{"id":115,"date":"2008-04-01T11:35:12","date_gmt":"2008-04-01T15:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=115"},"modified":"2008-04-01T11:35:12","modified_gmt":"2008-04-01T15:35:12","slug":"policy-news-from-esas-public-affairs-office-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2008\/04\/01\/policy-news-from-esas-public-affairs-office-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News from ESA&#8217;s Public Affairs Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>A Bi-Monthly Publication of the Ecological Society of  America<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ESA and AIBS provide federal Budget Analysis<\/li>\n<li>Action Item:\u00a0 Call-in to support federal funding for NSF in supplemental  appropriations bill<\/li>\n<li>Former CEQ staffer nominated as Assistant Interior Secretary for Water and  Science<\/li>\n<li>AGRICULTURE: Farm bill funding scramble could mean disaster for conservation  programs<\/li>\n<li>AGRICULTURE: Beekeepers push for answers to decimated bee hives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>ESA &amp; AIBS\u00a0provide\u00a0federal\u00a0Budget Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Ecological Society of America and the American Institute of Biological  Sciences teamed\u00a0up to provide an analysis of the fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget  request for biological and ecological sciences programs in the federal  government.<\/p>\n<p>The analysis, which appears as a chapter in AAAS\u2019 Report on\u00a0Research &amp;  Development in FY 2009, offers insights into recent federal policy initiatives  that affect federal funding for the biological sciences. The\u00a0analysis provides  insights into the recent funding patterns and policy directions of six federal  agencies that administer intramural and extramural research programs for the  biological sciences: the National Science Foundation, the US Department of  Agriculture, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the  Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the US Geological  Survey.\u00a0 For more information about the federal budget visit AAAS webpage <a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.aaas.org\/spp\/rd\/fy09.htm http:\/\/www.aaas.org\/spp\/rd\/fy09.htm\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aaas.org\/spp\/rd\/fy09.htm\">http:\/\/www.aaas.org\/spp\/rd\/fy09.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Action Item:\u00a0 Call-in to support federal funding for NSF in  supplemental appropriations bill<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>What:<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>A grassroots effort to encourage  additional funding for science in the Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) supplemental  appropriations bill that will soon be sent forward by the President and  considered by the Congress.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>When:<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>To have the maximum impact, individuals  (e.g. members of key scientific societies, business and university leaders,  students and others in the scientific and research community) are encouraged to  call their U.S. Representatives, U.S. Senators and the White House on:  <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Tuesday, April 8th; Wednesday, April 9th; or Thursday, April  10th.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Specific Request:<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>Urge the President and your  own Congressperson and Senators to support the inclusion of additional funding  for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the FY08 supplemental  appropriations bill. The amount added should equal the amount authorized in the  America COMPETES Act.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Whom do I contact to make this request?<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>There  are four important contacts you should make:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 20px\"><em><strong>1. <\/strong><\/em>your Representative  in the U.S. House;<br>\n<em><strong>2 &amp; 3. <\/strong><\/em>your two U.S.  Senators; and<br>\n<strong><em>4. <\/em> <\/strong>the White House at  202-456-1111.<\/p>\n<p><em> <\/em><em><strong>How do I find out the names and phone numbers of my  Representative and Senators?<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>In order to verify the name of  your local Representative and which Senators represent your state, enter your  home zip code in the Project Vote Smart Web page (<a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.votesmart.org\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.votesmart.org\/\">http:\/\/www.votesmart.org\/<\/a>).\u00a0 The Web site  will give you their names and telephone numbers for their district\/state and  Washington, D.C. offices.\u00a0 Calls can be made to either their Washington or  district\/state offices.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>To whom should I ask to speak?<br>\n<\/strong><\/em>Discuss your  concerns with the person who answers the phone. You may want to ask to speak  with the congressional staff person that deals with science and technology or  appropriations matters. For the White House, register your concerns with the  person who answers the phone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Former CEQ staffer nominated as Assistant Interior Secretary for  Water and Science <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>President Bush announced his intention the week of March 24 to nominate  Kameran Onley, a former staffer at the White House Council on Environmental  Quality (CEQ), to a senior position at the Interior Department.<\/p>\n<p>Onley, who served as Special Assistant to the CEQ Chairman, would become  Assistant Interior Secretary for Water and Science. She has held that job since  July, while also serving as Assistant Deputy Secretary since January 2006.<\/p>\n<p>Onley led the policy group that produced Bush\u2019s Ocean Action Plan, an  interagency effort to enhance leadership and coordination on ocean  management.<\/p>\n<p>At Interior, Onley has led the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force  and co-chaired the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force. She also served as the lead  Interior official in the management of the new Papahanaumokuakea Marine National  Monument in Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AGRICULTURE: Farm bill funding scramble could mean disaster for  conservation programs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Farmland conservation advocates are fighting to hang on to proposed funding  increases for the next farm bill that could be on the chopping block as  lawmakers look to fund other priorities.<\/p>\n<p>The farm bill\u2019s conservation title could lose billions of dollars from  proposed spending levels, as negotiators juggle programs and shift spending to  try to squeeze an array of priorities into a smaller overall spending number for  the bill.<\/p>\n<p>House and Senate negotiators have yet to agree on a final framework for how  to allot funding in the farm bill. They have agreed to limit spending increases  to $10 billion over the farm bill\u2019s 10-year baseline \u2014 significantly less  spending than in either the House or Senate-passed farm bill proposals from last  year.<\/p>\n<p>A funding framework that key lawmakers circulated before the two-week  congressional recess would increase conservation program by almost $5 billion  over the next decade. But a more recent draft would cut $1 billion from  conservation in favor of a bigger disaster title. It would also cut increases in  energy programs from $1 billion to $900 million.<\/p>\n<p>The baseline spending increases for conservation would not all go to  expanding programs or starting new conservation contracts. Part of the problem  for the conservation title is that two programs are expiring under the current  bill \u2014 the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program. About $2  billion is needed over the next five years just to continue the popular wetlands  conservation program.<\/p>\n<p>Conservation advocates say funding for their programs is all the more  important as crop prices reach record highs and farmers put more land in  soybean, wheat and corn rotations to try to keep up with growing demand for food  and biofuels feedstocks.<\/p>\n<p>Farm bill negotiations are heating up in April as lawmakers return from their  break and attempt to meet a looming deadline to complete work on a new bill in  the next three weeks. The most recent extension of the current farm bill expires  April 18, and President Bush has recommended Congress either finish a new bill  by that date or turn to a longer-term one-year extension to give farmers  certainty on what they can expect from farm programs for the next year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AGRICULTURE: Beekeepers push for answers to decimated bee  hives<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Farmers and beekeepers are pushing for more research into colony collapse  disorder (CCD), which in the past few years has decimated commercial bee  colonies that are transported around the country to pollinate crops.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Agriculture Department has earmarked money for researching CCD  because it says one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants,  and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers with the Agricultural Research Service within USDA are chasing  various theories about CCD.\u00a0 Among the possible causes are parasites, a virus or  pesticides or a combination of several factors.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Whannell, who cultivates 25 acres of cranberries south of Astoria,  Oregon, said a beekeeper from Washington who usually brings bees to pollinate  his crop lost 4,000 hives\u2019 worth of bees this winter out of 13,000 total  hives.<\/p>\n<p>Without the extra bees to pollinate his cranberries, Whannell said his  production would probably drop 70 percent to 80 percent.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Sources: Environment and Energy Daily, Greenwire, and Land Letter<\/p>\n<p>Send questions or comments to Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs, <a title=\"blocked::mailto:Nadine@esa.org mailto:Nadine@esa.org\" href=\"mailto:Nadine@esa.org\"><span title=\"blocked::mailto:Nadine@esa.org\">Nadine@esa.org<\/span><\/a> or Colleen  Fahey,\u00a0Science Policy Analyst, <a title=\"blocked::mailto:Colleen@esa.org\" href=\"mailto:Colleen@esa.org\">Colleen@esa.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you received Policy News from a friend and would like to receive it  directly, please send an e-mail to <a href=\"mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\">listserv@listserv.umd.edu<\/a> with the  following in the body of the message: sub ESANEWS {your first and last name}<\/p>\n<p>If you wish to unsubscribe to ESANEWS and your biweekly Policy News, send the  command \u201csignoff ESANEWS\u201d to <a title=\"blocked::mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\" href=\"mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\"><span title=\"blocked::mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\">listserv@listserv.umd.edu<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit ESA\u2019s website at <a title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\/ https:\/\/esa.org\/\" href=\"..\/..\/\"><span title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\">www.esa.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>See past editions of ESA\u2019s Policy News at <a title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\/pao\/policyNews\/ https:\/\/esa.org\/pao\/policyNews\/\" href=\"..\/..\/pao\/policyNews\/\">https:\/\/esa.org\/pao\/policyNews\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read the latest biweekly Policy News from ESA&#8217;s Public Affairs Office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecology-in-policy","category-policy-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}