Everglades National Park

Wildfires cast a pall across southern Florida, forcing the evacuation of state prisoners in Miami-Dade County, keeping schoolchildren indoors and triggering health alerts. A fire in Everglades National Park threatened the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. More than 62,000 acres in the state have burned since May 1, and 1,000 fires have been reported this year.

A giant Burmese python found in the Florida Everglades has set a record for its size, spanning 17 feet 7 inches, and weighing almost 165 pounds. But it wasn't just the outside that set records: Scientists discovered the python was carrying 87 eggs. Previous records for Burmese pythons captured in the area were 16.8 feet long and 85 eggs, according to the University of Florida. The snake is just the latest evidence of Florida's growing problem with the exotic, highly adaptable species that has a  foothold in Everglades National Park and increasingly threatens native wildlife.

A fire covering 100,000 acres of Everglades National Park continued to burn Sunday in isolated spots, as crews manned the perimeters of the blaze to prevent further spreading. The fire in the 1.5-million-acre park was contained Friday but firefighters continue to battle hot spots. Isolated fires still posed a threat to a number of the park's stands of tropical hardwood trees, in areas known as hammocks. "Our current concern is environmental damage from that," said Sue Husari, a fire management official at the park.

Fears of a new "super snake" emerging in the Everglades grew this week during a hunt to track South Florida's invasive python population. A three-day, state-coordinated hunt that started Tuesday had, by Wednesday, turned up at least five African rock pythons -- including a 14-foot-long female -- in a targeted area in Miami-Dade County. Those findings add to concerns that the African rock python is a new breeding population in the Everglades and not just the result of a few overgrown pets being released into the wild, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

Fears of a new "super snake" emerging in the Everglades grew this week during a hunt to track South Florida's invasive python population. A three-day, state-coordinated hunt that started Tuesday had, by Wednesday, turned up at least five African rock pythons -- including a 14-foot-long female -- in a targeted area in Miami-Dade County. Those findings add to concerns that the African rock python is a new breeding population in the Everglades and not just the result of a few overgrown pets being released into the wild, according to the South Florida Water Management District.

The largest snake in Africa, a powerful constrictor that consumes goats, wart hogs and crocodiles, has been found east of the Everglades, raising the possibility that it is breeding in the wild in a state already overrun with nonnative wildlife. Authorities are investigating the discovery of three African rock pythons, including a juvenile and a female with eggs, in western Miami-Dade County over the last few months. Although state wildlife officials hope these were simply released pets, they are taking seriously the danger that a second nonnative constrictor has established itself in the state alongside the Burmese python, now estimated to number in the thousands in Everglades National Park.

Helicopters scooped up giant buckets of canal water Tuesday and dumped the water on a wildfire that has charred 5,500 acres of saw grass in and around Everglades National Park, authorities said. The fire began Monday on state land south of the main park road.

A brush fire that has burned off nearly 14,000 acres was still raging out of control Monday, state forestry officials said. They said the blaze, which began outside Everglades National Park last week, spread into the park Saturday and has burned about 1,000 acres there.

A tentative settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit against Florida over pollution of the ailing Everglades wetlands, an official said Wednesday. Gov. Lawton Chiles and U.S. Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh were expected to announce the deal today in West Palm Beach, said U.S. Atty. Dexter Lehtinen, who filed the lawsuit. "As far as I'm concerned it has all the elements that we've always sought," Lehtinen said.

Recycling has come to the Everglades. Under a program begun Tuesday, this became the sixth national park to promote recycling by collecting plastic, glass and aluminum containers from park visitors. Last year, Everglades National Park sent 5,000 tons of tourist trash to a Miami-area landfill. Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia and Mt. Rainier national parks also promote recycling.

The largest snake in Africa, a powerful constrictor that consumes goats, wart hogs and crocodiles, has been found east of the Everglades, raising the possibility that it is breeding in the wild in a state already overrun with nonnative wildlife. Authorities are investigating the discovery of three African rock pythons, including a juvenile and a female with eggs, in western Miami-Dade County over the last few months. Although state wildlife officials hope these were simply released pets, they are taking seriously the danger that a second nonnative constrictor has established itself in the state alongside the Burmese python, now estimated to number in the thousands in Everglades National Park.

Concerned that powerboats are tearing up seagrass in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park has proposed a range of possible restrictions on boaters to protect a vast, shallow estuary that supports sea turtles, fish and wading birds. The proposals have generated deep concern among South Florida's recreational fishing community, where many people worry that the most drastic alternatives could shut them out of most of the bay and hurt the tourism industry.

The mayor of the place that bills itself as "America's sweetest town" has learned to love the stench that wafts from the United States Sugar Corp.'s gigantic mill near the mucky banks of Lake Okeechobee. "To us," said Clewiston Mayor Mali Chamness, "it smells like money." For decades, sugar has been the main economic driver of this isolated farming city of 6,800 people. Today, however, locals fear the industry, and its attendant smells, will dissipate for good if Gov.

The state has agreed to pay U.S. Sugar Corp. $1.34 billion, instead of the $1.75 billion originally proposed, under a revised deal to buy up vast tracts of farmland to restore the Everglades, the company said in a statement. Environmentalists praised the new deal.

Wildfires cast a pall across southern Florida, forcing the evacuation of state prisoners in Miami-Dade County, keeping schoolchildren indoors and triggering health alerts. A fire in Everglades National Park threatened the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. More than 62,000 acres in the state have burned since May 1, and 1,000 fires have been reported this year.

loxahatchee national wildlife refuge, fla. -- Like the insatiable plant from the musical "Little Shop of Horrors," a verdant menace is eating the Everglades. The Old World climbing fern, known to botanists as Lygodium microphyllum, spreads its asphyxiating fronds like fingers around the necks of native cypress and mangroves. It smothers the flora of the glades' unique tree islands and starves out the endangered wood storks and other fauna. "You can't cut it because it grows right back.

A giant Burmese python found in the Florida Everglades has set a record for its size, spanning 17 feet 7 inches, and weighing almost 165 pounds. But it wasn't just the outside that set records: Scientists discovered the python was carrying 87 eggs. Previous records for Burmese pythons captured in the area were 16.8 feet long and 85 eggs, according to the University of Florida. The snake is just the latest evidence of Florida's growing problem with the exotic, highly adaptable species that has a  foothold in Everglades National Park and increasingly threatens native wildlife.

Firefighters battling a 14,500-acre fire in Big Cypress National Preserve were confident Monday that the blaze had been brought under control, officials said. "We feel confident that they will be able to hold the fire behind the containment line," said Pat Tolle, a spokeswoman for Everglades National Park, which is south of the national preserve. Firefighters also continued to monitor small, isolated fires within the boundaries of the national park, but those fires had not flared up Monday, Tolle said.

Even with tough new water-use restrictions and farmers' conservation measures, the Everglades might still need to be tapped to ensure ample drinking water for South Florida, water managers told Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on Monday. At an emergency meeting on Florida's drought, the political leaders also learned that the state appears to be destined for more than a summer's dry spell and heavy wildfire season.

The Supreme Court, sidestepping a major decision on the government's power to regulate clean water, told a Florida court to reconsider a pollution dispute involving the Everglades. The ruling extends a six-year fight between the 500-member Miccosukee Indian tribe and a water district the Indians accuse of illegally dumping pollutants.