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Message from the Director

The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Institute discusses efforts to provide natural resource managers, stakeholders, and the public with timely information and guidance to protect, conserve, and manage Florida’s fish and wildlife resources.

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The magnificent resources of the state of Florida support numerous multi-billion dollar industries that form the foundation of our state's economy. Our world-renowned beaches, spectacular variety of fish and wildlife, diverse habitats, and navigable waters attract businesses and visitors alike. There is no mistaking the fact that economic prosperity, quality of life for Floridians, and the satisfaction of our many visitors are all dependent on a healthy environment.

With more than 8400 miles of coastline and an incredible variety of habitats including the tropical coral reefs of the Florida Keys, the magnificent and unique Everglades, temperate hardwood forests, majestic rivers that meander for hundreds of miles, awe-inspiring springs, and nearly 8000 lakes, Florida is truly unique in the variety and productivity of its natural resources. These highly productive ecosystems support fishing and hunting, nature viewing, and other recreational and commercial activities easily exceeding $10 billion in value annually.

Florida continues to be one of the most rapidly growing states in the nation. During the last decade the state's population increased by over 23%. Florida's rapid growth places increased pressures on natural resources. The most widespread impacts are often the least apparent, such as a decline in water quality or gradual degradation or loss of habitat. Clearly, Florida must make forward-looking, informed management decisions to protect critical resources and balance competing demands for limited resources. These management decisions must be driven by sound scientific information. Planning and conducting research to provide this information is the core of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's mission.

The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) is a part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Created in Florida Statute, the FWRI came into being on July 1, 2004. The Florida Legislature, adopting an agency wide reorganization proposal from FWC, integrated the biological research and support staffs of the FWC's Division of Wildlife, Division of Freshwater Fisheries and Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) to create the FWRI. The Legislature and FWC stakeholders recognized the importance of integrating statewide fish and wildlife research to effectively provide timely science based information to managers of Florida's natural resources.

Our research programs are statewide and focus on obtaining the wide-ranging data and information needed by fish, wildlife, and ecosystem resource managers. We have established many collaborative partnerships with other government, academic, non-profit, and private fish and wildlife research institutions. Our fish and wildlife research programs are diversely funded from user fees such as hunting and fishing licenses, specialty license plates, grants, and state general revenue and are organized to rapidly provide the vital scientific information necessary to conserve and protect Florida's precious natural resources.  Our annual operating budget of approximately $50,000,000 supports more than 600 staff and facilities and technical operations at our St. Petersburg headquarters and more than 20 additional locations throughout the state.  Fifty million dollars seems like a large amount of money, but when the economic value of our resources and the complexity of Florida's resource issues and problems are taken into account, the limitations of this investment become obvious.

At FWRI, scientific research and information synthesis are accomplished through the cooperative efforts of five core groups: Marine Fisheries Research; Freshwater Fisheries Research; Wildlife Research, Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration; and Information Science and Management. The FWRI Annual Science Programs document provides an overview of our major programs and is intended to present readers with an enhanced understanding of the scope and purpose of the technical information we produce. This summary document cannot convey the details of each project within our programs. Additional detail is available on our Web site. The Web site contact form can be used to request information. If you would like technical details concerning our research or additional information on the FWRI, please contact us at:

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 8th Avenue SE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5020

Thank you for your interest in the FWRI and the health of Florida's resources. I assure you that the FWRI will continue to focus on the most pressing needs relative to our resources. We encourage you to become an active participant with us in the wise management of our fish and wildlife and their habitats and encourage you to provide us with issues, concerns and comments about our programs and our mission.

Sincerely,
Gil McRae, Director
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute