James A. Powell, Ph.D.

Research

James “Buddy” Powell is the founder and executive director of the Sea to Shore Alliance, a highly mission-focused, field-oriented nonprofit research and conservation organization. By identifying manatees as a flagship species to promote coastal conservation, Powell used his Pew fellowship to improve coastal habitat protection in countries with important manatee populations. To accomplish this, he recruited biologists and environmental managers from Africa and the Caribbean and trained them in manatee and coastal marine research and conservation techniques. Powell’s project hosted and trained biologists from Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, and Mexico. The training was customized to the needs of each individual. Powell also conducted a two-day training workshop in Cuba on manatee research and conservation techniques at the University of Havana. He published the book Manatees: Natural History and Conservation as part of his project. Powell and his colleagues used the book in their training program and as an introduction to manatee biology and conservation for wildlife managers and decision-makers. Powell continues this work, with the goal of increasing national capacity for conservation in developing countries, strengthening linkages between researchers and conservationists, and providing support for the protection of manatees and their coastal habitats. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, his organization, the Sea to Shore Alliance, monitored coastal areas for impacts to the manatee populations.

To learn more about Powell, visit his bio online: http://sea2shore.org/team/james-buddy-powell.