Red tide, blue-green algae prompt environmental groups to ask governor for state of emergency

Several environmental groups have asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency for communities impacted by what appears to be a growing toxic blue-green algae outbreak in the Lake Okeechobee system and a red tide in the Gulf of Mexico.

Groups like the Calusa Waterkeeper, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Everglades and about a dozen others signed on to a May 8 letter that was delivered to the governor's office Monday.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, satellite imagery recently showed a bloom of about 300 square miles on Okeechobee.