MIAMI, Fla - The National Park Service (NPS) in conjunction with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be conducting a joint prescribed fire operation scheduled to begin in late January and continue through February. The 151,434-acre Boundary Prescribed Fire Project—located south of US Highway 41 between mile markers 36 and 44, including the Miccosukee Reserved Area—removes jurisdictional boundaries to complete prescribed burns with the assistance of federal, Tribal, state and local resources. The project aims to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations, create a critical fire break on the south side of the Miccosukee Reserved Area to protect the Tribal Community from wildfire, enhance landscape resiliency, aid in ecosystem restoration, protect cultural values and improve firefighter and public safety.

“We are so grateful for this collaboration, which allows us to take a landscape-level approach to prescribed fire,” said Superintendent Pedro Ramos who oversees the NPS sites in South Florida. “Nature doesn’t adhere to our jurisdictional boundaries, so allowing a controlled burn to take a more natural path benefits the ecosystem and increases safety for people and our built environment.”

Due to the size and location, this project will take place in phases guided by agency specialists and the Tribe’s traditional ecological knowledge to benefit the mutual natural and cultural interests of the NPS and the Tribe. Phases 1 and 2 include treatment on the western and northern perimeters of the project area using Shark Valley Tram Road as a natural holding barrier on the eastern perimeter and securing residences and other values at risk. In Phase 3, once at-risk values are secured, managers will apply fire strategically, creating the desired level of fire intensity based on fuels and water levels in the remainder of the area, to achieve the ecosystem objectives specified in the treatment plan.

“The Tribe is very pleased to partner with the National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs to execute these important land management actions for the benefit of promoting robust resources and ecosystem health,” said Chief of Sustainability Officer Kevin Cunniff of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. “We are collectively embarking to do so in a manner based in, and informed by, the traditional knowledge and practices that Miccosukee people have used to help shape the Everglades and Big Cypress over thousands of years.”

Conditions for successful prescribed burn operations such as weather, fuel moisture and smoke dispersion are carefully tracked and considered in advance. The target timeframes are estimates and may change depending on environmental conditions, agency approval, resource availability and state burn authorizations and restrictions.

Fire has played a significant role in the history of South Florida, both naturally and through human activity. One of the primary objectives of prescribed fire is to decrease accumulated vegetation, which reduces the risk of catastrophic wildfires. As set forth in the Miccosukee Tribe and National Park Service Co-Stewardship Agreement, “Everglades National Park coordinates with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida to minimize threats of wildland fire to the Miccosukee Reserved Area and greater Miccosukee community, a nationally recognized Wildland Urban Interface Community at Risk.” By deliberately burning specific areas, land managers can limit the density of fast-burning grasses that threaten nearby communities.

South Florida’s ecosystems are dependent on fire to sustain healthy, resilient ecosystems that resist exotic plant invasions, recover quickly from natural events such as hurricanes and support habitat for federally threatened and endangered species. South Florida’s tribes, local, state and federal agencies are committed to reducing wildfire risk through proactive fuel management. Through collaboration and cooperation south Florida is removing lines from maps and treating the ecosystem on a landscape level.  
 
For updates on burn operations and related closures, visit:
InciWeb interagency all-risk incident information management system:
​Flevp Boundary Prescribed Fire Information | InciWeb
Everglades National Park - https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
Big Cypress National Preserve - https://www.nps.gov/bicy/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

KOA NEWS SERVICE (Billings, Mont., January 16, 2025) — Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA), the largest system of privately owned campgrounds in the world, is proud to announce that Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA Resort has been recognized with the prestigious KOA ICON Award. This recognition highlights campgrounds that demonstrate exceptional operational excellence, customer satisfaction, and a commitment to the KOA brand.

The KOA ICON Award is granted to the top 10% of KOA campgrounds across North America based on criteria including growth in camper nights, Net Promoter Scores (NPS)–a widely recognized customer loyalty and satisfaction metric broadly used throughout the hospitality sector–and engagement with KOA programs that drive brand excellence. Replacing the long-standing President’s and Founder’s Awards, this new recognition program focuses on measurable performance metrics and brand participation, celebrating campgrounds that consistently go above and beyond, providing superior experiences for their guests.

“Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA Resort exemplifies what it means to deliver excellence in every aspect of the camping and outdoor hospitality experience,” said Toby O’Rourke, president and CEO of KOA. “Their unwavering commitment to operational excellence, camper satisfaction, and innovative engagement with KOA programs sets the standard for the entire KOA system. We are thrilled to recognize them as a KOA ICON.”

The KOA ICON recognition is part of KOA’s larger commitment to celebrating campgrounds that continuously strive to exceed guest expectations. KOA has also introduced a quarterly recognition program that highlights campgrounds with top NPS scores and those demonstrating year-over-year improvement.

As a KOA ICON campground, Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA Resort will enjoy unique benefits designed to amplify their achievement, including dated logo placement on KOA.com, enhanced award designation marketing materials, and recognition in KOA corporate marketing initiatives. This honor underscores the importance of delivering exceptional service and fostering a loyal camper base.

Located at 251 State Road 939 in Sugarloaf Key, Florida, the Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA Resort is open April 11th to October 31st.

For more information about Sugarloaf Key/Key West KOA Resort, or to make a reservation, please visit the campground’s website. Reservations are also available by going online or using the KOA App. To learn more about KOA and its network of campgrounds, visit www.KOA.com.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – On Jan. 16, Everglades National Park released a status update on the draft Wilderness Stewardship Plan, which would guide the preservation, management and use of the park’s wilderness lands. An updated StoryMap with details is available at parkplanning.nps.gov/ever-wsp. No public meetings or public comment period are planned with this informational update.
 
“We are grateful for the input we have received on our wilderness stewardship planning effort,” said Superintendent Pedro Ramos of Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks. “Having a wilderness stewardship plan that balances the protection of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness with active use and enjoyment by people is essential.”
 
The purpose of the wilderness stewardship plan is to provide long-term direction for preserving wilderness character, protect the natural and cultural resources in wilderness areas, improve conditions in areas with unacceptable levels of impact, and provide opportunities for public use and enjoyment in accordance with the Wilderness Act and other applicable laws and policies.  
 
The next steps will include development of alternatives, another opportunity for public comment, and a management decision as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The development of alternatives will be prepared in an environmental compliance document that will analyze the near-term and high-priority actions in the Wilderness Stewardship Plan. These documents will be shared for public review in late 2025.
Recognizing the deep connections between past, present, and future peoples, and wilderness, the National Park Service (NPS) welcomes shared stewardship of our wilderness areas. As part of a collaborative and transparent planning process, the park invited input on the draft desired conditions and preliminary management strategies from the public and associated Tribes in spring 2024. The NPS analyzed comments and refined the desired conditions and preliminary management strategies. The public comment summary can be found along with the StoryMap on the project website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/ever-wsp.

The park’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness is the largest unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System east of the Rocky Mountains. Established in 1934, Everglades National Park was considered wilderness 30 years before the Wilderness Act of 1964 was signed into law, and 44 years prior to its official wilderness designation in 1978. The NPS now manages 97% of the park as wilderness, including submerged marine lands.
​
Learn more about Everglades National Park online at nps.gov/ever or follow the park on Facebook, X, and Instagram.  

MIAMI, Fla. – On Jan. 31, Everglades National Park will host the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to celebrate the intersection of poetry and nature with a virtual event for students and a public event to unveil a poetry installation—a picnic table inscribed with the poem “Ecology” by June Jordan.  

Everglades is one of seven national parks selected to be part of Limón’s signature project “You are Here: Poetry in Parks.” The initiative is a partnership between the National Park Service (NPS), Library of Congress, and the Poetry Society of America that features installations of site-specific poetry installations in the parks. In each park, a picnic table, transformed into a work of public art, features a historic American poem that relates to the park in a meaningful way. 

“I want to champion the ways reading and writing poetry can situate us in the natural world,” said Limón.  “Never has it been more urgent to feel a sense of reciprocity with our environment, and poetry’s alchemical mix of attention, silence, and rhythm gives us a reciprocal way of experiencing nature—of communing with the natural world through breath and presence.” 

Everglades National Park is the sixth stop of Limón’s "You Are Here: Poetry in Parks" tour.  She has already visited Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, Redwood National and State Parks in California, Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. The final stop on her tour will be Saguaro National Park in Arizona. 

The project includes an invitation for public participation. The NPS and Limón hope people of all ages—poets and non-poets—will feel moved to write their own responses to the You Are Here prompt of “What would you write in response to the landscape around you?” People have the option to share their responses on social media using the hashtag #YouAreHerePoetry. 

“We are so pleased to be a part of Ms. Limón’s Poetry in Parks project,” said Sabrina Diaz, interim superintendent for Everglades and Dry Tortugas national parks. “Through the park’s Artist in Residence in Everglades program and other opportunities, we have hosted poets and other artists over the years to explore that special connection between art and nature.”  

Beginning at 3 p.m., the free, public event will be held outside the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center at the Homestead entrance. Limón will give a poetry reading and describe the selection of the poem, followed by a panel discussion with local representatives from community organization O, Miami and park partner Artists in Residence in Everglades, Inc. The ceremony will end with an unveiling of the picnic table which will reside in the parking area of the visitor center to inspire park visitors.  

Following the event, there will be a book signing of the new anthology of nature poetry complied by Limón, You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, published by Milkweed Editions. The Florida National Parks Association, the park’s non-profit partner, will have copies for sale at the event.  

Limón will also join a park ranger in the morning for a virtual broadcast from the Everglades to classrooms across the country. Teachers may register for the virtual reading and introduction to the Everglades by emailing the park’s education program at [email protected].  
​
Limón was appointed as the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress on July 12, 2022, and was reappointed for a historic two-year second term on April 24, 2023. Limón’s second term will conclude in April 2025. 
 
Learn more about Everglades National Park online at nps.gov/ever or follow the park on Facebook, X, and Instagram.  

​ST. LEO, FL – Saint Leo University and Bake More Pies, a Tampa-based artificial intelligence (AI) automation agency, are launching an online AI certification course. Designed for business leaders and professionals, the Generative AI for Business Growth course goes beyond a surface-level understanding of AI, equipping students with tangible strategies, ethical insights, and real-world use cases.

The self-paced course includes six modules: an introduction to AI; how to leverage AI tools for business; AI-powered data analytics; AI business function automation; ethical considerations and pitfalls; and a future outlook for AI in the workplace. Students will learn about the uses of AI through several real-world cases studies and walk away with practical examples of how AI can be used in their careers.

Offered through the Saint Leo University Skills Academy, the course takes up to six hours to complete. Students receive a certificate and digital badge upon completion. Registration is $350 per person. To learn more, contact the Saint Leo University Skills Academy at (352) 588-8857. To register for the course, visit www.saintleo.edu/generativeai.

​Key West, FL – In recognition of the centennial of James Baldwin’s birth, The Studios of Key West has partnered with La Maison Baldwin to support their "24 Black Writers in 2024-2025" initiative. This collaboration brings three exceptional Black writers to Key West for residency fellowships in May 2025, offering them the space and inspiration to build on the work of one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
 
La Maison Baldwin, a non-profit that began in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, where Baldwin spent his final years, fosters creativity, equity, and cultural exchange while preserving the profound impact of James Baldwin's work. The organization serves as a sanctuary for writers and a hub for global dialogue.
 
The writers selected through the partnership exemplify the depth and diversity of thought Baldwin championed, with each bringing unique perspectives to issues of identity, equity, and culture:
 
Dr. Sonia Mae Brown, from Little Rock, AR, is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Division of Arts and Humanities at Philander Smith University. She is a scholar whose work focuses on gender, sexuality, and Black female eroticism. With a doctorate from Howard University and a Masters in Creative and Professional Writing from Long Island University, Dr. Brown describes herself as a “Literary Sexual Anthropologist.” Her scholarship seeks to frame eroticism as a critical lens for textual inquiry, pushing boundaries in academic and literary spaces. Dr. Brown is passionate about enriching current scholarship on The Erotic and elevating its significance as a tool for intellectual exploration.
 
Dr. Royel M. Johnson, based in Los Angeles, CA, is one of the nation’s leading voices on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. A tenured professor and PhD program chair at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, he also serves as Director of the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climates at USC’s Race and Equity Center. Johnson is the author of five books and over 60 scholarly works, and he was recently recognized by the Los Angeles Times as a DEIA Visionary for his impactful contributions to the field.
 
Dr. MaryLouise Patterson, from New York, NY, is a retired pediatrician and advocate for universal healthcare who draws inspiration from her upbringing in a family deeply rooted in the Black Radical tradition. Educated in the USSR and UC Berkeley, Dr. Patterson co-authored Letters from Langston: From the Harlem Renaissance to the Red Scare and Beyond. Her work and activism celebrate the richness of Black history and culture. An avid lover of jazz, art, and political discourse, Dr. Patterson continues to champion justice and equity in healthcare and beyond.
 
Together, these writers bring bold perspectives, groundbreaking scholarship, and a passion for cultural and intellectual exploration that continue to push boundaries and inspire meaningful dialogue.
 
“This partnership represents the power of art and storytelling to connect communities across time and place,” says Jed Dodds, Executive Director of The Studios of Key West. “We’re thrilled to welcome these accomplished writers and to continue Baldwin’s enduring legacy of fostering creativity and dialogue.”
 
For more information about the Peyton Evans Artist Residency (PEAR) Program at The Studios of Key West, or upcoming events, visit www.tskw.org.

January 13, 2025 – (KEY WEST, FL).  Take a trip back to the 1970s Disco Era during this season’s “Back in Time” fundraiser hosted by the Key West Art & Historical Society.  Themed “Let’s Disco: A Night of Glitter, Glam, and Groove!” the party takes place Friday, February 21, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. under the stars in the courtyard of the Fort East Martello Museum.  Proceeds support the ongoing preservation needs of the Custom House building, the island’s architectural crown jewel that has graced the Mallory Square area for the last 134 years.

The fundraiser is the ultimate night to dance, sip, and feast in true 70s style!  The evening will be a vibrant and high-energy event where the beats are hot, the drinks are flowing at the open bar, and the food is just as fabulous as the fashion.  It’s a throwback celebration packed with nonstop fun and retro glamour.

This event combines the best of the 70s disco era with a modern twist, featuring an open seating layout that encourages mingling, dancing, and socializing all night long.  Get your 70s style on! Think bold prints, bell-bottoms, sequins, and platform shoes—come ready to turn heads and strut your stuff. The best-dressed disco diva could even win a fabulous prize!

“As stewards of the Custom House building, we are grateful for the community’s continued support of our on-going preservation efforts,” says Michael F. Gieda, Executive Director of the Society.  “The biggest challenge we face is the complete upgrade of the inoperative elevator in the building which limits ADA access to the upper floors.  Proceeds from this year’s fundraiser will help offset the steep costs associated with the replacement.”

Step “Back in Time” to invest in the future; purchase a single ticket for $200 or sponsor a table of eight for $1,600.  Proceeds will be contributed to the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys’ Custom House Preservation Fund.  For tickets visit www.kwahs.org/fundraiser or contact Event Coordinator Bonnie McInnis at 305-295-6616 x 505.

Your Museums.  Your Community.  It takes an Island.

​KEY WEST, Florida Keys – The monthly Nature is Art Workshop will take place from 10am to noon on Saturday, January 18, 2025. Parents can register their school age children on line. Space is limited to 15. Cost is $10 which includes all materials. Nature is Art uses natural, recycled or repurposed materials to make nature inspired creations which the participants can take home with them. The Garden is located at 5210 College Road on Stock Island. For more information call 305.849.8733 or visit www.keywest.garden/education.

KEY WEST, FL – January 9, 2025 – Keys Medical Group welcomes Edgardo L. Montemayor, Jr., M.D., FAAFP, board-certified Family Medicine physician. Dr. Montemayor is a graduate of Manila Central University – Felimon D. Tanchoco Medical Foundation in Caloocan City, Philippines, and completed his residency at Ochsner LSU Health – Monroe Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
 
Dr. Montemayor joins Norman “Rocky” Tingle, M.D., at Keys Medical Group Family Medicine, effective January 13, 2025. His clinical interests include acute and chronic disease management, preventive care, and general primary care.
 
Dr. Tingle, medical director of Keys Medical Group, said, “We welcome Dr. Montemayor to our practice and our community. We look forward to introducing him to our patients and their families.”
 
Keys Medical Group Family Medicine is located at 1111 12th Street, Suite 301, Key West. The practice provides primary care for patients of all ages and offers prevention and treatment for hypertension, diabetes, and lipid disorders, as well as immunizations, physicals, sick visits and wellness checks. Appointments may be requested at KeysMedicalGroup.com or at (305)294-1706.
 
About:
Keys Medical Group is a multispecialty practice with physicians and providers in primary care, cardiology, ENT/head and neck surgery, gastroenterology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, pulmonology, and psychiatry.