Author: Aaron Krause

Parkland native Ian Bartoszek does not hesitate to hail Dion the snake as an MVP—“Most Valuable Python.”

After all, thanks to Dion, a “scout” snake, Bartoszek and his fellow biologists at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida removed five Burmese pythons during the last breeding season. “[Dion] had five girlfriends,” Bartoszek jokes.

However, Burmese pythons and their effect on South Florida’s wildlife are no laughing matter. The Burmese python is a large, nonvenomous constrictor that is an invasive species in Florida. You will find them primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem. The snake represents a threat to native wildlife, but “they’re not interested in us,” Bartoszek says.

One of the snakes captured during this past breeding season was the heaviest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, according to Bartoszek. Specifically, it weighed 215 pounds, measured nearly 18 feet long, and had 122 developing eggs. A necropsy found that an adult white-tailed deer was its last meal.

“Imagine what else she ate over her life[time],” Bartoszek says.

The necropsy, which National Geographic documented, took place in March. Before the December 2021 capture, the largest female removed through the conservancy’s program measured 16 feet and weighed 185 pounds. At the time, it was the heaviest python captured in Florida.

Bartoszek, a 1995 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduate, says that at first, he and his colleagues were unimpressed. “We all underestimated the weight,” says Bartoszek, environmental science project manager for the conservancy’s program. “When we brought her back to the lab and put [her] on the scale, there was a collective wow factor. When we looked, the scale read 215 pounds. We’ve lost count of how many large pythons we’ve captured over the years. To be honest with you, it’s just another big snake for us. There’s always a bigger snake out there.”

Ten years ago, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida started a radio telemetry project to track Burmese pythons in order to learn about their behavior. Since then, Bartoszek and his team removed more than 1,000 pythons collectively weighing more than 26,000 pounds from an area of less than 100 square miles outside of Naples.

Bartoszek and his team use radio transmitters transplanted in male “scout” snakes, such as Dion, to study python movements, breeding behaviors, and habitat use.

Since the conservancy’s python program began in 2013, necropsies have found dozens of white-tailed deer inside Burmese pythons. Also, data researchers at the University of Florida have documented 24 species of mammals, 47 species of birds, and two reptile species in pythons’ stomachs.

The breeding season for Burmese pythons runs from November through March. Last season, Bartoszek and his team removed 4,300 pounds of python from the study area outside of Naples. He says the previous season yielded about the same number.

Removing female pythons plays a large role in disrupting the breeding cycle, Bartoszek says. But that can be easier said than done. Indeed, Burmese pythons are “amazingly cryptic” and hard to locate, he adds. Furthermore, they expand their range each year. Parkland is on the edge of that range, the wildlife scientist says.

The public can report invasive animal sightings by calling 1-888-IVEGOT1. In addition, people can report sightings of invasive species on the IveGot1 app, available at the App store. The app is an integrated invasive species reporting and outreach campaign for Florida that includes the app, a website with direct access to invasive species reporting, and a hotline for instant reports of live animals.

Searching the Woods for Critters

While Bartoszek currently captures huge snakes, he recalled flipping over rocks as a child in the woods in search of critters.

“I always had the bug for turning over stones, seeing where critters were hiding,” he says.

In addition, Bartoszek’s father used to take him fishing. He says those experiences made him appreciate Florida’s wildlife more. As a college student at the University of Arizona, the Parkland native studied wildlife and fisheries science. He recalls coming home from school for the holidays during his college years and appreciating the Everglades and South Florida’s water world even more.

“You have to get away from it to appreciate it sometimes,” Bartoszek says.

After earning his degree, he landed an internship at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. His responsibilities included working on projects for the Everglades restoration. Also, he recorded wildlife and became more aware of the area’s invasive animal issue. The internship led to Bartoszek’s employment with the conservancy.

Bartoszek says if you told him 11 years ago that he would track one of the largest snakes on the planet, he would not have believed you. He has encountered “some pretty incredible things.”

He says, “You really can’t make this stuff up.”

When former Coral Springs resident Tyler Merren and his American teammates play for the world championship in their sport during this fall’s Paralympic Games, they will need to rely on their ears as much as other body parts to succeed.

That is because the sport in which Merren and his teammates compete is goalball. It is a sport designed specifically for athletes who are visually impaired. Participants compete in teams of three and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents’ goal. Players, using ear-hand coordination, must use the sound of the bells to judge the position and movement of the ball. Athletes play the sport indoors, usually on a volleyball court.

Merren, who lives in Fort Wayne, will participate this fall in his fifth world championship as a member of the U.S. men’s goalball team. The results will play a crucial role in determining qualification for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Specifically, the top two men’s and women’s teams at the world championships earn an automatic berth for Paris. The Paralympics games are for physically disabled athletes.

Merren, 37, was born with an eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa in both of his eyes. It is a group of rare, genetic disorders that involve a breakdown and loss of cells in the retina. As a result, he is legally blind, meaning he has less than 10 percent vision.

Merren, who grew up in a family of athletes, used to play other sports. But as his vision got worse, he had to stop. Then, a sports education camp for visually impaired youth at Western Michigan University introduced him to goalball and other adapted sports such as swimming, track and field, and wrestling.

Merren had never heard of goalball before the camp. He said that a fellow camper observed him play, thought he was good, and asked him if he wished to continue to play. Merren stuck with the sport. And today, his former fellow camper is his teammate on the U.S. Paralympic team.

Altogether, Merren has competed in 15 countries and 28 states. He has been competing with the U.S. men’s goalball team for more than 20 years. He credited their success to the work the players put in off the court.

“We run ourselves into the ground training day after day,” Merren said. “Like any athlete out there, we want to be the best we can be. I enjoy the process of trying to perfect my game and my athleticism.”

Individually, Merren said that his accuracy throwing the ball is “pretty good.” As a result, he gets many opportunities for penalty throws.

During the 2010 world championships, Merren was the fourth-highest goalscorer in the world.

However, he said that he values team victories more than individual statistics and accomplishments. “Sometimes that means handing the ball off to a teammate,” he said.

How does it feel to qualify for the world championships?

“It’s gratifying and affirming at the same time,” Merren said. He added that the U.S. has a “pretty strong” goalball program. “I would have been shocked if [we] had not qualified,” he said.

The former Coral Springs resident described goalball as a combination of soccer, handball, and volleyball.

“It’s not quite like anything else that people have played before,” he said. “The cool thing about goalball is that no matter how much vision I might lose, the sport stays the same. It’s based off of my work ethic and skill as opposed to my vision loss.

“Being visually impaired doesn’t change the fact that I’m a competitive athlete, and goalball gives me that opportunity to compete at an elite level.”

Goalball has existed since 1946. Its first purpose was to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during World War II. Players remain on their hands and knees to defend their net and score against their opponents. A goalball court measures about 60 feet long and almost 30 feet wide. String taped to the markings on the court allows players to feel the lines and orient themselves.

Goalball’s Paralympic premiere came in 1976 in Toronto. Organizers added a women’s event at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. The sport’s first world championships took place in 1978 in Austria. The International Blind Sports Federation is the official governing body for the sport.

Merren, who is originally from southwest Michigan, lived in Coral Springs from 2013 to 2019. While in South Florida, he worked at a 24 Hour Fitness location as a master trainer and an assistant fitness manager. He is also a motivational speaker and has a Facebook page. To find it, go to www.facebook.com and search for “Tyler Merren Speaks” in the search bar. Following Merren’s Facebook page will, among other things, allow you to keep up with his goalball team’s progress. For more information on the International Blind Sports Federation and goalball, visit https://ibsasport.org/.

What if farmers could make their practices more environmentally friendly, improve their plants, and continue to generate income at the same time? Such an idea has grown into more than just a thought in the U.S. The concept is called carbon sequestration, or “carbon farming.”

In simple terms, farmers capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide in their plants. The concept could prove important in the fight against global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S.

Such gases trap heat, resulting in higher temperatures in the atmosphere, and contribute to global warming. President Joe Biden hopes to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands.

John-Walt Boatright, Director of National Affairs for the Florida Farm Bureau, said that he and others in the agriculture field have discussed carbon sequestration for about 20 years. And now, “the stars are aligning” to make such practices widespread, he said.

Specifically, Boatright noted that the Biden administration is determined to develop a climate policy. And those in the agriculture industry are equally determined to make carbon sequestration a widespread practice.

The process of implementing carbon sequestration strategies can prove challenging. It depends on factors such as a farm’s location, equipment, and finances.

For instance, planting cover crops, or those that cover soil is one technique. Among other things, the practice helps fight erosion, builds organic matter, and improves fertility.

Farms in some regions of the U.S. have been planting cover crops for decades. But growing seasons in other regions are too short to consider cover crops.

Some farmers have been using a technique called “no-till” for years with great results. It’s a process of farming without tilling the soil, helping to reduce the amount of soil disruption that would otherwise release carbon dioxide into the air.

But it’s not a technique that works everywhere, and it depends on the soil and other factors.

University of Florida soil scientist Jehangir Bhadha agrees that not all carbon sequestration techniques work equally well.

“We have to be very cautious in making these broad overarching statements because in some cases, certain practices may work, and you may yield profits from it — not just financial but even environmental benefits,” Bhadha told WUSF Public Media.

Boatright said that while conversations about carbon sequestration have been happening for years, “we’re still early in this process.”

Biden wants to use $30 billion in farm aid money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation to pay growers for implementing sustainable practices.

And at least one agriculture official supports Biden’s proposal — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried.

“It’s going to be millions upon millions of dollars,” Fried told WJCT Public Media.

Fried told the media outlet that tariffs, adverse weather, and the pandemic have hit Florida farmers hard. She believes that Biden’s incentive can help.

In fact, Fried submitted a proposal to the White House. In it, she told Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris that “with 9.7 million acres of farmland, Florida is an ideal state for potential pilot programs.”

Among other things, Fried’s document suggests a public-private partnership “to identify federal and state-owned lands on which potential properties not actively being managed can implement a tree planting and cover crop program for carbon sequestration.”

“While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that the agriculture sector accounts for 10 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, regenerative agriculture can help sequester carbon from the atmosphere at levels that will have a real impact on the climate crisis,” Fried wrote.

Broward County Farm Bureau President Fred Segal said that carbon sequestration “definitely has potential down the road.”

Such practices could not only help environmentally but also assist agriculture in becoming self-sustaining while continuing to provide a safe, economical food supply for the public, Segal said. He added that carbon farming could help small farmers remain in business by providing them with an additional revenue source.

Just outside Tallahassee, David “Kip” Ritchey, 31, and Angelique Taylor, 27, operate a one-acre farm. WJCT Public Media reported that the young couple uses alternatives to tilling. In addition, they plant cover crops off-season to keep nutrients in the ground. They also use hay as a natural water and nutrient reservoir, and they experiment with organic fertilizers to reduce their carbon footprint. The Florida couple isn’t receiving monetary compensation for their efforts.

But in the Midwest, large agricultural companies are paying growers to plant crops that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use techniques to keep carbon in the soil.

With Biden’s plan to reward farmers monetarily for using climate-friendly practices on their lands, it could be just a matter of time before Florida growers also receive monetary compensation.

Boatright said that carbon sequestration is a complex topic but “I think will be valuable to the American farmer and also to the American citizen.”