\u00a0<\/p>\n
Congress<\/a> Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong> Courts<\/a><\/strong> States<\/a><\/strong> International<\/a><\/strong> Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong> Federal Register Opportunities<\/a><\/strong> Register to Vote & Request an Absentee Ballot<\/a><\/strong> ESA In the News<\/u><\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n Secret Science Hearing:<\/strong>\u00a0The Senate Environment\u00a0and Public Works Committee\u00a0\u00a0Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management and Regulatory Oversight held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0on the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) proposed rule \u201cStrengthening Transparency\u00a0in\u00a0Regulatory Science.\u201d The rule is also referred to as the \u201csecret science rule.\u201d If finalized, the rule would prohibit the EPA\u00a0from using studies\u00a0in\u00a0regulatory decisions where the underlying\u00a0data\u00a0are not\u00a0publicly\u00a0available.\u00a0Subcommittee\u00a0Chairman\u00a0Mike Rounds (R-SD) expressed concerns that the\u00a0EPA\u00a0is using \u201cscience that supports a predetermined policy outcome.\u201d Rounds is the sponsor of\u00a0the Senate\u00a0version of the HONEST\u00a0Act\u00a0(S. 1794), the legislative version of the\u00a0EPA\u2019s transparency rule. Ranking Member Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that the proposed rule was likely to \u201chinder science-based regulation.\u201d Rush Holt, the\u00a0CEO\u00a0of the\u00a0American\u00a0Association\u00a0for the Advancement of Science, testified that the rule is a disguised attempt to loosen regulations.<\/p>\n Before the Committee hearing, ESA submitted\u00a0a letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Environment and Public Works Committee reiterating ESA\u2019s opposition to the secret science rule.<\/p>\n Legislative Updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Interior Department: Secret Science<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed an\u00a0order<\/a>\u00a0entitled \u201cPromoting Open Science\u201d that encourages Interior employees to heavily prioritize \u201cpublicly available, reproducible, peer-reviewed science.\u201d Employees must explain if scientific conclusions are not supported by publicly available data, have not been peer-reviewed or are not reproducible.<\/p>\n Interior Department: Yellowstone Mining:<\/strong>\u00a0Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke finalized a mining ban on 30,000 acres of the national forest land in Montana, immediately north of the only year-round entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The Obama administration originally proposed this ban in 2016. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee have both sponsored legislation making this ban permanent.<\/p>\n USGS:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine released a water research priorities and recommendations\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0for the USGS Water Mission Area. The report identifies priority research questions for the USGS about water quality and quantity, climate change and human activities impacts on water, and improving water accounting and water-related risk management. The authors also provide recommendations for the Water Mission Area on how to address these topics.<\/p>\n USFWS: Razorback Sucker:<\/strong>\u00a0The agency\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0in the Federal Register that it will upgrade the status of the razorback sucker from an endangered species to threatened. The Razorback sucker is only found in the Colorado River and in the 1980s, the fish species had dwindled to around 100 individuals. Today, there are over 55,000 razorback suckers.<\/p>\n USFWS: New Proposed Threatened Species:<\/strong>\u00a0The agency is proposing to list four new species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. All of these proposed rules include a section 4(d) rule, which would allow incidental take of the species under certain circumstances. The following species are proposed for protections:<\/p>\n USFWS is accepting public comments on all of these proposed listings in the Federal Register through Dec. 10, 2018.<\/p>\n USFS<\/strong>: The U.S. Forest Service released a\u00a0draft environmental impact statement<\/a>\u00a0(EIS) and proposed amendments to land management plans for national forests within the sage grouse\u2019s range in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. This draft EIS comes after Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed modifying its 2015 sage grouse conservation plans last summer. Similar to the BLM\u2019s modified plans, the Forest Service\u2019s proposed preferred alternative removes the sage grouse focal area designation in conservation plans. These areas will still be protected as priority habitat management area \u2013 but the preferred alternative reduces the total number of acres designed as priority habitat management areas by 330,000 acres.<\/p>\n NHTSA:<\/strong>\u00a0A draft environmental impact statement\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in support of the Trump administration\u2019s decision to freeze emissions standards for cars and trucks. It concludes that the planet will warm seven degrees by 2100 and that efforts to reduce emissions and slow the speed of climate change are unnecessary because the earth\u2019s fate is \u201calready sealed.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n HFCs Phaseout:\u00a0<\/strong>The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to review a decision by a lower court that struck down an EPA rule that phased out the use of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs). Environmentalists\u00a0and two companies that manufacture HFC-replacements had appealed the case to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Grand Canyon:\u00a0<\/strong>The U.S. Supreme Court\u00a0declined<\/a>\u00a0to hear a case brought by mining interest groups challenging the Interior Department\u2019s 2012 ban on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon. With this decision, an appeals court decision upholding the mining ban remains in place.<\/p>\n Canyons and Seamounts Monument:<\/strong>\u00a0A federal judge\u00a0rejected<\/a>\u00a0complaints from fishing groups and upheld former President Obama\u2019s decision to protect the Canyons and Seamounts National Monument off the coast of New England.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Oregon:\u00a0<\/strong>Governor Kate Brown (D)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0legislation entitled the Oregon Environmental Protection Act that seeks to counterbalance the Trump administration\u2019s environmental rollbacks. The bill prohibits the state from loosening air and water quality regulations that were in effect before the inauguration of President Trump. Brown is currently running for re-election.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Dire\u2019 Report on Climate Change:\u00a0<\/strong>The International Panel on\u00a0Climate Change\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0a new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0concluding\u00a0that\u00a0absent\u00a0unprecedented\u00a0actions to slow greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere\u00a0will\u00a0warm to\u00a02.7-degrees Fahrenheit above\u00a0preindustrial\u00a0levels by 2040. The report finds that the\u00a0earth\u00a0is warming faster than previously predicted and a\u00a02.7-degrees F\u00a0temperature increase\u00a0will\u00a0result\u00a0in\u00a0widespread\u00a0flooding, droughts\u00a0andpoverty.<\/p>\n Arctic\u00a0Fishing:<\/strong>\u00a0Representatives of nine countries, including the U.S. and Canada, and the EU\u00a0signed<\/a>\u00a0a moratorium prohibiting commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean. There is currently no commercial fishing in the Arctic, but companies are considering fishing in the area as viable because of ice melt caused by the warming climate that eases ship navigation. The moratorium is in effect for the next five years and the agreement includes a scientific monitoring program to establish a baseline understanding of the Arctic\u2019s marine ecosystem. The results of the monitoring program will be used to determine whether to extend to the moratorium.<\/p>\n <\/a> Red\u00a0Wolf Study:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will hold two webinars as part of its study of the taxonomic status of the red wolf and the Mexican gray wolf, commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One webinar will examine \u201cCriteria for Determining a Subspecies<\/a>\u201d Oct. 19 and another is titled \u201cUnder Species Hybridization.<\/a>\u00a0The recording of the first public meeting on the study is also\u00a0online<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/a> Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n Visit this page on ESA\u2019s blog for updates on opportunities from the Federal Register<\/strong><\/a>, including upcoming meetings and regulations open for public comment.<\/p>\n <\/a> If you are not able to vote in person in November, you can request an absentee ballot. Deadlines and requirements vary by state. Visit your state board of elections website or Vote.org<\/a> for deadlines and to request a ballot.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> ESA\u2019s policy activities work to infuse ecological knowledge into national policy decisions through activities such as policy statements, Capitol Hill briefings, Congressional Visits Days, and coalition involvement. Policy News Updates are bi-monthly summaries of major environmental and science policy news. They are produced by the Public Affairs Office of the Ecological Society of America.<\/p>\n Send questions or comments to\u00a0 Alison Mize, director of public affairs,\u00a0Alison@esa.org<\/a>\u00a0or Nicole Zimmerman, public affairs manager,\u00a0Nicole@esa.org<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hold hear on EPA\u2019s secret science rule.<\/p>\n
\nInterior Department issues it\u2019s own \u2018secret science policy\u2019; Forest Service releases sage grouse amendments.<\/p>\n
\nCourts uphold Atlantic marine national monument; uranium ban near the Grand Canyon.<\/p>\n
\nOregon governor touts plan to counteract Trump\u2019s environmental rollbacks.<\/p>\n
\nIPCC releases climate change report.<\/p>\n
\nNAS launches red wolf study.<\/p>\n
\nUpcoming meetings and other opportunities for public involvement.<\/p>\n
\n2018 midterm elections are happening in November.\u00a0\u00a0Register to vote and learn more about voting policies and rights in your state at Rock the Vote.<\/a><\/p>\n
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage<\/p>\nCongress<\/h2>\n
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Executive Branch<\/h2>\n
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Courts<\/strong><\/h2>\n
States<\/strong><\/h2>\n
International<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Scientific Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nHarrassment Bill<\/strong>:\u00a0Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, introduced the\u00a0Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act of 2018<\/a>\u00a0(H.R. 7031<\/a>), which would research efforts to better understand the causes and consequences of sexual harassment affecting individuals in the scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematics workforce, including students and trainees. The legislation, if enacted into law, would establish an interagency working group to coordinate federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment involving grant personnel to be chaired by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology (OSTP). The National Academies would be tasked with updating its \u201dOn Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research,\u201d and reporting its findings to the House Science Committee.<\/p>\nFederal Register Opportunities<\/h2>\n
\nPublic Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:<\/p>\n\n
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Register to Vote<\/h2>\n
\nThe 2018 midterm elections are happening this November. On a national level, all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate will be contested. Several state governorships and many other state and local elections will also be contested. Be sure you are registered to vote in time to participate!\u00a0Learn more about voting policies and rights in your state and register to vote at Rock the Vote<\/a>, a nonprofit dedicated to engaging young people in politics.<\/p>\nESA In the News<\/h2>\n
\nESA regularly issues press releases to the media about journal articles and other Society news. Press coverage is kept up-to-date on our \u201cIn the News\u201d page.\u00a0Check out news stories here.<\/a><\/p>\nESA Correspondence to Policymakers<\/h2>\n
\nView\u00a0letters and testimony from ESA\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n