The USF Forest Preserve is an on-campus plot of wetland and sandhill habitat home to a variety of plants and animals and provides a living laboratory for research and teaching. In April 2021 the university issued an RFI regarding the 500-acre USF Forest Preserve.
Faculty in the department of Integrative Biology brought concerns about the RFI, and potentially development of the Forest Preserve, to the Faculty Senate. On May 19, 2021 the Faculty Senate passed a resolution in support of the maintaining the land as conservation area, wildlife corridor, natural classroom, and research site.
In August when President Law took over as Interim President, she hired a consultant and appointed an advisory committee to evaluate options for the USF Forest Preserve. The committee began reviewing the Ecological Assessment Report and drafting recommendations for each section of the property. Click here for a link to the report, committee recommendations, and guiding principles.
President Law confirmed that the RFI has been pulled and the university is not seeking to develop the land; the College of Arts and Sciences will work on securing the property and building a small research facility on the property to support additional research and teaching opportunities.