a character on ABC’s Once Upon a Time
On Aug. 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a white paper and supporting materia…
BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY
Wow, the 2025 sea turtle nesting season is sure winding down quickly now! If you’ve been tracking the weekly statistics in the Boca Beacon, you may have noticed th…
