Initiatives

Joy McCann Foundation funded wetland mitigation research

The Biodiversity Institute continued its work on a multi-year research project funded by a $150,000 grant from the Joy McCann Foundation reviewing long-term protection of restored wetlands and streams nationwide. The Institute is working to identify current trends and recommended practices for site protection instruments and financing mechanisms for the long-term protection and management of these aquatic resources.

Stetson Environmental Law - Teaching Initiative

In 2021, the Biodiversity Institute launched an “Environmental Law Teaching” program in collaboration with the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. The program is patterned after one developed by Professor Zyg Plater at Boston College Law School. Each spring, Professor Gardner and Prof. Plater advise a third-year law student and Biodiversity Fellow Katherine Pratt in developing and co-teaching a course on Environmental Regulation as adjunct professors to USF undergraduate students.

Memorandum of Understanding with the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC)

The Biodiversity Institute continues to work with the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), a regional treaty with 16 member countries under a renewed MOU. Stetson students have had the opportunity to review and comment on draft IAC resolutions concerning the harvesting of sea turtle eggs and participate in researching and drafting a review of resolution implementation.

International Wildlife Conference

The International Wildlife Law Conference brings together lawyers, policymakers, scientists, and students interested in wildlife protection efforts. Co-sponsored by the Institute since 2007, the 20th International Wildlife Law Conference was presented virtually on April 1-2, 2020. The next conference will be hosted by Cardiff University. The date and registration information for the next conference will be provided here when they become available. Conference archives are available.

BlueGap

The BlueGAP project brings Stetson Law’s Jacobs Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment and the Institute for Biodiversity together with the University of South Florida and experts from Iowa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tampa Bay. Harnessing a variety of disciplines, their collaboration will present a holistic, visually engaging look at nitrogen pollution, how it affects communities, and how changes to public policy can lessen its impacts. This project is possible thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation.