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…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: Proposed EPA Scientific Integrity Rule Will Undermine Scientific Integrity Scientific community opposes effort to limit the EPA’s use of science in decision-making. Congress Appropriations subcommittees release funding bills, House passes hydropower bill to reverse salmon and steelhead protections and legislative updates. Executive Branch White House proposes budget recissions, National Science Board meeting, changes to how…

By Ellen Stuart-Haëntjens, Ph.D. candidate, Virginia Commonwealth University Federally funded scientific research stimulates the economy, improves human health, bolsters national security and builds an educated workforce. In the United States the bulk of this funding comes through agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH); however, since the 1980s, the percentage of US gross…

Wednesday April 25, 2018 For Immediate Release The Ecological Society of America is concerned with reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a rule that would require all data from scientific studies be made public and be reproducible. Over the past 50 years the EPA has worked to protect public health and welfare by enforcing the Clean Air…

ESA Policy News In This Issue: 2018 Graduate Student Policy Award Hill Day Ten graduate students visit Washington, DC to meet with their members of Congress and advocate for science funding. Farm Bill Advances Farm bill moves out of House Committee. Ballast Discharge Bill Fails Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell attempted to include a provision on ballast water in unrelated…