In This Issue: Register to Vote & Request an Absentee Ballot The general election is less than 70 days away. Visit Vote.org for information about requesting an absentee ballot. Upcoming ESA Webinars ESA will host two webinars with the Federation of American Scientists and Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally. Congress House Science Committee proposes a new postdoctoral fellowship program for…

This blogpost originally appeared on the website for Bruce Byers Consulting. by Bruce Byers The novel coronavirus is holding up a mirror for our species, giving us an opportunity to consider our place in the evolution of life on Earth and question our anthropocentrism. What I’ve missed during this pandemic and shutdown of our usual social and economic life is…

In This Issue: Upcoming ESA Webinars ESA will host two webinars with the Federation of American Scientists and Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally. Congress House passes most spending bills. Executive Branch President Trump signs the Great American Outdoors Act. Courts State attorneys general challenge new Clean Water Act regulations in court. States North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality denies permit…

In This Issue: White House Finalizes Revisions to NEPA Regulations New rules direct agencies to focus on “reasonably foreseeable” effects and set pages limits for environmental impact statements. Federal Government Begins Work on Fifth National Climate Assessment A notice identifies the proposed overarching themes and framework of the next assessment. Congress Full House passes spending bills funding the Departments of…

In This Issue: Congress – House Appropriators Release Fiscal Year 2021 Spending Bills for Science Agencies – House Democrats Outline Climate Action Plan – Full House Passes Infrastructure Bill Executive Branch ICE regulations suspend visas for international students attending universities that become online-only amid the coronavirus pandemic. Courts Dominion Energy and Duke Energy cancel Atlantic Coast Pipeline. International U.N. Environment…

By Pamela Templer, VP of Education and Human Resources, ESA and Teresa Mourad, Director of Education and Diversity Programs, ESA “I can’t breathe.” These last words uttered by George Floyd galvanized protests against the ongoing racism embedded in the systems and culture in the United States of America and galvanized a movement that demanded critical self-reflection. We all know that…

In This Issue: President Trump Suspends Entry Under H1-B Visas Through the End of 2020 Senators Introduce Bill Restricting Visas to Researchers with Ties to “Hostile Foreign Actors.” House Democrats Infrastructure Bill Reauthorizes Watershed Restoration Programs, Creates Wildlife Corridor System Full House will vote on bill this week. Congress Senate confirms Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan to lead NSF, House introduces relief…

In This Issue: President Trump Signs Executive Order Directing Agencies to Use Emergency Provisions of Environmental Laws to Speed COVID-19 Economic Recovery Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduce bills to reform NEPA permitting. COVID-19 Delays Competition for NEON Management Battelle Memorial Institute will continue to manage NEON in the interim. Congress Bipartisan Senate Committee…

by Osvaldo Sala, ESA President One of the central roles of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) is to represent its members in front of different bodies at the national and international levels. While single voices face difficulties in reaching target audiences, communications are enhanced when articulated through a professional society. ESA plays the double role of not only communicating…

In honor of Kendra Chan by Jasjeet Dhanota, SEEDS Co-President with Kendra Chan, UC Davis (2014–2015)   The Ecological Society of America’s SEEDS program (Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability) is proud to announce a major gift from Ms. Vicki Moore in honor of her daughter, Kendra Chan, to support SEEDS Campus Ecology Chapters, which are active on over…

by Osvaldo Sala, President, and Catherine O’Riordan, Executive Director One of the strengths of the ESA organization is the ability to adapt to challenges in our programs and in our science. Like most other organizations responding to the pandemic, ESA moved to virtual operations in March and the DC office is temporarily closed. Staff continues to work from home while…

by Benjamin S. Halpern1,2, Julien Brun1, Amber Budden1, Marty Downs1, Carrie V. Kappel1, and Julia S. Stewart Lowndes1 1National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 2Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA When the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) started shutting down its research labs on March…