The Deep Dive Blog

OUR HOME - Old Florida by Alan Maltz Fine Art Photographer Alan Maltz always had an eye for beauty, no matter the location or subject. But while visiting the Florida Keys from upstate New York, he knew his heart had found its home. Literally. He visited the residence of then-President

Since its introduction in the early aughts, kayak fishing has exploded in popularity — and with good reason. During the pandemic alone, kayak sales ballooned to $405 million dollars in a 12-month period. The sport is a great alternative to the limitations of powered boats and allows anglers to get

Thanks to a generous $100,000 gift from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, work is now underway to restore essential habitats in south Florida. Bald cypress trees are currently being planted at Jonathan Dickinson State Park along the Loxahatchee River, one of only two nationally designated Wild and Scenic

By: Kyle Grammatica Tampa Bay is losing a key component of a healthy marine ecosystem: seagrass. A September report from the Southwest Florida Water Management District concluded that Tampa Bay experienced a 16% decline in seagrass in two years. “That sends up an alarm that something is going on that

By: Kyle Grammatica Jeff Liechty, Coastal Biologist at Audubon's Florida Coastal Island Sanctuaries, works with many Florida sea birds. But the ones closest to his heart are the royal and sandwich terns he banded during his graduate work from 2012-2014. "I was studying tern breeding ecology at Nicholls State University,"

By: Kyle Grammatica Duette Preserve in Manatee County is a wild Florida paradise. Home to the headwaters of the Myakka River, it hosts weekend hunts and boasts a magnificent population of deer, turkey, quail, and an increasing number of Florida scrub-jays. But the 21,000-acre preserve also required rejuvenation, namely seeding

By: Kyle Grammatica 223: that’s the number of invasive Burmese pythons removed from south Florida during the 2021 Python Challenge! From July 9th until the 18th, over 600 novice and professional contestants hunted the destructive snake that is wreaking havoc in the Everglades. Let’s meet some of them! Donna Kalil

Corals create the castles of thriving marine ecosystems, but they are susceptible to siege by hordes of predators. But marching to their rescue might be the spotted spiny lobster, one of the white knights of the coral kingdom. Corals may look unappetizing to you or me, but they are a

By: Kyle Grammatica As we continue to fight Covid-19, wildlife experts in Florida are continuing actions to prevent the spread of a disease affecting North America’s deer: chronic wasting disease (CWD). CWD is a progressive, neurological, and fatal disease that affects mule deer, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, sika deer, North