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Zachary T. Sampson - Environment Reporter
Zachary T. Sampson

Environment Reporter

I grew up in Rhode Island, on a bay similar to Tampa's. I'm fascinated by where we're from — how places shape us and we shape them. In Florida, our life turns on nature, from the gulf to rivers and flatwoods and swamps. I want my coverage to be just as expansive. Do you have a place to show me or a story to tell? Reach out. I'm friendlier than my face suggests. We can also talk about baseball, but it might be hard to get me to stop.

  1. Environmentalists sue to stop Florida from handling wetlands development permits
    Yesterday• Environment
    A rope swing sways gently in the wind near the headwaters of the Wacissa River in December 2013.
  2. What would Biden rejoining the Paris Agreement mean for Florida?
    Jan. 13• The Buzz on Florida Politics
    Duke Energy Florida and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg unveiled a solar battery project to explore how to store and use energy from the sun in 2015.
  3. Investigation underway after report of someone scratching ‘Trump’ into a manatee
    Jan. 12• Crime
    In this undated photo by Hailey Warrington a manatee is seen with the word "Trump" across it's back.
  5. Most Florida panthers found dead in 2020 were killed by cars
    Dec. 26, 2020• Environment
    A Florida panther fitted with a radio collar is released into the Picayune Strand Restoration Project near Naples in January 2013.
  6. Months later, Tampa Bay businesspeople still reeling, reacting to coronavirus shutdown
    Dec. 23, 2020• Business
    Jill Rice, 64, is pictured in her shop, Zaiya ArtiZen Market, in Gulfport, Florida, earlier this year, when the fate of her shop was uncertain. She joked that she wished she had a crystal ball.
  7. Florida likely to end 2020 with more manatee deaths than usual
    Dec. 22, 2020• Environment
    A lone manatee swims in the discharge canal next to the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center at the Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach in 2015.
  8. Environmentalists sue over plan to allow radioactive phosphogypsum in roads
    Dec. 18, 2020• Environment
    A phosphogypsum stack is visible in the distance in Mulberry in 2016.
  9. EPA agrees to let Florida oversee more wetlands development
    Dec. 17, 2020• Environment
    Vegetation grows on a wetland area in Clearwater.
  10. After first one left, will DeSantis hire another Florida climate change leader?
    Dec. 17, 2020• Environment
    The view looking northwest along Redington Beach.
  11. Tampa Bay Water fires general manager
    Dec. 14, 2020• News
    Tampa Bay Water chairman Dave Eggers speaks at a meeting Monday.
  12. 2020? Awful. But at least Florida hasn’t had a major Red Tide
    Dec. 14, 2020• Environment
    A shrimp boat contracted by Pinellas County in September 2018 collected dead fish amid Red Tide off Madeira Beach.
  13. What’s next for climate change in Florida Legislature?
    Dec. 7, 2020• Environment
    Former State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, wore rainboots in Florida's Capitol.
  14. He’s starting a St. Petersburg bank to fight climate change
    Dec. 4, 2020• Business
    Ken LaRoe is the chairman of Climate First Bank, which is set to open in St. Petersburg in 2021.
  15. Tampa Bay Water hires outside firm to investigate complaints against leader
    Nov. 30, 2020• News
    Pinellas County Commissioner Dave Eggers is the chairman of Tampa Bay Water.
  16. Gov. Ron DeSantis taps Tampa investment firm leader for university oversight board
    Nov. 27, 2020• The Education Gradebook
    Ken Jones, named this week to the Florida Board of Governors, speaks at a 2013 news conference about the economic impact of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.
  17. Hundreds of opponents ask EPA to deny Florida more control of its wetlands
    Nov. 26, 2020• Environment
    A great egret hunts for food in the backwaters of the Withlacoochee River in Sumter County in October 2005.
  18. Sea turtles, manatees, other Florida wildlife hurt and killed by plastic waste, report finds
    Nov. 19, 2020• Environment
    A sea turtle hatchling is stuck in a plastic cup.
  19. Florida environmentalists want Legislature to create climate change committee
    Nov. 17, 2020• Environment
    Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, left and Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, right.
  20. Green sea turtle nests found in Pinellas County for first time in years
    Nov. 16, 2020• Environment
    A green sea turtle nest on an unspecified beach in northern Pinellas County.
  21. Tropical Storm Eta leaves Tampa Bay staggering, a reminder of the region’s risk
    Nov. 12, 2020• Hurricane
    Sandy Sears, 73, surveys displaced items on the front porch of her home in Oldsmar after Tropical Storm Eta.
  22. Tropical Storm Eta pounds Tampa Bay with fierce winds, heavy rain
    Nov. 12, 2020• Hurricane
    The forecast track for Tropical Storm Eta at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
  23. Courtney Campbell, Bayshore Boulevard and other roads flooded from Eta
    Nov. 12, 2020• Hurricane
    The Pinellas side of the Courtney Campbell Causeway, which was badly flooded Wednesday night.
  24. Veterans plant coral off Florida as NFL pursues environmental projects around Super Bowl
    Nov. 11, 2020• Environment
    FORCE BLUE diver Robert Casey grabs coral for planting off Miami.