Laura Huenneke, an ecologist and conservation scientist who has also served in university and nonprofit leadership positions, became President of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) during the Society’s annual meeting in New Orleans, LA. Elected by the members of ESA for a one-year term, Huenneke presides over the world’s largest professional society of ecologists. Its membership is composed of…

NEW ORLEANS, LA. — The Ecological Society of America (ESA) will donate over $17,500  to the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) to offset the environmental costs of the Society’s 103rd Annual Meeting, held this year in New Orleans, LA. More than 3,500 attendees convene from across the globe this week to impart, discuss, and share the latest in essential ecological…

103rd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America: Extreme events, ecosystem resilience and human well-being 5–10 August 2018 Monica G. Turner served as President of ESA for the 2015-2016 term. She is an internationally recognized landscape ecologist, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and received ESA’s Robert H. MacArthur Award in 2008. Her field studies and simulation…

ESA Policy News In This Issue:   103 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America convenes in New Orleans, LA The Opening Plenary talk by Robert Twilley, “Ecosystem design approaches in a highly engineered landscape of the Mississippi River Delta” will be live-streamed – watch it here on Sunday, August 5 at 5 PM central time. All Politics Are…

Arti Garg believes that scientists need to engage in local policy. In this guest post, Garg shares how she became interested in local government and was inspired to create Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL). “Decisions are made by those who show up” – Origin Unknown This quote captures my experience as a policy analyst and adviser in Congress and in the White…

Nearly seventy public health, medical, academic, and scientific groups representing millions of Americans released the following statement to express concern over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” proposed rule: We strongly oppose EPA’s efforts to restrict the use of the best available science in its policymaking and encourage EPA to withdraw its proposal. We support…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: Congress Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman releases Endangered Species Act legislation, Senate passes Farm Bill and legislative updates. Executive Branch EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigns, US Fish and Wildlife Service proposes ending red wolf management program and more. Courts Rhode Island sues oil companies for climate change damages, court rules that USDA Wildlife…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: ESA and USGS Hold Capitol Hill Roundtable on Science in the Chesapeake Bay ESA and the U.S. Geological Survey held a roundtable discussion highlighting science used to inform Chesapeake Bay restoration and management. Senate Appropriations Committee Introduces Bills to Fund Interior Agencies, NSF and Others  Senate releases its proposal for agency funding. Trump Oceans Policy…

By Eliza Oldach — Science Outreach Intern, Spring 2018 The 19th  century was a time of accelerated ecological discovery. The New World, already plundered for trade and colonization, was opening to Europeans for scientific discovery. Now-famous figures—Humboldt, Darwin, Wallace, Schimper—struck out across oceans, armed with microscopes and collecting bags.  They returned home with trunks crammed full of samples and specimens,…

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 into a conference room on Capitol Hill to hear scientists talk about the USGS’s role in providing and…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: Proposed Alaskan Pebble Mine Could Threaten World’s Largest Salmon Fishery and Wetlands Army Corps of Engineers seeks public comments by June 29. EPA’s Science Advisory Board Holds First Meeting of 2018, Congress Signals Its Support SAB voted to review the EPA’s ‘secret science’ proposed rule. Congress House Appropriations Committee passed Interior spending bill, hear…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: Appropriations Bills Include Increased Funding for NSF, DOE and USDA, Cuts to NOAA The House and Senate Appropriations Committees begin to roll-out FY 2019 budget bills. Interior Actions: Migratory Bird Treaty Act Enforcement Undermined by Recent Opinion Interior Department reinterprets the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act so that only intentional killing of birds is…