FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 2, 2016

CONTACT: DEP Press Office, 850.245.2112, DEPNews@dep.state.fl.us

ROOKERY BAY NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE AND FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

~Partnership will attract new research focus and spur educational opportunities~

NAPLES, Fla. –  Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Florida International University (FIU) have established a new partnership that will serve FIU students as well as citizens of Collier County and surrounding areas.  

This unique educational and research partnership will enhance the environmental understanding necessary to manage the reserve’s 110,000 acres. Nine joint reserve-FIU staff positions have been created for scientific research, education and resource management. This partnership will enable both FIU and the reserve to continue developing science-driven monitoring and management approaches to these issues.

“Current watershed-level restoration projects, such as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, make this a critical time for long-term research, education and stewardship in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem,” said Rookery Bay Reserve Director Keith Laakkonen.

Partnership goals include enhancing both FIU’s and the reserve’s ability to provide field-based environmental studies instructions to students; promoting shared use of facilities, vessels, vehicles and informational resources; establishing environmental studies, internships and research projects that address regional scientific priorities; providing FIU staff direct access to the reserve’s long-term water-quality, fisheries and biological data for analysis and use for joint research and publications; and expanding FIU’s partnerships in Southwest Florida ecosystems science, management and education fields with federal, state and local agencies and non-profit organizations.

“Scientists from Florida International University have long been involved in generating information vital to managers of many of the marine protected areas and parks in the region,” said James Fourqurean, director of the Marine Educational and Research Initiative in FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education. “FIU is looking forward to using this new partnership to increase its research collaboration with the local universities as well as the reserve.”

A joint research and educational support facility is being planned to house future programs from FIU adjacent to the reserve’s headquarters and Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center campus in Naples. The planned facility would facilitate ongoing research programs, attract new research focuses and spur new educational opportunities for students in the local area. 

About Rookery Bay Reserve

Located at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve represents one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America. The reserve’s mission is to provide a basis for informed coastal decisions through land management, restoration, research and education. The reserve works in partnership with local communities and institutions to promote coastal stewardship adjacent to one of the fastest developing coastal areas in the United States. In support of this mission, the reserve supports 38 personnel and operates three field stations and a headquarters facility as well as a learning center. The reserve is part of NOAA’s Marine Protected Areas Center’s National System of Marine Protected Areas. The National Estuarine Research Reserve system is a network of protected areas established for long-term research, education and stewardship. Rookery Bay Reserve protects 110,000 acres of state-owned coastal lands and waters managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Coastal Office. For more information visit www.rookerybay.org.

About Florida International University

Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a “R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity” and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as business engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine’s “America’s Best Employers” list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU’s Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

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