Poetic post-apocalyptic visions of nature reclaiming city neighborhoods obscure public policy breach in disaster recovery, ecologists say Popular portrayals of “nature reclaiming civilization” in flood-damaged New Orleans, Louisianna, neighborhoods romanticize an urban ecology shaped by policy-driven socioecological disparities in redevelopment investment, ecologists argue in a new paper in the Ecological Society of America’s open access journal Ecosphere. “Observers can be…

Do you have ecological knowledge to share concerning rebuilding and restoration efforts for areas affected by Hurricanes Harvey or Irma? Sign up to serve as a resource for the media, elected officials, governments, or organizations. Sign up here. Dear ESA Member, ESA is asking for members to sign up to be a point of contact for any media inquiries and…

In This Issue: Administration Joins with Democrats to Pass Continuing Budget Resolution Harvey disaster funding tied to federal budget EPA Changes Require Political Aide’s Approval for Grants, Reshuffle Offices Pruitt stifles science by giving political appointee authority to squash grants Flood Infrastructure and Harvey New executive order strikes sea level consideration from federal infrastructure projects Zinke Makes Monument Recommendations and…

A guest post by Ben Taylor (Columbia University), 2017 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) recipient. This year’s six award winners traveled to Washington, D.C. at the end of April for policy experience and training.   The GSPA program is designed to be an enlightening and intense three days, and it delivered on that in a wonderful fashion. From getting…

Mark Rains is a Professor of Geology and the Director of the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida, where he studies hydrological connectivity and the role it plays in governing structure and function in aquatic ecosystems. He shares this Frontiers Focus on how to integrate geographically isolated wetlands into land management decisions from a paper published in…

By Nalini Nadkarni, professor at the University of Utah and ESA’s vice president for Education and Human Resources; Tom Kaye, executive director and senior ecologist at the Institute of Applied Ecology; Chad Naugle, sustainability program manager at the Oregon Department of Corrections; Debbie Rutt, adjunct faculty member at Portland State University and volunteer at the Coffee Creek Corrections Facility, Kelli…

By Kika Tuff, Annaliese Hettinger, and Bethann Garramon Merkle, current officers of ESA’s SciComm Section. Learn more about them and their roles here. Read more about our section here. Science Communication is an emerging career path with diverse entry points and skillsets. Have you ever read about a science writer, filmmaker, or blogger and wondered, how in the world did they…

July 31, 2017 The Honorable Scott Pruitt Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20460 Dear Administrator Pruitt: As leaders of professional scientific societies with our collective membership of hundreds of thousands of scientists, we are writing in response to reports that you are working to develop a “red team/blue team” process that challenges climate science….

By Jane Lubchenco, Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR This article has been republished with permission from the Michigan Journal of Sustainability.  5(1) 2017 DOI: 10.3998/mjs.12333712.0005.106   As an environmental scientist, I think about the questions that you have been discussing today in light of my own experiences in the world of science, engagement, management, policy and public understanding….

In This Issue: Member Input Requested: Special Policy Forum at Portland Annual Meeting We want to hear from you. Send us questions today or by the end of this week that you would like the panelists to answer. Action Alert: Comment on Marine National Monuments and National Marine Sanctuaries by July 26 Climate Science: Pruitt and Perry Endorse “Red Team–Blue…

View the Special Policy Forum Program announcement and speakers on the ESA Annual Meeting website. In the wake of the change in administration in January, the political landscape has become more challenging to navigate for scientists seeking to conduct research and inform policy. The new administration in Washington has proposed significant cuts to federal spending on scientific research and development…

A guest post by Tyler Coverdale (Princeton University), 2017 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) recipient. This year’s six award winners traveled to Washington, D.C. at the end of April for policy experience and training. As a 2017 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award (GSPA) recipient, I traveled to Washington, D.C. in late April with five other students from around the…