TALLAHASSEE—A panel of environmentalists will meet at the Florida State University College of Law from 3:30-5 p.m. on November 7 to discuss the use of marine reserves as fishery and ecosystem management tools. Specifically, the participants will discuss the scientific basis for using marine reserves in fishery and ecosystem protection management, the legal authority for creation of marine reserves and some of the controversial aspects of marine reserves. 

The forum, sponsored by the College of Law and the Environmental and Land Use Section of The Florida Bar, will be held in Room 101, B.K. Roberts Hall. A reception will follow in the D’Alemberte Rotunda. 

Among the panelists:

• Biological Science Professor Felicia Coleman, director of the Florida State University Coastal Marine Laboratory, researches population ecology of reef fisheries and has a long-standing interest in how science is incorporated into fishery management and reflected in governmental policy. 
• Professor Robin Craig, the Attorney’s Title Insurance Fund Professor at the FSU College of Law, is nationally recognized for her work with the Clean Water Act, the connection of fresh water regulation to ocean water quality, marine biodiversity and marine protected areas and water resource protection. 
• Charles Shelfer, deputy general counsel of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, also serves as counsel to the Division of Marine Fisheries Management. 
• David White, director of the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Regional Office of The Ocean Conservancy, advocates for expanded use of marine zoning and ecosystem-based management to conserve fish populations and marine ecosystems. 
• Professor Donna Christie, the Elizabeth C. and Clyde W. Atkinson Professor at the FSU College of Law, is an authority on legal issues surrounding ocean and management law and co-author of the leading textbook in the field. She will serve as the forum moderator.

Florida Bar CLE credit is available.

To reserve a seat at this event, please contact Meghan McQuellon, Environmental and Land Use Law Program administrator, at 850.644.7781, or mmcquellon@law.fsu.edu. 

For more information, visit the College of Law web site at www.law.fsu.edu.