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

该项目的目标是制定一个5年的战略计划，使用威廉C。韦伯海岸研究站，一个新建立的生物野外站，由北佛罗里达大学（UNF）在佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔运营。韦伯站是一个1,050英亩的未开发盐沼栖息地，位于杰克逊维尔和圣奥古斯丁之间的大西洋沿岸水道东侧，正如世界上许多人在观看2017年9月飓风厄玛的有线电视新闻画面时所观察到的那样，杰克逊维尔和许多美国沿海城市一样，由于极端天气事件、海平面上升和其他沿海压力因素的综合影响，中国面临着沿海洪水的重大威胁。韦伯中心的预期目的是利用这个“活实验室”作为测试减少沿海洪水和使海岸线社区对其影响更具“弹性”的新方法的场所。这将通过联合国基金会海岸和海洋生物学家与该大学泰勒工程研究所的海岸工程师合作来实现，以建立一个世界级的海岸恢复力新增长领域的研究计划。除了率先采取新的努力，以减少沿海洪水，韦伯中心还将大力参与教育学生在所有年级和公众成员关于其风险，根据2017年4月的一份报告由美国地质调查局，被认为是威胁到近四分之一的生存世界？这个FSML规划补助金的目标是支持为空间站的研究和教育用途制定一个5年战略计划。为实现这一项目的目标，联合国大学提议：对4个目前正在运行的沿海研究站进行教员实地访问，以确定韦伯站可能需要的特征，并了解成功运行生物实地站的“最佳做法”;* 接待4名在管理生物实地站方面有经验的外部科学家进行调查访问，基础设施需求和操作/管理要求，潜在的研究和教育计划，以及韦伯站的独特功能，可能使其与其他沿海研究站区分开来;建立一个咨询委员会，由联合国基金会的教职员工和管理人员以及来自其他区域学院和大学、当地非正式科学教育设施、社区团体、K-12学校的代表组成，城市/州/联邦决策者，和其他机构参与沿海研究，工程和保护，以指导一个5年战略计划的发展，利用从教师现场访问和访问专家的建议获得的信息。韦伯站的拟议活动将促进对沿海生物学和工程领域的了解和发现，同时促进未来沿海科学专业人员的教育和职业发展，并发展一个更懂海洋的社区。更多关于联合国基金会海岸和海洋生物学旗舰计划，监督韦伯中心的发展，可以在：https://www.unf.edu/coas/biology/coastal_biology/about.aspxThis奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

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.aspxThis 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.