Overall Rating	Gold
Overall Score	67.49
Liaison	Elizabeth Swiman
Submission Date	March 15, 2023

STARS v2.2

Florida State University
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00 This credit is weighted more heavily for institutions that own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to any of the following: Legally protected areas (e.g., IUCN Category I-VI) Internationally recognized areas (e.g., World Heritage, Ramsar, Natura 2000) Priority sites for biodiversity (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites) Regions of conservation importance (e.g., Endemic Bird Areas, Biodiversity Hotspots, High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas) 2 points are available for this credit if the institution owns or manages land that includes or is adjacent to any of the above. 1 point is available for this credit for all other institutions. Close	Elizabeth Swiman Director of Campus Sustainability Facilities

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Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:

Yes

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:

FSU maintains property at Alligator Point and the FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory that are within the Apalachicola National Forest. Apalachicola National Forest is Florida's largest National Forest, spanning 571,088 acres. It is a place of botanical splendor, with virgin stands of pines and cypress, vast pitcher plant savannas, and extensive forests of longleaf pine crucial for survival of the red-cockaded woodpecker. The Apalachicola National Forest includes six watersheds and more than 2,500 acres of water, encompassing the Apalachicola River, New River, Ochlocknee, Sopchoppy, Lost Creek, and Wakulla River basins. A steady flow of fresh water from upland areas feeds the productive coastal nurseries of Apalachicola Bay and Ochlocknee Bay, both known for their shellfish and commercial seafood operations.

Endangered and vulnerable species

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

Can be found in the adopted Campus Master Plan and the current State Lands Management Plans.
https://www.facilities.fsu.edu/depts/planningMan/masterPlan2-2020.php
https://www.fnai.org/

Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

Policy 1C-5 of the Campus Master Plan states that a census of the wildlife and plants that would be affected by future planning phases or improvements on campus must be performed and protection plans must be made for any that are found. Policy 1C-6 gives guidelines to follow if endangered species are found (as reported in the FFWCC Methodology Guidelines). For properties not covered by our Master Plan, the University has prepared a State Lands Management Plan which includes the identification and assessment of endangered/vulnerable species and environmentally sensitive areas.
The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), housed within the Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center at FSU, disseminates guides to identify and track Florida’s rarest species. FNAI maintains a database of all conservation lands and vulnerable species to which FSU contributes and utilizes as a best practices resource. http://fnai.org/index.cfm

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

Policy 1C-5 of the Campus Master Plan states that a census of the wildlife and plants that would be affected by future planning phases or improvements on campus must be performed and protection plans must be made for any that are found. Policy 1C-6 gives guidelines to follow if endangered species are found (as reported in the FFWCC Methodology Guidelines).
For properties not covered by our Master Plan, the University has prepared a State Lands Management Plan which includes the identification and assessment of endangered/vulnerable species and environmentally sensitive areas.
The Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), housed within the Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center at FSU, disseminates guides to identify and track Florida’s rarest species. FNAI maintains a database of all conservation lands and vulnerable species to which FSU contributes and utilizes as a best practices resource.
http://fnai.org/index.cfm

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

Unless otherwise noted, objectives and policies contained in the Conservation element of the Campus Master Plan shall guide the development of the Main Campus and Southwest Campus in Tallahassee, as well as the Panama City Campus in Panama City, FL.

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

Can be found in the adopted Campus Master Plan and the current State Lands Management Plans.

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

https://www.facilities.fsu.edu/depts/planningMan/masterPlan2.php

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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