2007 Workshop: | Home | Agenda | Abstracts | Previous Announcements

Third Announcement

Meeting web site: http://www.fws.gov/floridapanther/exotics/exotics_index.html
Registration: http://www.rookerybay.org/Reg-Exotic.html

Event Press Release

The Mark A. Benedict Symposium on Science, Conservation & Restoration
of Southwestern Florida Ecosystems
Date: December 6, 2007

Meeting jointly with
The 12th Annual Exotic Species Workshop for Southwest Florida
Date: December 7, 2007

Meeting Venue: The Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Joint Social (evening of Dec. 6): The Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Primary Meeting Contacts:
Benedict Sympsium: Ed Proffitt - cproffit@fau.edu
Exotic Species Workshop: Takako Hashimoto - Takako_Hashimoto@fws.gov

Organizers: Dave Addison, Director of Resource Protection, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Donna Devlin, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University
Ed Proffitt, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University
Gary Lytton, Manager, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Greg Tolley, Director, Coastal Watershed Institute, Florida Gulf Coast University
Takako Hashimoto, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Sponsors: The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is allowing use of their meeting facility
Florida Atlantic University Department of Biological Sciences
Florida Gulf Coast University Coastal Watershed Institute
Florida Panther and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuges
Friends of Florida Panther Refuge
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Dr. Mark A. Benedict

Background: Southwestern Florida is the confluence of two great rivers: the western edge of the "River of Grass" and the seemingly endless flow of humanity moving to live in and around it. The Big Cypress, Fakahatchee Strand, Caloosahatchee River, Estero Bay, Rookery Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands, the Everglades, and many other natural resource treasures have developed over eons in accord with south Florida's climatic conditions, soils, hurricanes, fire regimes, hydrology, and the myriad biotic interactions that, together, shape the nature of the ecosystems. With the coming of the land booms of the 20th century and their resulting urbanization, natural hydrologic and fire regimes were significantly altered, many communities fragmented by pavement and buildings. In too many instances impearled species now ghost from place to place reduced to a remnant of their former numbers through direct mortality or loss of critical habitat. Conservation and management of these ecosystems requires understanding the population and community ecology of various keystone species, in order to maintain the "ecological matrix" for other species to reside within. Also required, is a more complete understanding of the population biology of various impearled species. A final requirement is a full understanding of the changes that will occur under various ecosystem restoration initiatives.

Concept for the Benedict Symposium: Conservation, management, and research are all of critical importance in maintaining the ecosystems of southwestern Florida. Work in all these avenues has been occurring for decades, but individual expertise and the results of various projects have often not been merged to the best effect. The Big Cypress, Fakahatchee Strand, Caloosahatchee River, Estero Bay, Rookery Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands, the Everglades, and many other natural resource treasures have developed over eons in accord with south Florida's climatic conditions, soils, hurricanes, fire regimes, hydrology, and the myriad biotic interactions that, together, shape the nature of the ecosystems. Consequently, a symposium where conservation gains and losses are reviewed, new and on-going projects analyzed, and syntheses of how both are related will benefit natural resource managers and policy makers engaged in making the "big decisions" that will have implications far into the future.

Symposium Dedication: Dr. Mark A. Benedict was a powerful voice for conservation of southwestern Florida during his years as Collier County Environmentalist and at as the Director of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Management Division for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. He led the development of the first conservation element of Collier's comprehensive plan, lead legal challenges to environmentally damaging development projects that ultimately resulted in the protection or purchase of a significant amount these lands for preservation, and worked cooperatively with Audubon staff at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary to propose a Save Our Rivers Project to the SFWMD that eventually became the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed to name just a few of the conservation initiatives he was involved with. In recent years, he worked at the national level with the Conservation Foundation, but maintained deep ties to, and a love of, this region. His book, Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities (with Edward T. McMahon) provides a roadmap for dealing with the problem of development. Mark's passing in December 2006 left not only a hole in the hearts of his friends, but a void in the framework of the conservation community that will be difficult to fill. The organizers conceived the idea for this symposium while thinking about Mark's many contributions to ecology and conservation. We dedicate this meeting to his memory.
Ed Proffitt, Dave Addison, Donna Devlin, and Gary Lytton.

Forums and Programs: The Benedict symposium will be held on Dec. 6 and the Exotic Species Workshop on Dec. 7 at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples. A social event for the two meetings will be on the evening of Dec. 6 at the Rookery Bay National Research Reserve. A plenary session the first morning will consist of invited speakers that will review historical aspects of conservation in southwestern Florida, and link this body of knowledge and work to recent and on-going restoration & environmental protection in the region. The keynote talk in this session will be given by Dr. Bernie Yokel, of Florida Audubon. Also, Senator Burt Saunders (who was Collier County Attorney when Mark was in Naples) will discuss recent legislation that promotes conservation in SW Florida. The restoration of south Florida is a major undertaking, and projects in southwest Florida will be reviewed and integrated in to the whole-system view of the region's ecosystems. Comparisons between the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River estuaries that both receive runoff from Lake Okeechobee will be a focus of a review. The afternoon session, will consist of contributed talks on conservation, natural resource management, environmental education, and research.

Forums & Programs: The Exotics Species Workshop for Southwest Florida is a chance for biologists, managers and researchers to present recent findings and the workshop serves as a source of ideas for future collaborative projects. When certain plants or animals are introduced in Southwest Florida that are non-native, they tend to grow or reproduce out of control. Seasonal weather or lack of predators that kept them under control in their native range, are not here, in these tropical climates, to keep the exotic populations in check, and exotics tend to grow faster, out-compete and displace the native plants and animals - which ultimately disrupts the native plant communities and reduces biodiversity. This can severely impact other wildlife and alter natural processes such as fire intensity and water flow. Being able to learn about the latest news on plants, insects, or animals to be on the lookout for and how to slow the spread of these exotics is a key part of effective management and research. In the face of shrinking budgets and staff shortages, it is an important way to preserve our natural areas and maintain the rich diversity of native species.

Agenda: See link above or 2007 AGENDA

Call for Additional Sponsors: If your organization would be interested in becoming involved in the planning of the symposium, please send an email to Ed at the same address given above, or talk to one of the other organizers.

Registration: There is no registration fee, however, donations are welcomed to help offset the costs of meeting and social and can be made upon arrival. To register, visit the meeting web site (http://www.rookerybay.org/Reg-Exotic.html). Please register for one or both days so we can plan the lunch which will be provided to participants!

Nearby Hotel Options: Quality Inn and Suites, The Inn on Fifth, Naples Beach Hotel, Hilton Naples, Bayfront Inn Fifth Avenue, Best Western, Naples Grand Beach Resort, Fairfield Inn & Suites

Raffle Ticket Information (note: raffle tickets may be purchased the day of the event!)

Thanks to our Sponsors for making this possible!

[Note: The following links open in a separate browser window]
2006 Workshop: Agenda | Abstracts | Notes | Bios | Revenue/Expenditures Summary