To many of us who fly fish and fish the saltwater water flats, we cheer the BTT for seeking the most impactful job within the organization – the politics of dealing with policy issues at the highest federal level to conserve habitat, restore freshwater flows, improve water quality, and improve fisheries management in specific states larger spatial scales. — Skip Clement

BTT is Hiring a Vice President of Conservation and Public Policy

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is recruiting an innovative, forward-looking individual to serve as the Vice President of Conservation and Public Policy.

Vice President of Conservation and Public Policy

Reporting to the CEO and working with a dedicated Board of Directors, the Vice President of Conservation and Public Policy will occupy a new and strategically important position in the organization. In this role, the Vice President works across the organization to develop science-based conservation and public policy plans and is chiefly responsible for the execution of these plans through engagement with public sector leadership (state and federal), nonprofit, academic, philanthropic and the private sector stakeholders.

Florida Keys spring resident. Envato.

In 2021 and continuing over the next five years, BTT will conduct research to build its knowledge of the flats fishery and to frame science-based conservation initiatives that conserve bonefish, tarpon, and permit. These efforts will seek to identify, restore, and conserve critical habitats; improve water quality as it pertains to the health of habitats and species; and improve fisheries management in specific locations and at scale.

• Habitat Conservation– The Vice President will work at state and federal levels to secure funding and policies to conserve coastal habitats that support bonefish, tarpon, and permit. This will include protection of habitats that are home ranges for bonefish, staging areas for bonefish spawning aggregations, nurseries for juvenile bonefish and tarpon, among others. This work will take BTT more deeply into restoration projects with state and federal partners, with many having overlapping climate resiliency objectives.
• Fisheries Management– The Vice President will work at state and federal levels to improve fishery management in specific locations and at scale. Outcomes will include the securing of additional protections for spawning permit in Florida, improved management of tarpon in specific states and regionally across the species’ range, regional management plans for bonefish, and improved fisheries management in Belize, Mexico, and other international locations through collaboration with in-country partners.
• Water Quality – The Vice President will work with local, state and federal levels on a broad range of water quality issues. These will include continued advocacy for Everglades restoration as well as increased investment in wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and new measures to address agricultural run-off. Recent research identifying pharmaceutical contaminants and heavy metals in both marine life and habitats will inform these efforts.

The new Vice President of Conservation and Public Policy will provide strategic leadership to achieve lasting conservation and public policy impact, focusing on the BTT’s scientific and research contributions to address the sustainability of bonefish, tarpon, and permit populations and their habitats. The Vice President is based in Miami, Florida. The current budget for the Conservation and Public Policy related activities is $750,000.

Read the complete BTT job post here . . .

Get seriously involved in the joy and business of the flats – JOIN HERE . . .

On the spawning move. BTT image.