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A guest commentary by Kristen Lear (University of Georgia), 2016 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award recipient Read more
Tim Fegel
ESA presents the Murray F. Buell  and E. Lucy Braun Awards for an outstanding research talk Read more
ESA's Commitment to Human Diversity Award recognizes long-standing contributions of an individual towards increasing the Read more
Katya Wowk
Innovation in Sustainability Science Award honors Ariana E. Sutton-Grier, Kateryna Wowk, and Holly A. Bamford. The Read more
Clearly defining ‘restoration’ in law. Though mandates like the Clean Water Act have been powerful tools for instituting environmental protections in the United States, loose legal definitions of “restoration” mean that few mitigation projects install whole, functioning, and self-sustaining ecosystems. An Appalachian project with the narrow goal of restoring stream flow after mountaintop mining, for example, (left) delivers few of the resources of the natural ecosystem that was lost (right). Likewise, programs aimed at recovery of endangered species do not necessarily prioritize functional ecosystem recovery. Palmer and Ruhl examine the scientific and (U.S.) legal bases for ecological restoration and how the two may be more fruitfully unified in “Aligning restoration science and the law to sustain ecological infrastructure for the future,” on page 512 of this issue. Photo credit: E Bernhardt.
Laws allowing open interpretation of ecological restoration undermine sound science in the recovery of self-sustaining Read more
Legislative Tracker

Legislative Tracker

ESA tracks legislation relevant to the ecological community. This legislative tracker can be sorted by sponsor, committee, status and more.

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Federal Budget Tracker

Federal Budget Tracker

ESA’s Federal Budget Tracker monitors the federal appropriations process and provides information on budgets relevant to ecological sciences.

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Federal Register Tracker

Federal Register Tracker

ESA tracks upcoming meetings and current public comment opportunities on issues relevant to ecology through the Federal Register tracker.

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National Nature Assessement

National Nature Assessement

The first ever National Nature Assessment report will assess the state of the U.S.’s lands, waters and wildlife and the specific benefits that they provide. Check this page for updates from ESA about this report and process.

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Policy News

Policy News

The Ecological Society of America’s Policy News provides bi-monthly summaries of major environmental and science policy news.

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Society News

Society News

Select the following link for our Science Policy main page.

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