[toggles] [toggle title = “NSF BIO Introduces One Proposal Cap for PIs, ESA and Other Societies Respond”] Under a new National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences (NSF BIO) policy, researchers can only submit one grant proposal to the BIO directorate’s core funding programs per year as a principal investigator (PI) /Co-PI. Scientists can serve as “senior personnel” on an…
[toggles] [toggle title = “We’ve Seen This Before: Interior Follows EPA’s Lead with Order to Undermine Scientific Integrity”] The U.S. Department of Interior (Interior) implemented a new policy that echoes the ‘secret science’ administrative rule proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dubbed the “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule. It would restrict what scientific findings could be used…
[toggles] [toggle title = “Congress”] Secret Science Hearing: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight held a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” The rule is also referred to as the “secret science rule.” If finalized, the rule would prohibit the EPA from using studies in regulatory decisions where the underlying data are not publicly available. Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rounds (R-SD)…
[toggles] [toggle title = “Reception Honors USGS Congressional Champions”] After a summer of wildfires and volcano eruptions – and science to understand these natural hazards – congressional staff and policymakers gathered on Capitol Hill for an event recognizing USGS’ important work and honoring two members of Congress for their support of the agency. Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX) received a USGS…
[toggles] [toggle title = “ESA 2018 Opening Plenary Welcomes Ecologists to the Gulf Coast and River Delta Ecosystems”] ESA’s 2018 Annual Meeting kicked off with a welcome to New Orleans and ecosystems of the Gulf Coast with a plenary talk by Robert Twilley, the executive director of the Louisiana Sea Grant and a professor at Louisiana State University, entitled “Ecosystem…
[toggles] [toggle title = “103rd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America convenes in New Orleans, La.”] The Opening Plenary featuring a talk entitled, “Ecosystem design approaches in a highly engineered landscape of the Mississippi River Delta,” by Robert Twilley will be live-streamed, Sunday, August 5th at 5:00 pm central time. Environmental scientists, educators, and policymakers will gather at…
[toggles] [toggle title = “Congress”] Appropriations: The full Senate voted to approve its first Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bill June 25. The “minibus” package includes spending for the Department of Energy. The Senate bill marks $6.65 billion for the DOE Office of Science, a 5 percent increase; and $715 million for Biological and Environmental Research, a six percent increase. The House…
[toggles] [toggle title = “ESA and USGS Hold a Capitol Hill Roundtable on Science in the Chesapeake Bay”] On June 19, 2018, ESA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) held a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion hosted by Congressmen Rob Wittman (R-VA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD) highlighting science used to inform Chesapeake Bay restoration and management. Bipartisan staffers and policymakers crowded…
[toggles] [toggle title = “Proposed Alaskan Pebble Mine Could Threaten the World’s Largest Salmon Fishery and Surrounding Wetlands”] In December 2017, Pebble Limited Partnership filed for a permit to develop an open-pit gold and copper mine and associated infrastructure in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, an area that produces about half of the world’s sockeye salmon. The site would include…
[toggles] [toggle title=”Appropriations Bills Include Increased Funding for NSF, DOE and USDA, Cuts to NOAA”] The House and Senate appropriations committees continue to release appropriations bills for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. The bills generally include more funding than requested in the president’s budget and many programs of interest to ESA receive budget increases. This is the beginning of the lengthy…
[toggles] [toggle title=”Proposed EPA Scientific Integrity Rule Will Undermine Scientific Integrity”] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt recently proposed a new administrative rule, “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” which threatens the transparency and integrity of scientific studies used in federal decision-making. Pruitt argues in an EPA press release that the proposed rule promotes greater transparency, “The era of secret science…
[toggles] [toggle title=”2018 Graduate Student Award Policy Hill Day”] Ten Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) recipients traveled to Washington, DC April 10 and 11 to learn about the legislative and budget process and to meet with their Members of Congress. They arrived in DC just as the famous cherry blossoms were in full bloom. This year’s award…
[toggles] [toggle title=”UN-administered IPBES Identifies Impact of Land Degradation on Climate Change”] Land degradation caused by human activities, is a significant driver of climate change and biodiversity loss according to a series of major reports approved at the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Plenary in Medellin, Columbia, March 17-24. The reports provide assessments of…
[toggles] [toggle title=”ESA Selects Graduate Student Policy Award Winners”] ESA has announced the winners of this year’s Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA). This award provides graduate students with the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. for policy experience and training. Ten recipients were selected for this year’s award: Aaron W. Baumgardner (California State University, Bakersfield), Stephen R….
[toggles] [toggle title=”Trump Infrastructure Outline Trudges Slowly”] President Trump released his Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America (53 pages) Feb. 12. The outline offers $200 billion in federal spending over 10 years and aims to spur an additional $1.3 trillion in state and private infrastructure spending. It seeks to limit environmental oversight while shortening regulatory review to two years. It…
[toggles] [toggle title=”President’s Budget Proposes Cuts to Science, Research”] * Check ESA’s federal appropriations tracker for updates on the president’s FY 2019 budget request and funding levels for agencies and programs of interest to the ecological community. * On Feb. 12, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2019 (FY 2019) budget…
[toggles] [toggle title=”Congress Reaches Budget Deal and Budget Caps Raised”] * President Trump released his FY 2019 budget on Feb. 12. The president’s budget includes an addendum that accounts for the budget agreement and modifies the budget request to account for new cap levels. Check ESA’s blog and federal appropriations tracker for updates on the president’s FY 2019 budget request…
[toggles] [toggle title=”National Park System Advisory Board Resigned en masse”] Earlier this month, nine of twelve members of the National Park System Advisory Board resigned en masse. Board members are citizen advisors and not necessarily scientists. The board was chartered by Congress in 1935 “to help the National Park Service care for special places saved by the American people so…
[toggles] [toggle title=”Department of the Interior Adopts Political Review of Grants, Reverses Rules, Proposes Drilling Expansion”] Political Screening for Interior Grants According to a Dec. 28 directive obtained by The Washington Post, the Department of the Interior has instituted a new screening process for science grants to outside groups. This new system requires political appointees to approve grants to nonprofits…
[toggles] [toggle title=”Trump Announces National Monuments Review Decisions”] President Trump announced proclamations dramatically modifying and reducing the management and size of the Bears Ears (BENM) and Grand Staircase-Escalante (GSENM) national monuments on Monday Dec. 4. The following day, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released a revised final report summarizing the findings of his broader review of national and marine monuments under…