In This Issue: U.S. to Exit Paris Climate Accord President withdraws from global deal Agency Heads Defend Paris Withdrawal, Question Climate Change Support for withdrawal from Zinke, Pruitt ESA Statement on U.S. Exit from Paris Agreement Statement from ESA president condemns withdrawal Quick Reads ESA member action alert, NSF DDIGs discontinued, hearing on NSF grant costs, EPA rule delays, DOI…

June 8,  2017 France Córdova Director National Science Foundation James Olds Assistant Director, Bio Directorate National Science Foundation   Dear Director Córdova and Assistant Director Olds: The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is the world’s largest society of professional ecologists representing over 10,000 members across the country. We write to urge the National Science Foundation (NSF) to keep the Doctoral…

Ask your Members of Congress to restore funding for science Dear ESA Member: As you may know, President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget request sent to Congress cuts research accounts across federal agencies and would devastate America’s scientific enterprise. We are hearing from Hill staff that they are not receiving comments about the administration’s budget request or specific funding…

Peter Macreadie, head of the Blue Carbon Lab at Deakin University, shares this Frontiers Focus on strategies for managing tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrass ecosystems to more efficiently capture and store carbon.  His Concepts & Questions article appeared in the May 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. Five years ago the marine science world gave birth to a new term: “blue carbon,” which was created…

  By withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the United States is abdicating its role as the world leader in using science-based information to inform policy. Business, political, and scientific leaders the world over are condemning the decision. More than 190 signatory nations agreed to take actions towards reducing future temperature increases and addressing the serious threats posed…

In This Issue: President Releases FY 2018 Budget Request Proposes huge cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, especially science and environmental funding Congressional Review Act, Record 14 Rules Overturned Only used once before, actions could chill rulemaking for decades President Announces Additional Agency Nominees Industry lobbyist for Deputy Secretary of the Interior, EPA enforcement officer, rumored USDA research nominee Coast Guard…

In dry southern Morocco, domesticated goats climb to the precarious tippy tops of native argan trees to find fresh forage. Local herders occasionally prune the bushy, thorny trees for easier climbing and even help goat kids learn to climb. During the bare autumn season, goats spend three quarters of their foraging time “treetop grazing.” Spanish ecologists from the Estación Biológica…

The Ecological Society of America recognizes Julienne E. NeSmith for an outstanding student research presentation at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in August 2016. ESA will present the awards during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, August 7, at 8 AM in the Oregon Ballroom at the Oregon…

The Ecological Society of America recognizes Michael J.M. McTavish for an outstanding student research presentation at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Society in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in August 2016. ESA will present the awards during the 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, August 7, at 8 AM in the Oregon Ballroom at the…

This issue of Policy News concludes ESA’s series of special editions covering the US Presidential Transition. With many vacant positions remaining in the new administration, we will continue to report on relevant updates in our regular Policy News and monitor them in the Federal Agency Transition Tracker. In This Issue: President Trump’s Use of Executive Authority in the First 100 Days Modern…

Stephanie Green, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University, shares this Frontiers Focus on the effects of oil sands development on ocean ecosystems, from the March 2017 issue of ESA Frontiers. North America contains some of the largest sources of bitumen—a thick, sticky petroleum extracted from land-locked clay and sand deposits known as oil sands….

We are keeping you up-to-date on the appropriations process with a Federal Budget Tracker for FY 2018. We are also continuing to update our Federal Agency Transition Tracker. In This Issue: Executive Order Reshapes Climate Policies President signs order at EPA, directs agencies to review fossil fuel actions, implications for international agreements increasingly unclear EPA Budget Funding cuts, program eliminations, and…