Josh earned a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University, a M.Sc. in Zoology while a Fulbright Scholar at James Cook University in Australia, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University. Prior to his current position at Archbold, Josh helped reestablish scientific capacity in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique following the country's devastating civil war, while researching how war affects wildlife Africa-wide. He was also a biologist in the US Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters leading Species Status Assessments under the Endangered Species Act. 

-Lead the scientific arm of the statewide campaign to conserve the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

-Oversee invasive species and fire management on Archbold Biological Station and Reserve.

-Coordinate Archbold collaboration with regional conservation cooperatives including the Avon Park Air Force Range Sentinel Landscape and Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Working Group.

-Represent of conservation interests to county and regional community groups.

-Build capacity and strategy to deploy and track impacts of Archbold science for conservation.

-Research in landscape ecology and conservation science.


Josh is the Director of Conservation at Archbold where his overarching focus is to build the use of science in conservation of biodiversity and large landscapes. He leads develop and implementation of Archbold’s conservation strategy, collaborations with agencies, landowners, NGOs, and researchers from the immediate Archbold neighborhood to the statewide Florida Wildlife Corridor and beyond, and oversees land management on the Station and Reserve. 

Joshua Daskin, Ph.D.

Director of Conservation

Florida is ground-zero for climate change impacts as our natural and human communities are forced to grapple with increasing heat, flooding, sea level rise, and wildfire risk. Archbold approached Florida Atlantic University to assess overlaps between land conservation in the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the resilience of the state’s nature and people to advancing climate change. Archbold’s conservation program is using the report’s results to credibly motivate the Corridor’s protection. 

Colin Polsky and Jay Baldwin, lead authors, Florida Atlantic University 

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A summary of the state of the science on large landscape conservation and climate resilience in the Florida Wildlife Corridor. 

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The Corridor is both sensitive to climate change and a world-class adaptation plan.  

The Corridor is necessary but not sufficient for statewide resilience as Floridas’s population grows. For example, conserving large, connected open spaces limits exposure of people and property to wildfire along development edges, but management with prescribed fire is still needed to further reduce wildfire risk and maintain wildlife habitats. 

Frameworks for smart planning of where and how to build new and refreshed developments in Corridor-compatible ways exist, but require political will and avoiding the status quo. 

The Corridor provides billions of dollars’ worth of flood hazard protection, largely by keeping floodplains undeveloped. About two-thirds of Florida’s floodplains, or ~10 million acres, are located within the Florida Wildlife Corridor. 



Climate and wildlife corridors

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