New NOAA National Geodetic Survey Benchmark installed in Learning Center courtyard.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Reserve, this medallion is fixed in place and provides a spatially accurate benchmark. NOAA staff using satellite technology have surveyed it vertically (elevation) as well as using lat/long coordinates, and it is a verifiable reference point for research and site surveys.

Florida Panther

Following recent panther deaths near East Tamiami Trail and Collier Boulevard, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve is working with partners to get the word out to motorists and residents about Florida panthers in the area through signs and educational programs. Sightings and radio collar tracking data from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) over the past several years confirm an increase in panther use of Reserve lands west of Collier Boulevard. Florida Department of Transportation has just installed four panther crossing signs to alert motorists of panthers crossing Collier Boulevard to access the Reserve. As part of their monthly Brown Bag Lecture series, the Reserve hosted a presentation by FWC biologist Dave Oronato which informed nearly 100 attendees about panther movements in southern Collier County.

Created Exclusively for the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center Exhibit Kathy Spalding limited edition Giclee prints, posters and notecards, individually captured from the Continuum Watercolor that graces the Environmental Learning Center are now available.