The Blue Beach House Palm Island

06/07/2026

June is Great Outdoors Month, a nationwide celebration encouraging everyone to step outside, explore public lands, and enjoy the beauty of our parks, trails, and natural spaces responsibly.,

At the Barrier Island Parks Society, this celebration aligns perfectly with our mission to inspire the exploration and preservation of our region’s natural and historic treasures. From coastal ecosystems to historic lighthouses and island landscapes, our work is rooted in protecting the places that connect people to Florida’s barrier islands, past and present.

This month is a reminder that every walk on the beach, every visit to a park, and every moment spent in nature helps deepen our appreciation for what makes these places worth preserving for future generations.

Get outside this June, explore something new, and help keep our shared spaces protected and thriving.

Learn more about our mission and programs by visiting www.BIPS.org.

05/18/2026

Psssst. Sea Turtle Week is coming!

05/17/2026

05/15/2026

Happy Endangered Species Day!🐢

🐢 Sea turtles have survived ice ages, mass extinctions, and 100 million years of change.¹ What nearly finished them off?

Us.

Hunting. Habitat loss. Fishing bycatch. Nest destruction. By the 1970s, populations that had thrived since the dinosaurs were collapsing.

Then the Endangered Species Act was passed — and something remarkable happened. They started coming back.

Not because of luck. Because of law. Because of consistent, science-based protections that didn't bend to economic pressure or political convenience.

The ESA has a 99% success rate preventing extinction for listed species.² It has never been about stopping progress — it's about ensuring that the natural world that sustains all of us is still here tomorrow.
Laws only protect what we're willing to defend. Sea turtles can't speak for themselves.

We can. 🌊


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📌 Sources for those who want the science:
¹ Marine sea turtles have inhabited Earth for over 100 million years, since the Cretaceous period, with fossil evidence showing multiple distinct family lineages established during that era. Throughout that history they adapted as seas rose and fell, continents drifted, and glaciers formed and melted.
— Hirayama (1998); Kear & Lee (2006); St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program
² A peer-reviewed study estimated the ESA has prevented the extinction of roughly 291 species since its passage in 1973, saving more than 99% of species under its protection. Only four species have been confirmed extinct following listing.
— Ge**er (2016), published in PeerJ; confirmed by World Wildlife Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity

05/15/2026

🎣💰 THE WORLD’S RICHEST TARPON TOURNAMENT IS HAPPENING TODAY ON BOCA GRANDE! 🌴🐟

Did you know that Boca Grande is known as the Tarpon Capital of the World? Every year, some of the most skilled anglers from across the country travel here to compete in the legendary World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, a Grande Tradition with a rich history dating back to the early 1980s!

Originally launched by the Boca Grande Club as an invitational tournament, the event later evolved under the Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce into the famous “World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament,” where first-place winnings once topped an incredible $100,000! 💵🏆

But here’s what makes this tournament even more special today…
🐟 It is now a fully catch-and-release tournament focused on:
✔️ Conservation
✔️ Sportsmanship
✔️ Education
✔️ Protecting Boca Grande’s world-famous tarpon fishery for future generations

If you’re visiting beautiful Gasparilla Island State Park today, be sure to stop by the historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse & Museum where you may catch a glimpse of the tournament participants, boats, and all the excitement surrounding one of Florida’s most iconic fishing traditions! ⚓🌊

Whether you’re a fishing enthusiast, history lover, or simply enjoying a day on the island, today is the perfect opportunity to experience a unique piece of Boca Grande history and heritage. 🎣☀️

05/14/2026

The 70 MPH speed limit on I-75 in Florida is less of a law and more of a loose suggestion everybody collectively ignores the second the humidity hits 98%. 🌴🚔💀
Go 72 and people pass you like you accidentally entered the retirement lane.
Go 65 and suddenly a lifted pickup with salt-life stickers, a fishing kayak, and headlights brighter than the surface of the sun is six inches off your bumper somewhere between Tampa and Ocala flashing high beams like you insulted their airboat personally. 😭
Touch 86 and out of nowhere…
a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser materializes from behind a palm tree like it grew there naturally beside the retention pond. 🚔🌴🐊
One second the interstate is empty.
Next second there’s an FHP Tahoe hidden behind: • a Buc-ee’s exit sign ⛽ • a random overpass 💀 • an abandoned construction zone 🚧 • or directly beside a pond that absolutely contains at least one alligator.
Every few miles traffic completely stops for no reason.
No crash. No roadwork. No visible problem whatsoever.
Just brake lights stretching to the horizon because one tourist saw rain for the first time near Orlando and tapped the brakes hard enough to emotionally damage traffic all the way back to Gainesville. 😭
Meanwhile construction barrels appear permanently welded to I-4 and I-75.
Lanes randomly split. GPS loses confidence. Exit ramps appear with half a second warning. And somehow every highway project has been “almost finished” since flip phones still existed. 💀
Then there’s the weather.
Not normal weather.
Florida weather.
Bright sunshine in one lane… biblical thunderstorm in the next… then immediate sunshine again like the storm was just a temporary side quest. ☀️⛈️😭
And somehow there’s always: • one retiree doing 51 in the left lane • one Altima weaving through traffic at 103 • a rental car braking for palm trees • and somebody merging onto the interstate at 37 mph while holding an iced coffee and zero fear.
This isn’t a highway.
It’s a statewide survival simulator.

05/14/2026

🐢 2026 Sea Turtle Nesting Season Update 🐢
The 2026 sea turtle nesting season is officially off and with a strong start! 💪

Loggerheads and leatherbacks are both currently outpacing their recent record-breaking years. We can’t wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds!

Here are preliminary statewide totals as of April 30th:
🟠 1,450 loggerhead nests (compared to 796 in 2025, 469 in 2024, 1,400 in 2023, and 271 in 2022)
🟢 3 Kemp’s ridley nests (compared to 1 in 2025, 4 in 2024, 6 in 2023, and 1 in 2022)
🔵 1,008 leatherback nests (compared to 965 in 2025, 831 in 2024, 624 in 2023, and 549 in 2022)
🟣 0 green turtle nests (compared to 0 in 2025, 0 in 2024, 1 in 2023, and 1 in 2022)

💫 Thanks to all the permit holders, volunteers and partners involved in this incredible community science effort, working together to document sea turtle nesting activity across the state!

Check back for monthly updates throughout the season! ✅

📸 Photos: FWC