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ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop

Sixth Annual ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop – "The Role of NGOs and the Public Sector in Implementing Wetland Restoration Projects: Trends, Lessons Learned, and Best Practices" – Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018

The Sixth Annual ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop was hosted on Stetson Law's Gulfport, Florida campus on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. The theme of the workshop was "The Role of NGOs and the Public Sector in Implementing Wetland Restoration Projects: Trends, Lessons Learned, and Best Practices." Speakers and panelists discussed the roles that in-lieu fee compensatory mitigation programs and public mitigation banks and programs play in wetland restoration nationally, statewide, and locally. The event began with an optional morning field trip to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. The workshop included a lunchtime lecture and afternoon panel presentations, and the event concluded with an evening networking reception.

The Environmental Law Institute and Stetson's Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy would like to thank our sponsor, Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A. We also would like to thank the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of The Florida Bar for providing a special grant to support the workshop and Boyd Hill Nature Preserve for leading the morning field trip.

Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A.

Agenda

8:45 a.m. - Optional Field Trip to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
12:00 p.m. - Opening Remarks
12:15 p.m. - Foreman Biodiversity Lecture: Dr. M. Siobhan Fennessy, Kenyon College
1:00 p.m. - Panel 1: In-Lieu Fee Compensatory Mitigation

Dr. Rebecca Kihslinger, Environmental Law Institute
Erin Okuno, Stetson University College of Law
Karen Johnson, The Nature Conservancy
Alex Robertson, Georgia-Alabama Land Trust, Inc. (remote participant)
Moderator: Professor Royal Gardner, Stetson University College of Law

2:30 p.m. - Networking Break
2:45 p.m. - Panel 2: The Role of Public Mitigation Banks and Programs

David Urban, Ecosystem Investment Partners
Martha Gruber and Philip Rhinesmith, Southwest Florida Water Management District
Andrew Zodrow, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County
Michael Dema, City of St. Petersburg
Moderator: Clay Henderson, Stetson University

4:15 p.m. - Breakout Sessions
5:00 p.m. - Closing Remarks
5:15 p.m. - Networking Reception sponsored by Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A.

Fifth Annual ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop - "Conserving the Coasts: The State of Marine Ecosystems and Coastal Compensatory Mitigation" - Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017

The Fifth Annual ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop was hosted on Stetson Law's Gulfport campus on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. This year's workshop focused on the status and conservation of reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses, and the use of compensatory mitigation to offset coastal wetland impacts. The workshop began with a morning field trip (led by Tampa Bay Watch) to nearby aquatic restoration sites. Dr. Max Finlayson delivered the Edward and Bonnie Foreman Biodiversity Lecture to kick off the afternoon presentations, and the event concluded with an evening poolside networking reception sponsored by Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A.

» 2017 Workshop Announcement
» Watch Foreman Biodiversity Lecture – Dr. Max Finlayson
» View Presentation Materials – Dr. Max Finlayson
» View Presentation Materials – Dr. Frank Muller-Karger
» View Presentation Materials – Dr. Gary Raulerson
» View Presentation Materials – David Urban
» View Presentation Materials – Christina Storz
» View Presentation Materials – Michael Dema
» View Presentation Materials – Erin Okuno

The Environmental Law Institute and Stetson's Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy would like to thank our co-sponsors:

The Environmental and Land Use Law Section of The Florida Bar
Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A.

We also would like to thank Tampa Bay Watch for leading the morning field trip.

Agenda

8:45 a.m. - Optional Field Trip to Local Aquatic Restoration Sites led by Tampa Bay Watch
12:00 p.m. - Opening Remarks
12:15 p.m. - Session One: Status and Conservation of Reefs, Mangroves, and Seagrasses

Foreman Biodiversity Lecture: Dr. Max Finlayson, Charles Sturt University, Australia

12:45 p.m. - Panel Discussion:

Dr. Frank Muller-Karger, University of South Florida College of Marine Science
Dr. Benjamin Tanner, Stetson University
Dr. Gary Raulerson, Tampa Bay Estuary Program
Moderator: Dr. Kirsten Work, Stetson University

2:00 p.m. - Networking Break
2:30 p.m. - Session Two: Using Compensatory Mitigation to Offset Coastal Wetland Impacts

Keynote Address: David Urban, Ecosystem Investment Partners

3:00 p.m. - Panel Discussion:

Christina Storz, Natural Resources Section, NOAA Office of General Counsel
Michael Dema, City of St. Petersburg
Erin Okuno, Stetson University College of Law
Moderator: John Pendergrass, Environmental Law Institute

4:15 p.m. - Breakout Sessions
5:15 p.m. - Poolside Networking Reception sponsored by Mechanik Nuccio Hearne & Wester, P.A.

Speaker Presentation Materials from the Fourth Annual ELI-Stetson Wetlands Workshop - "Beyond the Clean Water Act: The Role of State and Local Wetland Programs and the Potential of Brownfields as Mitigation Sites" - Nov. 3, 2016

» Watch Foreman Biodiversity Lecture - Jeanne Christie
» View Presentation Materials - Jeanne Christie
» View Presentation Materials - Doug Lashley
» View Presentation Materials - Bill Spinner and Tara Allden
» View Presentation Materials - Andrew Zodrow