Saving hundreds of acres in the Western Everglades was the topic of Oct. 30 biodiversity lecture
Conserving wetlands and endangered wood stork habitat in the Western Everglades was the topic of Stetson University College of Law’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture on Oct. 30. The lecture by Jan Goldman-Carter, National Wildlife Federation wetlands and water resources counsel, was the last in the series this semester at Stetson Law in Gulfport.
Jan Goldman-Carter discussed a conservation effort to save critical wood stork habitat in the Western Everglades.
Goldman-Carter outlined how she worked with conservation groups for nearly a decade to save hundreds of acres of wetlands and wood stork habitat in the Cocohatchee Slough, flowing from the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Western Everglades. The Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Naples area is the largest wood stork rookery in the U.S.
“We’re losing these areas because of development,” said Goldman-Carter.
When developers wanted to build a golf course community that threatened 1100 acres of wetlands including critical endangered wood stork habitat, five conservation groups including the NWF worked successfully to save hundreds of acres.
Goldman-Carter said that the key ingredients of the successful conservation effort included solid science and public information, a strong legal framework, scientific expertise, and solid partnerships with local landowners, the news media, environmental watchdogs and grassroots advocates.
Stetson’s Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series brings leading experts to campus to speak on a range of environmental topics. The lecture series is co-sponsored by Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy and is free and open to the public.
Visit the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson to learn more.
Post date: Oct. 23, 2012
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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