Anglers know the important ways mangrove forests provide food and shelter for the snook, redfish, sheepshead and other species they pursue. Those who don’t fish but enjoy eating fish should…
By Rusty Chinnis The decision by the Manatee County Commission to reduce local wetland buffers to Florida's state minimum standards has been challenged by former county commissioner Joe McClash. The…
By Rusty Chinnis “Strip, long strip, stop, short strip, stop, strip,” Harry Neymour called out as I watched the bonefish home in on my fly. Neymour had spotted three fish…
By Rusty Chinnis Suncoast Waterkeeper teamed up with Sarasota Bay Watch last weekend when they conducted their 2023 Annual Sister Keys Cleanup. The event was a collaboration of the two…
By Rusty Chinnis I consider myself extremely lucky to have spent the last 40-plus years on an island in an area celebrated as the Suncoast. As an ardent angler, I’ve explored…
When the Manatee County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 (Commissioner George Kruse voted no) to go forward with reducing wetland buffers in the county, the audience at the meeting reacted…
Readers of this column have seen me recommend checking politicians’ voting record before casting a vote for them.
In a recent column, I reported how state rules and regulations passed during the DeSantis legislative session limited the protection of local waters at a time when the threat to…
By Rusty Chinnis At a time when the need to move water quality issues in a positive direction should be crystal clear, decision-makers (and, by default, the citizens who elected…
You don’t have to convince an angler of the importance of a healthy grass flat or a robust stand of mangroves or persuade them that we’re losing this precious resource…