Development of a Strategic Plan for the William C. Webb Coastal Research Station

The goal of this project is to develop a 5-year strategic plan for the use of the William C. Webb Coastal Research Station, a newly-established biological field station operated by the University of North Florida (UNF) in Jacksonville, FL. The Webb Station is a 1,050-acre parcel of undeveloped salt marsh habitat located on the eastern side of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, FL. As much of the world observed while watching cable news footage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, Jacksonville, like many U.S. coastal cities, faces significant threats from coastal flooding due to the combined effects of extreme weather events, sea level rise, and other coastal stressors. The intended purpose of the Webb Center is to use this 'living laboratory' as a location for testing new approaches for reducing coastal flooding and making shoreline communities more 'resilient' to its effects. This will be accomplished by teaming UNF Coastal and Marine Biologists with Coastal Engineers from the University's Taylor Engineering Research Institute to establish a world-class research program in newly-growing field of Coastal Resilience. In addition to spearheading new efforts to reduce coastal flooding, the Webb Center will also be heavily involved in educating students at all grade levels and members of the general public about its risks which, based on an April 2017 report by the U.S. Geological Survey, are believed to threaten the survival of nearly a quarter of the world?s population.

The goal of this FSML planning grant is to support the development of a 5-year strategic plan for the research and educational use of the station. To accomplish the goal of this project, the University proposes to: conduct faculty site visits to 4 currently operating coastal research stations to identify potential desirable features for the Webb station and learn about 'best practices' for the operation of a successful biological field station; host survey visits by 4 external scientists experienced in the management of biological field stations to obtain their expert assistance in identifying infrastructure needs and operational/management requirements, potential research and educational programs, and unique features of the Webb Station that could potentially set it apart from other coastal research stations; and establish an Advisory Board consisting of UNF faculty and administrators and representatives from other regional colleges and universities, local informal science education facilities, community groups, K-12 schools, city/state/federal policymakers, and other agencies involved in coastal research, engineering, and conservation to guide the development of a 5-year strategic plan, making use of information obtained from faculty site visits and visiting expert recommendations. Proposed activities for the Webb Station will advance understanding and discovery in the field of coastal biology and engineering while promoting the education and career development of future coastal science professionals and the development of a more Ocean-literate community. More about UNF Coastal and Marine Biology Flagship Program, which oversees the development of the Webb Center, can be viewed at: https://www.unf.edu/coas/biology/coastal_biology/about.aspx

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.