Organizers of a fundraising effort to aid Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann are taking the first steps to establish a new nonprofit group to aid researchers facing similar legal challenges.

The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund began last year as a grass-roots campaign to help defray the legal costs incurred by Mann as he fights a request from the conservative American Tradition Institute for emails he exchanged with other scientists while he was employed by the University of Virginia.

The funds organizers announced today that they have joined forces with the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which will provide financial and logistical support for the climate fund.

Scott Mandia, a professor of physical sciences at Suffolk County Community College, jump-started the effort to aid Mann last year when he posted a "Dear Colleague" letter on his blog.

Five months and $25,000 later, Mandia and photographer Joshua Wolfe have found a home for the fund at PEER as they attempt to broaden their original appeal to help defray the legal costs of other researchers opposing similar requests. They also plan to recruit lawyers to work on their cases and create a clearinghouse of information about legal action taken against climate scientists.

"We've been talking about something like this for a while," Mandia said. "When it became obvious Mike was going to need some serious funding, we said, 'Let's do it.'"

Previous donations trickled into a PayPal account Mandia had originally created for personal use. Now, with the climate fund under PEER's umbrella, donations will be tax deductible.

Mandia and Wolfe, a photographer whose work documents climate change, hope to raise enough money to support a full-time staff member and an attorney.

In the meantime, the pair will decide which researchers will receive aid from the fund.

"Mike [Mann] is client number one," Mandia said. "He still has outstanding legal fees."

In addition to his legal battle against the American Tradition Institute, Mann is at the center of a fight between Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and the University of Virginia. Cuccinelli is seeking emails and other documents from the school as he investigates whether Mann, who received state grant money during his tenure at UVA, violated the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act.