{"id":14516,"date":"2018-11-19T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T20:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=14516"},"modified":"2018-11-19T15:50:08","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T20:50:08","slug":"14516","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2018\/11\/19\/14516\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: November 19, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESA Policy News<\/strong><\/h1>\n

In This Issue:<\/h1>\n

NSF BIO Rescinds Proposal Submission Caps\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe National Science Foundation reverses restrictions on the numbers of grant proposal PIs can submit a year.<\/p>\n

Mid-term Elections Bring New Science and Environmental Leadership to Congress.<\/a><\/strong>
\nNew committee leaders plan hearings on climate change, propose to re-center science.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Senate passes compromise measure on ballast water discharge; Senate Energy and Natural Resources\u00a0Committee holds hearing on Park Service nominee.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong>
\nNew members of the National Science Board announced.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nCourt blocks Keystone XL construction;\u00a0Juliana<\/em>\u00a0case is temporarily on hold.<\/p>\n

States<\/a><\/strong>
\nAlabama cancels oyster harvest season; former Wisconsin DNR ecologist reports pressure to approve golf course project.<\/p>\n

International<\/a><\/strong>
\nIUCN Red List updates released.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong>
\nESA is seeking experts for an IPBES Assessment of Alien Invasive Species.<\/p>\n

Federal Register Opportunities<\/a><\/strong>
\nUpcoming meetings and other opportunities for public involvement.<\/p>\n

ESA In the News<\/a><\/strong>
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage<\/p>\n

NSF Bio Rescinds Proposal Submission Caps<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nThe National Science Foundation\u2019s Biological Sciences Directorate\u00a0announced<\/a> Nov. 15 that it is rescinding a controversial policy\u00a0that\u00a0limits the number\u00a0of proposal submissions to its core programs to one Principal Investigator (PI)\/Co-PI submission per year. This change is effective immediately and applies to grant applications in Fiscal Year 2019.<\/p>\n

NSF made the PI\/co-PI cap\u00a0policy in\u00a0mid-September 2018 fearing it would receive a flood of research proposals after BIO eliminated proposal deadlines. The scientific community strongly opposed the change, which seemed to lack supporting evidence\u00a0that the restrictions were needed.\u00a0The Ecological Society of America spearheaded an effort to rescind the policy. Twenty scientific societies joined ESA and sent a joint-society\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to NSF Director France Cordova opposing the policy. In a separate action, over 70 individual scientists a letter of objection to Director Cordova (see\u00a0ESA Policy News, November 5, 2018<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The BIO Advisory Committee met in a teleconference Nov. 16 and approved the formation a new subcommittee to review the effects of the switch to no proposal deadlines for submissions and the associated workloads for NSF and reviewers to determine if any policy changes are needed. The subcommittee will consist of current members of the BIO Advisory Committee, an NSF representative and representatives of the scientific community that BIO serves. The committee is now working to determine what communities should be represented on the subcommittee and to identify potential individual members.<\/p>\n

Science Magazine<\/em>\u00a0published an\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0highlighting ESA\u2019s involvement advocating for NSF to lift the PI cap on behalf of the ecological community.<\/p>\n

Mid-term Elections Bring New Science & Environmental Leadership to Congress<\/h2>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

House Natural Resources Committee:\u00a0<\/strong>Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is the top candidate to serve as committee chairman. Grijalva has promised to investigate corruption in the Interior Department under Secretary Ryan Zinke. As ranking member, Grijalva\u00a0criticized<\/a>\u00a0the National Park Service for removing mentions of climate change from a report on sea level rise, and the\u00a0Department of the Interior\u2019s \u2018Secret Science\u2019 policy<\/a>\u00a0(see\u00a0Policy News Oct. 22, 2018<\/a>).<\/p>\n

House Appropriations Committee:\u00a0<\/strong>Appropriators in the 116th<\/sup>\u00a0Congress could also increase or restore funding for science programs, including those concerning climate science. Current Ranking Member Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) will probably serve as the chair of the Appropriations Committee. Rep. Jose\u00a0Serrano\u00a0(D-NY), a strong supporter of NASA\u2019s earth sciences program, will serve as the chair of the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee.<\/p>\n

Climate Policy:\u00a0<\/strong>Nineteen of the 43 Republican members of the Climate Solutions Caucus, a group of lawmakers dedicated to taking action on climate\u00a0change,\u00a0either lost re-election or will retire. This number includes the caucus\u2019 Republican founder, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL). The caucus uses a \u2018Noah\u2019s Ark\u2019 approach,\u00a0which\u00a0means one Democrat and one Republican must join at the same time. The Citizen\u2019s Climate Lobby, the organization that started the caucus, said in a statement that the group will find a new Republican to co-chair the caucus and that \u201creports of the death of the Climate Solutions Caucus are greatly exaggerated.\u201d Separately, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who co-sponsored Curbelo\u2019s carbon tax legislation, said that he intends to continue Curbelo\u2019s work on climate change in the Republican caucus.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the favored candidate for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the House Democrats plan to relaunch the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Republicans disbanded this committee after they took control of the House in 2011. From 2007 to 2011, the committee held hearings on climate policy, leading to legislation creating a cap-and-trade system for CO2<\/sub>\u00a0emissions. Democrats are deliberating internally on whether this committee will have legislative jurisdiction and who will serve on this committee.<\/p>\n

Scientists in Congress:<\/strong>\u00a0Nine STEM related professionals\u00a0were elected\u00a0to Congress; eight Democrats and one Republican. The 314 Action Fund, a group dedicated to electing scientists to public office, is celebrating the victories of the eight candidates it endorsed with some scientific background. These future Members of Congress include several engineers, an ocean scientist, a dentist, a nurse who is a health policy expert, and a pediatrician.<\/p>\n

Senate:\u00a0<\/strong>Though the Senate will retain a Republican-majority, the chamber will see some movement in its committee leadership positions. Current Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-SD) will leave that position in order to become the Republican Caucus\u2019 majority whip. Commerce, Science and Transportation Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) lost his bid for re-election. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is the next highest ranking Democrat on the committee, but it is unclear if she is interested in giving up her spot as the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to serve as ranking member in the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nCoast Guard Reauthorization Act:\u00a0<\/strong>The full Senate voted to approve\u00a0S.140<\/a>. The bill includes a compromise measure that tasks the EPA with setting standards for ballast water discharges and authorizes the Coast Guard to enforce these standards. Similar legislation failed in\u00a0April,\u00a0when lawmakers tried to attach provisions that would have weakened ballast water discharges standards in Great Lakes (see\u00a0ESA Policy News, April 23, 2018<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Park Service Director Confirmation Hearing<\/strong>: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0to consider President Trump\u2019s nomination of David Vela to lead the National Park Service. In his\u00a0opening statement<\/a>, Vela highlighted his love of the national parks and his long career of working for the Park Service. Vela promised to confront the Park Service\u2019s culture of sexual harassment and fix the agency\u2019s deferred maintenance backlog. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) criticized Vela for not providing specific information on what he would do to stop harassment. Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said that she hopes to confirm Vela after the Thanksgiving recess.<\/p>\n

Forest Service Hearing:<\/strong>\u00a0The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0about sexual harassment in the U.S. Forest Service, featuring Chief Vicki Christiansen, USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong\u00a0and\u00a0former agency employee Shannon Reed. Lawmakers supported Christiansen\u2019s efforts to combat harassment, such as setting a reporting hotline and creating a Work Environment and Performance\u00a0Office,\u00a0but criticized the agency for being slow to change its culture and create consequences for perpetrators. In turn, Christiansen asked for Congress\u2019 help in \u2018untangling\u2019 a privacy law that helps shield perpetrators.<\/p>\n

Legislative updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n