The Center for Landscape Conservation Planning (CLCP) was established in 2010 to provide an official forum within the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning for conducting applied research on the relationship between conservation and land use. The Center is affiliated with the Department of Landscape Architecture, forming a bridge between the disciplines of design, planning, and wildlife conservation. The Center Faculty is comprised of Dr. Thomas Hoctor, Center Director, and Michael Volk, Associate Director. Center Staff includes conservation and planning professionals along with University of Florida graduate students who are engaged in Center research activities.
Work conducted by Center staff is funded entirely by research and grants, and your support through new partnerships, projects, or direct financial support is extremely important. Funding received by the Center is used to directly support research activities, including graduate and undergraduate students, Center staff, and necessary research expenses. Please contact us for more information or consider making a financial contribution by clicking the support link below.
The Center for Landscape Conservation Planning conducts applied research on the relationship between conservation and land use while providing learning opportunities for students. Results of the Center’s research are used to influence public policy through education and direct involvement in the application of relevant science, technology, sound planning principles, and state-of-the-art methods of conservation analysis, planning, and management. A primary goal is research and education regarding the importance of protecting green infrastructure, in both urban and rural/undeveloped landscapes. Green infrastructure promotes the critical concept that ecosystem function, biodiversity, and the health of human communities are inextricably linked.
The activities of the Center include five primary programmatic areas:
- Research and planning related to protection of regional ecological networks
- Landscape and biodiversity conservation research and planning
- Green infrastructure research and planning in urban and rural environments
- Resiliency and adaptation related to climate change and sea level rise
- Education for students, designers, and planners in principles of landscape ecology, conservation biology, and conservation planning including relevant GIS applications and tools.
Center staff work in close partnership with the Florida Conservation Group, an organization focused on the conservation of Florida’s ranchlands and other working lands, which advocates, educates, and acts as a resource on land protection and other conservation programs in Florida. This partnership is focused on ensuring that Florida achieves its wildlife, wildlife corridor, and water conservation goals by protecting the land and waters that have the most strategic significance. We work to incorporate the most up-to-date scientific data to drive the conservation decision-making process through all aspects of the planning process including regional landscape assessments, prioritization, property evaluations and management plans, advocacy for land conservation program funding and allocation, and working with a variety of governmental, NGO, and private landowner partners on a variety of conservation projects. This partnership is a core foundation for both The Florida Conservation Group and the Center to guarantee conservation action that is ungirded by strong science and the utmost land protection and conservation policy expertise. The partnership also includes work with the National Wildlife Refuge Association in the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge project area as well as on regional landscape conservation issues affecting Refuges across the state.
Tom Hoctor, Center for Landscape Conservation Planning Director, received the 2022 Herb Kale Award from the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society. This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an ability to balance effective wildlife advocacy with the practice of wildlife biology and who have made a significant contribution to the conservation of Florida’s natural resources, and who bring a multi-dimensional approach to Florida environmental and wildlife issues.
Center Faculty
Center Staff
Eve Bohnett, Ph.D.
Ecological Connectivity & Ecosystem Service Modeling Coordinator
Julie Morris, MS
Conservation Policy & Programs Coordinator
Reed Noss, Ph.D.
Conservation Science Coordinator
Dan Farrah, Ph.D.
Development & Land Use Analyst
Michael Spontak, MESM
Water Infrastructure Analyst
Dan Smith, Ph.D.
Transportation Infrastructure Retrofitting Analyst
Michael O’Brien, MLA, MS
GIS Manager
Isabella Guttuso, MLA
Urban Green Infrastructure Coordinator
Belinda B. Nettles, Ph.D.
Program Manager & Research Associate
Sarah Lockhart, Ph.D. Student
Research Assistant