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Max Chesnes - Environment Reporter
Max Chesnes

Environment Reporter

Hi there! I’m Max, the environment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. I report on water quality, environmental justice, obscure Florida wildlife and everything in between. Prior to working for the Times, I covered environmental issues for Treasure Coast Newspapers and the USA Today network, where I focused on Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon in Florida. I was named a 2022 journalism fellow at the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute. I’m also a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a recipient of an SEJ national reporting award, the Poole Endowment for Environmental Writing, and first place recognitions from the Florida Society of News Editors and the Green Eyeshade Awards. I studied both journalism and sustainability at the University of Florida, graduating in May 2019. (Go gators!) I’m also licensed to fly drones.

  1. Here’s what to know about red tide in Pinellas County this week
    Yesterday• Environment
    The beaches off Indian Rocks Beach are flush with visitors despite the presence of red tide earlier this month.
  2. Should Tampa dye the Hillsborough River green for St. Patrick’s Day? A petition says no.
    Mar. 15• Environment
    City of Tampa Water Department employees leave the dock as they fill the Hillsborough River with green dye. [CHRIS URSO | Times (2018)]
  3. Here’s the aerial view as red tide blooms off Pinellas County right now
    Mar. 10• Environment
    Discolored water is observed near Pinellas County beaches near Indian Shores during a flight with SouthWings volunteers on Friday.
  5. Fish kills, breathing problems and burning eyes: How red tide is impacting Pinellas beaches
    Mar. 8• Environment
    Dead fish are seen along the shore of the intracoastal waters near the Dunedin Marina on Wednesday.
  6. As Florida’s legislative session begins today, here are the water bills we’re watching
    Mar. 7• Environment
    A dead goliath grouper floats on the surface of the ocean on Aug. 8, 2021, in the Gulf of Mexico.
  7. TECO vows changes after Hillsborough River sewage spill, but points finger at apartments
    Mar. 6• Environment
    Aerial drone photo of the Hillsborough River near the site of a sewage spill from a lift station pictured on Thursday in Tampa.
  8. Estimated 630,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Hillsborough River, records show
    Mar. 2• Environment
    Aerial drone photo of the Hillsborough River near the site of a sewage spill from a lift station pictured Thursday in Tampa.
  9. Was Florida red tide made worse by Hurricane Ian? Here’s what we know.
    Mar. 1• Environment
    Dead fish are shown washed up at Pass-a-Grille Beach in December. The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was detected along Florida’s Gulf Coast.
  10. Red tide is back (again) in Pinellas County. Breathing issues are possible at some beaches.
    Feb. 23• Environment
    Beachgoers are seen along the shore and in the water Thursday in Madeira Beach. State biologists said they received reports of fish kills and breathing problems at some Pinellas County beaches this week due to a red tide bloom.
  11. 7,400 gallons of wastewater spilled into John’s Pass. An abandoned shovel is to blame.
    Feb. 22• Environment
    Pedestrians are seen along the John’s Pass Village Thursday in Madeira Beach.
  12. Florida wildlife officials signal resistance to fishing gear bans at Skyway Fishing Pier
    Feb. 21• Environment
    A fisherman looks at pelicans sitting by the South Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in St.Petersburg. Nearly 75% of bird rescues at the pier are pelicans, and wildlife officials are considering new rules to prevent their entanglement.
  13. ‘Path of the Panther’ hits Florida theaters this week. We spoke with the film’s creators.
    Feb. 21• Environment
    One of many camera-trap photographs of a wild Florida panther captured by Carlton Ward Jr. You can watch "Path of the Panther" in theaters across Florida beginning Friday. The film will be released on Disney+ and the National Geographic Channel this spring.
  14. PHOTOS: Florida law firm preserves war chest of samples from Deepwater Horizon spill
    Feb. 17• Florida
    Angela Caceres, the chief science officer at Miami's Downs Law Group, holds up a jar Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 containing an oily cloth that was collected on a Gulf Coast shoreline as crews cleaned up beaches in the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. This jar is one of thousands being held in freezing temperatures to preserve them for federal lawsuits.
    7 Images | View Slideshow
  15. Florida workers got sick after Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They want BP to pay.
    Feb. 17• Health
    Rodney Boblitt stands on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. After patrolling the beaches following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Boblitt suffered memory problems and other health issues. Like thousands of other cleanup workers, he is suing BP, which denies any link between the spill and their illnesses.
  16. Tampa Bay lost 12% of its seagrass in 2 years; some areas at historic low, study shows
    Feb. 13• Environment
    A cormorant swims over a thick mat of algae covering a bed of seagrass offshore from Tierra Verde near the Shell Key Preserve on June 29 in Pinellas County. Tampa Bay has lost 12% of its seagrass in recent years, a survey released Monday shows, leaving the northern bay with an all-time low amount of the plant crucial to life in Florida’s largest open-water estuary.
  17. Hillsborough’s agriculture losses from Hurricane Ian 2nd highest in state, UF says
    Feb. 9• Environment
    Fifth-generation farmer Roy Petteway looks at the damage to his citrus grove from the effects of Hurricane Ian on Oct. 12 in Zolfo Springs. Agriculture losses in Florida from Hurricane Ian's high winds and drenching rains are now estimated at $1.03 billion, the University of Florida said Thursday.
  18. Protect Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve from future oil exploration, advocates urge feds
    Feb. 8• Environment
    Big Cypress National Preserve, seen here in this 2008 file photo, is an important habitat for the endangered Florida panther and is a key ingredient in maintaining the Everglades' ecosystem health.
  19. Heading to the beach this weekend? Red tide blooms are declining in the Tampa Bay area
    Feb. 3• Environment
    Someone paddles through the water at Pass-a-Grille Beach on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in St. Pete Beach. Red tide conditions have improved in Pinellas County over the past week.
  20. Researchers find invasive, airbreathing, frog-hunting fish along Florida’s Gulf Coast
    Jan. 27• Environment
    Researchers recently documented, then killed, a population of invasive, air-breathing goldline snakehead fish living in a pond in Manatee County.
  21. Wildlife officials propose new rules for anglers at Skyway pier to curb bird deaths
    Jan. 26• Environment
    Anglers fish along the North Sunshine Skyway Fishing Pier in November. Wildlife officials are considering new rules to prevent seabird entanglements at the pier.
  22. ‘Tens of thousands’ of Florida bird flu cases now include sandhill cranes, white pelicans
    Jan. 24• Environment
    Pictured are American white pelicans, one of the affected species. The news of two new infected species this week underscores bird flu’s widening reach.
  23. Tampa car fire snarling traffic on southbound I-275 near S.R. 60 off ramp
    Jan. 24• Tampa
    A car fire on southbound Interstate 275 in Tampa is snarling traffic near the State Road 60 off ramp this morning.
  24. 19-year-old man killed in horse training accident at Tampa Bay Downs
    Jan. 21• Breaking News
    A 19-year-old man was killed Saturday, January 21, 2023 during a horse training accident at Tampa Bay Downs, according to the track's announcer. (Times Archives)