How does the Florida Wildlife Corridor help provide resilience to climate change?

Florida is ground-zero for climate change impacts as our natural and human communities grapple with increasing heat, flooding, sea level rise, and wildfire risk.

In today's episode, we talk with Joshua Daskin, the Director of Conservation at Archbold Biological Station, about a recent assessment with Florida Atlantic University that identified the overlaps between land conservation in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the resilience of the state's nature and people to advancing climate change. Archbold's conservation program uses the report's results to credibly motivate the Corridor's protection.

At Archbold, Josh works to expand the use of science in conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems. He leads Archbold's conservation strategy, connecting researchers with agencies, landowners, NGOs, and science collaborators to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of conservation actions from Archbold's own 20,000 acres to the statewide Florida Wildlife Corridor and beyond.

Since 2021, he has been a leader of the scientific arm of the campaign to conserve the Corridor.

Josh earned a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University, a M.Sc. in Zoology while a Fulbright Scholar at James Cook University in Australia, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University. Previously, Josh researched the impacts of war on African wildlife and helped reestablish scientific capacity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique following the country's civil conflict. He was also a Donnelley Postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, a biologist in the US Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters office, and a research assistant at Archbold.

Articles and links mentioned in the episode:

• Climate and Wildlife Corridors overview page: https://www.archbold-station.org/projects/climate-and-wildlife-corridors/
• The Florida Wildlife Corridor and Climate Change Full Report: https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/ClimateReport_FINAL_04152024-1.pdf
• Planning Future Landscapes report: https://www.archbold-station.org/projects/cfrpc/
• Florida Wildlife Corridor Planning and Development Data (database of current building permit requests): https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/FLWC%20Statewide%20Study%20-%20Summary%20Report%20(2023-10-23).pdf
• The full interactive ‘Bear Necessities’ Story Map of M34, the Black Bear that inspired the FWC: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0cdea7371c874357a9307ac8ea701568
• FWC and Climate Change Water Report Executive Summary: https://archbold-cms.payloadcms.app/media/Climate%20Report%20-%20Executive%20Summary%20FINAL-2.pdf