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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. Supreme Court’s EPA ruling could slow Florida’s climate change fight
    Earlier today• Environment
    Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach has burned both coal and natural gas to create electricity in Tampa Bay. Both processes release greenhouse gasses that cause global warming.
  2. Look out, Pasco: Here come giant African land snails
    Yesterday• Pasco
    A Florida scientist holds up a live giant African land snail in a lab in 2014.
  3. Autoridades buscan limitar la propagación de una mosca invasiva en verduras y frutas
    Jun. 27• CENTRO
    Una mosca oriental de la fruta en un parque en Manila, Filipinas, en mayo de 2021.
  5. Exotic fruit fly found in Pinellas; state seeks to limit spread
    Jun. 27• Pinellas
    An oriental fruit fly rests on a leaf at a park in the Philippines in May 2021.
  6. Almost four years after Hurricane Michael, a hotel rises in Mexico Beach
    Jun. 10• Hurricane
    People arrive at Mexico Beach on Thursday, June 2, 2022, where one of its landmarks, the iconic Driftwood Inn, background, was reopened 3.5 years after it was destroyed when Hurricane Michael struck Mexico Beach on Oct. 10, 2018.
  7. Florida’s animal crossing aims to break barrier of I-4
    Jun. 8• Environment
    Construction crews elevate a portion of Interstate 4 in Polk County to create a wildlife crossing so animals can safely cross beneath the interstate. The project redesigned I-4 where it meets State Road 557 in Polk County. The highway carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day and acts as a deadly barrier that stops animals from traveling north or south.
  8. Feds agree to review ‘critical’ manatee habitat as deaths pile up
    Jun. 1• Environment
    A manatee surfaces for air while feeding near Seven Sisters Springs on the Chassahowitzka River in early May.
  9. Man found dead in Largo lake in possible alligator incident
    May 31• Pinellas
    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers are pictured by the lake in John S. Taylor Park, where a man was found dead Tuesday morning. Police believe he may have been wading into the water to retrieve lost flying discs. Investigators are still trying to determine whether he was bitten by an alligator.
  10. Huracán 2022: Tampa Bay se inundará. ¡Prepárese!
    May 26• CENTRO
    Sara Seu, al frente a la izquierda, y su esposo Jesse Seu,comienzan a limpiar después de las inundaciones de la tormenta tropical Eta que azotó con fuerza partes de Shore Acres, inel martes 17 de noviembre de 2020 en St Petersburg.
  11. Hurricane 2022: Tampa Bay will flood. Here’s how to get ready.
    May 24• Hurricane
    A motorist is seen attempting to drive on a flooded Bayshore Blvd as Tropical Storm Eta sends torrential downpours, storm surge flooding and wind across the Tampa Bay Area on November 12, 2020.
  12. Hustle and flow: USF studies how water moves in Tampa Bay
    May 19• Environment
    University of South Florida undergraduate students, from left, Peyton Lebron, Matt McNamee and Spencer Manuel helped drop ocean circulation sensors into Tampa Bay during a research cruise aboard the R/V W.T. Hogarth.
  13. Pinellas changes hurricane evacuation zones for 93,000 residents
    May 18• Hurricane
    Flooded furniture and personal belongings of Diane Carr, 59, lie in her yard the morning after Tropical Storm Eta at the Twin City Manufactured Home Community in St. Petersburg. Eta flooded thousands of properties in Pinellas County in November 2020.
  14. St. Petersburg still figuring out discolored water near Demens Landing
    May 10• Environment
    A sheen is seen on the water near Demens Landing on May 2 in St. Petersburg.
  15. Reporteros del Tampa Bay Times ganan premio Pulitzer por serie ‘Envenenados’
    May 9• CENTRO
    Los reporteros del Tampa Bay Times Corey G. Johnson, derecha, Rebecca Woolington, centro, y Eli Murray, izquierda, son anunciados como los ganadores del Premio Pulitzer por reportajes de investigación el lunes. La serie ganadora, “Envenenados”, expuso los peligros de la única fundición de plomo de Florida. Esto marcó el 14º Premio Pulitzer otorgado al Times.
  16. Tampa Bay Times reporters win Pulitzer Prize for ‘Poisoned’ series
    May 9• Investigations
    Tampa Bay Times reporters Eli Murray, left, Rebecca Woolington, center, and Corey G. Johnson, right, are announced as the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting on Monday. The winning series, "Poisoned," exposed dangers at Florida’s only lead smelter. This marked the 14th Pulitzer Prize awarded to the Times.
  17. Florida and Walgreens reach $683 million opioid settlement
    May 5• Health
    Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced Thursday that the state reached a settlement with Walgreens for $683 million. She made the announcement from her Tampa office.
  18. Florida’s ‘Shark Lady’ is now on a Forever stamp
    May 5• Environment
    Eugenie Clark is seen with a shark on a new U.S. Postal Service Forever stamp.
  19. Florida sues DuPont, other companies over toxic firefighting foam
    May 3• Environment
    Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office filed suit in mid-April in Hillsborough circuit court. The complaint lists several places around Florida where firefighting foams were used, including the Hillsborough Community College Fire Academy at 5610 E Columbus Drive in Tampa. Moody, left, speaks at a news conference last year in Polk County alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis.
  20. Discolored water reported near Demens Landing Park in St. Petersburg
    May 2• Environment
    A shimmery substance discolors the water off downtown St. Petersburg and flows with the current heading south past Demens Landing Park on Monday.
  21. Florida to dedicate $30 million to saving manatees amid die-off
    May 2• Environment
    Florida wildlife officials this winter fed manatees lettuce in an effort to keep them from starving in the Indian River Lagoon. The state is poised to spend more than $30 million on work to rescue the iconic animals and restore the habitats where they live.
  22. Avian influenza outbreak spreads to Tampa Bay, is killing Florida birds
    Apr. 26• Environment
    A bald eagle flies after being released in August 2018 at Upper Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County.
  23. What we know about Piney Point’s impact on Tampa Bay
    Apr. 8• Environment
    Tampa Bay is visible from a phosphogypsum stack at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant property, with downtown St. Petersburg in the background. About 215 million gallons of polluted water from the site were released into Tampa Bay last year.
  24. Tampa Bay mayors say transportation key to climate change plans
    Apr. 6• Environment
    The mayors of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo and Tampa talk about plans to prepare the Tampa Bay region for climate change during the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Leadership Summit on Wednesday.
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