The Ecological Society of America (ESA) will present its tenth annual Regional Policy Award to U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), representative of Oregon’s 1st congressional district, during the Society’s Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon in August. The award recognizes an elected or appointed local policymaker with an outstanding record of informing policy decisions with ecological science. A member of the…

In This Issue: Trump Administration Review of National Monument Designations Rapidly Continues ESA and AAAS submit comments; congressional response; public support for monuments; legal authority uncertain Waters of the United States, EPA Proposal to Rescind and Recodify EPA revising the rule in a two-step process of repeal and replace Appropriations Markups, Spending Bills Advance Subcommittees approve several spending bills for…

The 2017 Innovation in Sustainability Science Award honors Ian Donohue, Helmut Hillebrand, José M. Montoya, Owen L. Petchey, Stuart L. Pimm, Mike S. Fowler, Kevin Healy, Andrew L. Jackson, Miguel Lurgi, Deirdre McClean, Nessa E. O’Connor, Eoin J. O’Gorman, and Qiang Yang for their review and synthesis of “Navigating the complexity of ecological stability,” published in Ecology Letters in July,…

July 7, 2017   Mr. James Cason Monument Review, MS–1530 U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW. Washington, DC 20240   Dear Mr. Cason, On behalf of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Ecological Society of America (ESA), we are submitting these comments in response to the opportunity for public comments regarding the…

Awards from the Forrest Shreve Student Research Fund provide $1,000-2,000 to support ecological research by graduate or undergraduate student members of ESA in the hot deserts of North America (Sonora, Mohave, Chihuahua, and Vizcaino). Frederick Hansen, a junior majoring in Biology at New Mexico State University, received the Forrest Shreve Student award for his research into patterns of microbial life…

Submit comments to the Department of the Interior on the review of National Monuments and Marine National Monuments and to NOAA on the review of Marine National Monuments and National Marine Sanctuaries.   Dear ESA Member, We ask you to submit comments to the Department of the Interior (DOI) and NOAA on the administration’s review of National Monuments. Your expertise,…

A guest post by Anna Groves (Michigan State University), 2017 ESA Graduate Student Policy Award recipient. This year’s six award winners traveled to Washington, D.C. at the end of April for policy experience and training.    As a fifth year Ph.D. student, I spend a lot of time thinking about my future. I adore science and have loved being a…

June 27, 2017   President Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC  20500   Dear Mr. President: The undersigned science and engineering organizations are concerned about the future of scientific advice in the U.S. federal government and the presentation of scientific data and information on government websites.  There have been a number of reports regarding scientific…

In This Issue: Appropriations Hearing on National Science Foundation Fiscal Year 2018 Proposed Budget NSF director Córdova greeted with unified support of agency’s mission Appropriations Hearing on Environmental Protection Agency Fiscal Year 2018 Proposed Budget Administrator Pruitt emerges unscathed, budget in tatters Senate Hearings Examine DOI Budget for FY 2018 Zinke testifies, suggests cutting 4,000 employees for FY 2018 Quick…

The Biology Data Revolution in the Classroom By Teresa Mourad, Director of Education and Diversity Programs, ESA The volume of biology data is exploding in many different forms: numeric, geospatial, specimen, genomic, visual, and audio. What is even more exciting is that the technological innovations in computing power make it possible for nearly anyone, with a little help, to explore…

Matthew D. Moran and Maureen R. McClung are professors of biology at Hendrix College, where they collaborate with undergraduate students to study questions about how humans impact landscapes and the implications for ecosystems. They share this Frontiers Focus on estimating the ecosystem services costs of fracking in the United States, from the June 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. Since the…

Lauren Kuehne, a research scientist in the Freshwater Ecology and Conservation Lab at the University of Washington, shares this Frontiers Focus on the 1972 Clean Water Act and a review of progress and trends in freshwater assessments since the passage of this groundbreaking law, from the May 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. Stories of transformations are fascinating – especially about deserving people who…