Regional Conservation

Select Projects

Ongoing Projects

Consulting Botanist to Key West Botanical Garden. 2006-present. Provide ongoing botanical expertise to Key West Botanical Garden as it seeks to expand and modernize its programs, including the development of a living collections policy and an accession program. On retainer.

Floristic Assessment of the Karst Belt of Puerto Rico. Since 2001. Develop a relational database using Microsoft Access to assist the International Institute for Tropical Forestry in habitat conservation planning, particularly in the northern karst belt. The database contains a full plant inventory for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, synonymy, herbarium specimens, and data on plant localities, habit, substrate, perennation, nativity, and global range. Cooperative agreement with US Forest Service, International Institute of Tropical Forestry. $30,000 in grants from the USDA International Institute of Tropical Forestry to date. Lead Principal Investigator.

Rare Plant Monitoring and Restoration on Long Pine Key, Everglades National Park. 2003-present. Survey and establish long-term monitoring protocols for 30 rare plant species covered in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration as part of Everglades National Parks Critical Ecosystems Study Initiative (CESI). Develop recommendations for augmentations and reintroductions of extirpated species. Develop methods to evaluate the effects of changed in hydrology associated with the Everglades Restoration on rare plant populations. $320,000 budget for first five years. Lead Principal Investigator.

Technical Assistance to Miami-Dade County and Participation in Natural Areas Management Working Group, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2002-present. Collaborate with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and provide technical assistance to establish a rare plant monitoring program based on the recommendations in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. Also assisted with the writing of Miami-Dade County’s first comprehensive multi-habitat management plan covering all county-owned conservation areas. Cooperative agreement with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Lead Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2007

Restoration and Management of Privately-owned Pine Rockland Fragments in Miami-Dade County. 2005-2007. Developed and implemented restoration programs on 50+ acres of privately-owned pineland forests in Miami-Dade County. $115,000 grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Surveying and Mapping of Rare Native and Invasive Introduced Plants along Florida Department of Transportation Rights-of-way in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, Florida. 2005-2007. Designed and conducted innovative project along 700 miles of roadway in collaboration with the University of Florida and Florida Natural Areas Inventory. $172,000 contract with the University of Florida. Lead Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2006

Conservation Assessment of Botanical Garden on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. 2006. Conduct assessment of living collection at St. George Village Botanical Garden. $1,500 contract with St. George Village Botanical Garden as part of US Conservation Assessment Program ( CAP), administered by National Heritage. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2005

Coastal Upland Restoration in Martin County, Florida. 2005. Assisted with selection of plant palette, design of vegetation, layout, and physical staking for coastal upland restoration project. $6,800 contract with Martin County. Principal Investigator.

Ground Truthing of Vegetation Maps of Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. 2004-2005. Collected transect data within 300+ randomly selected plots to assess accuracy of vegetation maps prepared by the University of Georgia. Utilized transect data collected during four years of floristic inventory work to develop preliminary assessment of accuracy. $115,000 cooperative agreement with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2004

Restoration Consultation in Southwestern Florida. 2004. Conducted rapid assessment and provided ecological restoration recommendations for degraded coastal wetlands in the Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve. $1,200 contract with Lee County. Principal Investigator.

Inventory of Vascular Plant Species of Big Cypress National Preserve . 2001-2004. Conducted comprehensive quantitative floristic survey of the 730,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve by establishment and data collection along randomly placed line transects throughout the preserve, surveys of randomly selected 1 square km cells, and data collection in randomly placed rectangular plots. Collected herbarium vouchers for plant species not previously collected in the preserve. $107,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Inventory of Vascular Plant Species of Biscayne National Park . 2001-2004. Conducted comprehensive quantitative floristic survey of the 173,000 acre Biscayne National Park by establishment and data collection along line transects throughout the preserve, and surveys of all 1 square km cells in the park. Collected herbarium vouchers for all plant species in the park when fertile material was available. $42,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Mapping and Floristic Analysis of All Remaining Upland Forests in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Developed delineation methodology to distinguish relatively undisturbed natural community fragments from disturbed areas in more than 200 upland sites, and mapped the boundaries of each fragment with a Trimble GPS unit. Collected floristic data at each site and developed a Floristic Quality Analysis. $150,000 cooperative agreement with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Status Survey of the Federal Candidate Cape Sable Thoroughwort (Chromolaena frustrata), Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, Florida. 2003-2004. Conducted surveys and mapped populations of this candidate herb in Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. $10,000 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Status Surveys of Two Rare Coastal Endemics in Southwestern Florida. 2003-2004. Conducted field surveys and herbarium research on two rare species in southwestern Florida (Harrisia aboriginum; Helianthus debilis ssp. vestitis) as recommended in IRC’s book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration). $20,000 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2003

Collaborative Research on Rare Plants in South Florida. 2001-2003. Provided field and overall research assistance with a suite of rare plant species as part of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Endangered and Threatened Flora program. $10,000 in contracts with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Principal Investigator.

Development of Written Documents for International Workshop on Ecological Restoration. Chair of working group assembled by the Society for Ecological Restoration International to prepare documents to be the basis of negotiation with the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem at a workshop on ecological restoration in Malaysia. One of the documents resulted in the production of a global rationale for ecological restoration. $1,000 contract with Society for Ecological Restoration International. Lead Author.

Fragrant Prickly-Apple (Harrisia fragrans) Annual Monitoring and Mapping, Savannas State Reserve, St. Lucie County, Florida. 1999-2003. Conducted demographic monitoring of a population of the endangered cactus Harrisia fragrans in St. Lucie County and analyzed demographic trends. $43,000 grant from Florida Division of Forestry. Principal Investigator.

Rare Plant Workshops, South Florida. 2003. Conducted six day workshops drawing nearly 100 participants from 26 public and private conservation agencies throughout South Florida. Workshops included review of the book Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration, identification of rare plants, management discussions, and conservation planning. $12,500 grant from Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation. Workshop Leader.

Projects Completed in 2002

Establishment of South Florida Rare Plant Conservation Program. 2000-2002. Continued work on Floristic Inventory of South Florida, launched IRC website (www.regionalconservation.org) and Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database Online, and contributed to writing of Rare Plants of South Florida (see below). $17,500 grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $20,000 grant from Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation. Lead Principal Investigator.

Land Managers Workshop, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 2002. Planned and moderated a conservation planning workshop for land managers from Miami-Dade County’s Department of Environmental Resources and Miami-Dade County’s Department of Recreation and Parks. $2,000 contract with Miami-Dade County. Workshop Leader.

Writing and Publication of Book, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. 1999-2002. Wrote and published a 1056 page book covering South Florida’s 355 regionally extinct and critically imperiled plant species. Covers the history of each species in the region and management recommendations. A chapter is also included providing data on rare plants in each of over 200 preserves in the region, with recommendations for rare plant management in each preserve. Received positive reviews from peers and in the journal Ecological Restoration. Primarily funded with internal funds. Lead Principal Investigator and Author.

Projects Completed in 2001

Aerial Monitoring of Exotic Plant Species, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Collier Counties, Florida. 2001. Conducted aerial surveys of the 1.5 million acre Everglades National Park, the 730,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve, and the 173,000 acre Biscayne National Park in a low flying aircraft for exotic pest plants, collecting data with Trimble GPS units. $54,000 contract with National Park Service. Principal Investigator.

Protection and Conservation of Endangered Havana Clustervine (Jacquemontia havanensis) in Southern Florida, Monroe County , Florida . 2001. Performed status survey for the rare vine Jacquemontia havanensis in the Florida Keys including conducting surveys on Key Largo, Big Pine Key, Boca Chica Key, and Bahia Honda Key. Used Trimble GPS units to collect positions of all known plants with a sub-meter accuracy. $2,500 contract with Florida Park Service. Lead Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 2000

Biological Monitoring of Exotic Plants, 10 Southernmost Counties of Florida. 1997-2000. Conducted aerial surveys for exotic plant species from a low-flying aircraft for all of South Florida from Lake Okeechobee south. Designed and initiated a long term monitoring study to analyze the rate of spread of the exotic vine Lygodium microphyllum and its impact on native plant communities. Developed the Exotic Plants of South Florida database on CD-ROM. $120,000 contract with the South Florida Water Management District. Principal Investigator.

Hammock Restoration and Environmental Education at William Lehman Elementary School, Miami-Dade County, Florida . 2000. Planned and coordinated restoration of a rockland hammock on the grounds of the school, with the participation of students and teachers. $1,000 contract with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Senior Ecological Restorationist.

Protection and Conservation of Endangered Mahogany Mistletoe (Phoradendron rubrum) at Key Largo Hammocks State Botanical Site, Monroe County , Florida . 2000. Performed status survey for the rare hemiparasite Phoradendron rubrum in the Florida Keys including conducting surveys in tropical hammocks on Key Largo. Used Trimble GPS unit to collect positions of hosts of all know plants with a sub-meter accuracy. $1,000 contract with Florida Park Service. Lead Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1999

Rare Plant Data Review and Compilation . 1999. Reviewed rare plant occurrence data compiled by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory, editing and correcting errors, and provided updated occurrence data for rare plant species in South Florida. $4,000 contract with Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Principal Investigator.

Status Summaries of 12 Rockland Plant Taxa in Southern Florida. 1999. Researched and developed status summaries for 12 endemic plant species known only from rockland habitats in South Florida as required by the federal Endangered Species Act. All 12 species were subsequently added as federal candidates for listing. $7,500 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1998

Development of Exotic Plant Table for South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan. 1998. Developed table of habitats occupied by all exotic plants within the area covered by the South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan. $3,000 contract with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Exotic Plants of South Florida Database Table. 1998. Developed table of habitats occupied by all exotic plants within the 10 county area of South Florida. $5,500 contract with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Aquatic Plant Management. Principal Investigator.

Exotic Plants of South Florida Database CD-ROM. 1998. Developed a relational database distributed on CD- ROM of exotic plant locations by preserve, county, and habitats within the 10 county area of South Florida. $11,000 contract with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Aquatic Plant Management. Principal Investigator.

Management Plan for Yamato Scrub Natural Area, Boca Raton, Florida. 1998. Co-authored state-required management plan for the 217 acre Yamato Scrub Natural Area. Performed extensive surveys of the property, compiling floristic and faunistic inventories, and developed management recommendations for each plant community on the property, each rare plant species, and each exotic plant species. $5,000 contract with The Nature Conservancy. Lead Author, IRC team.

Participation in Development of South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan. 1996-1998. Wrote accounts for five plant species for the Multi-Species Recovery Plan. Wrote habitat accounts for the pine rockland and rockland hammock plant communities. Participated as members of the South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Team. Pro bono work with US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Rare Plants of Florida Scrub in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties, Florida. 1997-1998. Performed surveys and compiled plant lists for scrub sites in three counties along the Florida East coast; conducted surveys for endangered plant species in the region, including a taxon that was newly discovered by IRC staff, Dicerandra immaculata var. savannarum. Mapped the endangered cactus Harrisia fragrans at the Savannas State Reserve at sub-meter accuracy using Trimble GPS units. $48,000 cooperative agreement with US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1997

Management Plans for Juno Dunes and Juno Dunes Oceanfront Natural Areas, Palm Beach County, Florida. 1997. Co-authored state-required management plans for two county-owned conservation areas. Performed extensive surveys of the properties, compiled floristic inventories, and developed management recommendations for each plant community on each property, each rare plant species, and each exotic plant species. $10,000 in contracts with The Nature Conservancy. Lead Author for IRC team.

Student Training in Ecological Restoration and Natural Areas Management. Organized and implemented week long field course at a variety of sites throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. With Anne Statham, University of Wisconsin, Riverside. $2,000 contract with University of Wisconsin.

Projects Completed in 1996

Ecological Restoration Training Workshops. 1996. Conducted training workshops for volunteers participating in a comprehensive ecological restoration project at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Miami-Dade County, Florida. $2,000 contract with American Littoral Society. Senior Ecological Restorationist.

Management Plans for Delray Oaks and Frenchman’s Forest Natural Areas, Palm Beach County, Florida. 1996. Co-authored state-required management plans for two county-owned conservation areas. Performed extensive surveys of the properties, compiled floristic and faunistic inventories, and developed management recommendations for each plant community on each property, each rare plant species, and each exotic plant species. $6,000 in contracts with The Nature Conservancy. Lead Author for IRC team.

Rare Plant Data Research and Review. Reviewed existing data on rare plant species tracked by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and compiled missing and new data. $3,000 contract with the Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Principal Investigator.

Rare Plant Surveys at the United States Naval Observatory Property, Miami-Dade County, Florida. 1996. Conducted rare plant surveys in endangered pine rockland habitat at this federal property being considered for transfer. $2,000 contract with Florida Natural Areas Inventory. Principal Investigator.

Projects Completed in 1995

Surveys for the Federally-listed Polygala smallii in Southeastern Florida. 1995. Following IRC’s discovery of new populations of this herb in Palm Beach and Martin counties, surveys were conducted throughout southeastern Florida and an endangered species status survey written. $4,900 contract with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Principal Investigator.

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