Foreign Influence and Collaborations Under Scrutiny in Agencies and in the House National Defense Authorization Act<\/a><\/strong> Congress<\/a><\/strong> Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong> Courts<\/a><\/strong> States<\/a><\/strong> Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong> Federal Register Opportunities<\/a><\/strong> ESA In the News<\/a> Member Opportunities<\/a> <\/a> Highlights of the Cordova\u2019s letter include these points:<\/p>\n This letter comes as members of Congress and the administration are increasingly concerned about foreign interference in research. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), major defense policy legislation passed each year by Congress, is nearing completion with both the House and Senate versions finalized. The legislation will now be crafted into one final bill by a conference committee. The House version of the NDAA includes another bill, Securing American Science and Technology Act (H.R. 3038<\/a>) that would create a working group led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a policy framework to address the security needs of agencies and federal grant recipients. The House NDAA bill also calls for a National Academies roundtable designed to increase dialogue to balance security measures with the benefits of openness in science. Multiple societies and universities including ESA signed a letter in support of the House bill. The Senate version of the bill contains more aggressive clauses that would be restrictive. American Association of Universities President Mary Sue Coleman\u00a0published<\/a>\u00a0an op-ed in Science in support of SASTA.<\/p>\n MIT<\/a>, Yale University, Stanford and other academic institutions are issuing open statement concerning the government\u2019s attempts to restrict foreign collaboration.<\/p>\n The National Science Board is\u00a0meeting<\/a>\u00a0Jul 17-18. Research Security Initiatives will be the topic of the plenary session. NSB Member Maria Zuber will discuss MIT\u2019s\u00a0new review process<\/a>\u00a0for international research collaborations that pose an \u201celevated risk,\u201d and Association of American Universities\u2019 Toby Smith will speak about\u00a0efforts<\/a>\u00a0underway to encourage best practices for research security.<\/p>\n <\/a> The Senate passed its version of the NDAA in late June.<\/p>\n Flooding:<\/strong>\u00a0Assistant Secretary of the Army for Public Works R.D. James\u00a0told lawmakers<\/a>\u00a0that continued flooding in the Mississippi river basin prevents the agency from fully assessing flood damage and completing repairs to levees. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) questioned the Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 spending on wildlife habitat restoration, compared to spending on levee maintenance. Democrats on the committee expressed concerns about current infrastructure\u2019s ability to adapt to climate change and increased floods.<\/p>\n House Natural Resources Committee:<\/strong>\u00a0The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0to consider seven public lands bills that would collectively designate 1.5 million acres of federal wilderness areas and 1.1 million acres of conservation, recreation and restoration areas.<\/strong>\u00a0Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)\u2019s Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act (H.R. 2250<\/a>) creates eight new wilderness areas in California and expands nine existing wilderness areas. It also creates the Northwest California Public Lands Remediation Partnership to restore lands damaged by illegal marijuana growing sites. Rep. Derek Kilmer\u2019s (D-WA) Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (H.R. 2642<\/a>) designates more than 126,500 acres of the Olympic Peninsula as wilderness and 464 river miles in the peninsula as Wild and Scenic Rivers. After the bills\u2019 sponsors testified, a panel of representatives from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, affected local governments and other stakeholders joined the hearing.<\/p>\n Fisheries:\u00a0House Natural Resources\u00a0Subcommittee\u00a0on Water, Oceans and Wildlife Chairman Jared Huffman (D-CA)\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that he plans a listening tour over the next year to consider changes and improvements to the Magnuson-Stevens Act<\/strong>\u00a0before Congress reauthorizes the law in spring 2020. The Magnusson-Stevens Act is the primary U.S. law governing fisheries management. Potential topics to be covered in the listening tour include the impacts of climate change on fisheries management, ecosystem-based fisheries management and data collection.<\/p>\n Rep. Don Young (R-AK) and Rep. Jefferson van Drew (D-NJ)\u00a0introduced<\/a>their own bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act.<\/strong>\u00a0Young and van Drew\u2019s legislation includes changes to give state and local governments more power in managing fisheries. Similar legislation passed the House in 2018, largely with Republican support.<\/p>\n Climate:\u00a0Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0a resolution declaring a climate emergency, which \u201cdemands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and address its consequences and causes.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0National legislatures in Canada, the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, as well as 740 local governments, have passed similar measures declaring a climate emergency. The resolution is nonbinding and, if passed, it would not require the government to take any specific actions on climate change.<\/p>\n Separately, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 15 Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate\u00a0reintroduced<\/a>\u00a0the Climate Risk Disclosure Act (S. 2075<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs<\/a>). This bill would require publicly traded companies to disclose information to investors and the public about the climate-related risks the company faces and how the company contributes to climate change. Warren introduced similar legislation in fall 2018. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), Rep. Matthew Cartwright (D-PA) and Ocasio-Cortez introduced the House version of the bill (H.R. 3623<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Financial Services<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0Energy and Commerce<\/a>). The House Financial Services Committee discussed a draft version of the bill in a subcommittee hearing<\/a>\u00a0July 10.<\/p>\n House Science Committee:<\/strong>\u00a0The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and the Subcommittee on Environment will hold a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0on the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s advisory committees Tuesday, July 16. Witnesses include a representative of the Government Accountability Office and three former members of EPA advisory committees.<\/p>\n Republican Party:<\/strong>\u00a0Members of Congress\u00a0formed<\/a>\u00a0the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus, a group dedicated to conservative approaches to environmental issues.<\/strong>\u00a0Leaders said during a news conference that the group would focus on nonregulatory solutions and mentioned issues such as ocean pollution, public lands protection, clean air and clean water. The group\u2019s Senate co-chairs are Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) lead the group in the House.<\/p>\n Legislative updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n See ESA\u2019s\u00a0Legislative Tracker<\/a>\u00a0for more updates on legislation relevant to the ecological community.<\/p>\n <\/a> Meanwhile, a National Security Council plan to critically review climate science is on\u00a0indefinite hold<\/a>, due to internal opposition to the plan and reelection concerns.<\/strong>\u00a0William Happer, a National Security Council adviser and retired Princeton physicist, has been pushing to revive former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt\u2019s idea for a \u201cred team, blue team\u201d climate debate since March 2019.<\/p>\n EPA:<\/strong>\u00a0Two letters<\/a>\u00a0from the Pacific Northwest Regional Office to the Army Corps of Engineers conclude that the Corps\u2019 draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, AK likely \u201cunderestimates impacts and risks to\u2026 water quality, wetlands, aquatic resources and air quality\u201d and that the project will likely not comply with the Clean Water Act.<\/strong>\u00a0The letter addressing the Clean Water Act declares the Bristol Bay watershed \u201caquatic resources of national importance,\u201d meaning that the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps will need to negotiate further before the EPA will allow the project to proceed under the Clean Water Act. In particular, the EPA highlights the potential impact of the project on the region\u2019s salmon fishery.<\/p>\n It is unclear how these letters will impact the mine\u2019s construction. In June, the EPA\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that it is reconsidering 2014 restrictions on mining waste discharge in the Bristol Bay watershed. Around the same time, the House approved an amendment to a 2020 spending bill that would prohibit the Army Corps of Engineers from completing an environmental impact statement for Pebble Mine. This would effectively stop the agency from issuing a permit to build the mine if this provision is included in the final FY 2020 spending bill passed by both the House and the Senate.<\/p>\n NOAA:<\/strong>\u00a0The Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary\u00a0will become<\/a>\u00a0the first new national marine sanctuary since 2000.<\/strong>\u00a0The 18-square mile area 40 miles south of Washington, DC features around 200 shipwrecks dating as far back as the Civil War, including about 100 wood steamships built during World War I.<\/p>\n State Department:<\/strong>\u00a0Rod Schoonover, an analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research,\u00a0resigned<\/a>\u00a0from the agency, a month after White House officials intervened to censure his testimony about the national security implications of climate change before the House Intelligence Committee.<\/strong>\u00a0Ultimately, the White House allowed Schoonover to testify at the committee hearing but blocked the State Department from submitting his written testimony. The Washington Post reports that Schoonover left voluntarily. Schoonover worked for the State Department for around 10 years and is a former professor of chemistry and biochemistry.<\/p>\n USDA:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)\u00a0will not <\/a>collect quarterly\u00a0data for its Honey Bee Colonies report.<\/strong>\u00a0An\u00a0agency notice<\/a> announcing the change says that this decision was \u201cnecessary given available fiscal and program resources.\u201d NASS began collecting data in 2015 and was a part of the Obama administration\u2019s efforts to protect pollinators. CNN reports that this is the third bee-related USDA survey stopped since the beginning of the Trump administration. A USDA representative said that the suspension is temporary.<\/p>\n USFS:<\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0new report, \u201cGreen Readiness, Response and Recovery: A Collaborative Synthesis<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0from Forest Service scientists\u00a0offers accounts of environmental stewardship that served as a springboard to collective recovery and resilience after destruction caused by anything from hurricanes to violence to invasive insects.<\/p>\n USGS:<\/strong>\u00a0E&E News\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that officials at the U.S. Geological Survey removed mentions of climate change from a March 2019 press release publicizing a study about flooding, sea level rise and climate change in California.<\/strong>\u00a0Scientists told E&E that press releases about climate science are often altered and can take up to six months to be approved.<\/p>\n <\/a> Dusky Gopher Frog:<\/strong> The federal government and private landowners, including timber company Weyerhauser, settled<\/a> a yearslong lawsuit over protections for the endangered dusky gopher frog.<\/strong> In the settlement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to reverse its 2012 decision to designate a 1,500-acre area as critical habitat for the species. The parties to the lawsuit also agreed that the case cannot be used as legal precedent in any future court cases. The dusky gopher frog does not currently live in this area, but USFWS previously argued that the area would be important if the frog\u2019s population recovers. The Supreme Court considered this case and returned it to a lower court in fall 2018.<\/p>\n <\/a> Great Lakes:<\/strong> The governors of the Great Lakes states, as well as the premiers of Ontario and Quebec, approved<\/a> a resolution<\/a> supporting the Army Corps of Engineers\u2019 Brandon Road Lock and Dam project, which aims to prevent invasive Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The resolution urges Congress to authorize and appropriate funding for the $778 million dollar project as soon as possible.<\/p>\n Montana:<\/strong> Governor Steve Bullock (D) signed<\/a> an executive order creating a Montana Climate Solutions Council. This group is tasked with drafting a plan for the state to reach net greenhouse gas neutrality for average annual electric loads by 2035 and issuing a \u201cMontana Climate Solutions Plan.\u201d At an event announcing the council\u2019s formation, Bullock also announced that the state will join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group of U.S. states and cities committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Montana is the 25th<\/sup> state to join this group.<\/p>\n <\/a> Climate Emergency:<\/strong> Sixty-three colleges and universities from across the world and 27 higher education networks signed on to a letter<\/a>\u00a0declaring a climate emergency. The letter commits the institutions to reaching carbon neutrality by 2030 or 2050 at the latest, mobilizing resources for \u201caction-oriented climate change research and skills creation\u201d and increasing the delivery of environmental and sustainability education. The U.N. Environment Program\u2019s Youth and Education Alliance, the U.K.\u2019s Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education and the U.S-based organization Second Nature organized the letter. Over 400 colleges and universities in the U.S. participate in Second Nature\u2019s Climate Leadership Network.<\/p>\n <\/a> Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n Visit this page on ESA\u2019s website for updates on opportunities from the Federal Register<\/a>,\u00a0including upcoming meetings and regulations open for public comment.<\/p>\n <\/a>
\nNSF issues \u2018Dear Colleague\u2019 letter addressing foreign interference in research.<\/p>\n
\nHouse passes 2020 National Defense Authorization Act including and foreign interference in science provision.<\/p>\n
\nA White House plan to critically review climate science in on indefinite hold.<\/p>\n
\nFederal government settles dusky gopher frog case that reached the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
\nGov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) vetoes funding for the University of Alaska system, cutting state funding by 41%.<\/p>\n
\nUniversities and higher education networks sign on to letter declaring a climate emergency.<\/p>\n
\nUpcoming meetings and other opportunities for public involvement.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>View an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Apply to join the Rapid Response Team.<\/p>\nForeign Influence and Collaborations under Scrutiny in Agencies and in the House National Defense Authorization Act<\/h2>\n
\nThe National Science Foundation (NSF) is banning its personnel and rotators from participation in foreign talent recruitment programs such as China\u2019s Thousand Talents program to prevent foreign government espionage to steal intellectual property. NSF Director France Cordova announced the new policy Friday, July 12, in a \u2018Dear Colleague\u2019\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0press release<\/a>. The Department of Energy recently\u00a0issued<\/a>\u00a0a similar announcement barring employees from such programs.<\/p>\n\n
Congress<\/h2>\n
\nNDAA<\/strong>:\u00a0The House passed its version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, an annual \u2018must pass\u2019 bill that sets defense policy for the next year. The final House bill includes Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ)\u2019s\u00a0Securing American Science and Technology Act (H.R. 3038<\/a>)\u00a0<\/strong>(see above),<\/strong>which creates a working group, led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to develop a policy framework to address the security needs of agencies and federal grant recipients.\u00a0Lawmakers also approved climate and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) amendments to the bill:<\/p>\n\n
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Executive Branch<\/h2>\n
\nWhite House:\u00a0President Donald Trump\u00a0gave a speech<\/a>\u00a0highlighting his environmental record in the lead up to the official launch of his 2020 presidential campaign.<\/strong>\u00a0The Trump campaign said that polling data suggested that the environment was a weak area for the administration and could cause the President to lose support from some key demographics and voters in Florida. Trump touted his administration\u2019s record in clean air, clean water and marine debris and did not mention climate change or efforts to roll back environmental regulations, such as the Clean Power Plan and the Obama administration\u2019s Clean Water Rule. A\u00a0fact check<\/a>\u00a0by the New York Times found that many of the president\u2019s statements were misleading and recent progress on environmental quality could largely be attributed to efforts predating the Trump administration.<\/p>\nCourts<\/h2>\n
\nCalifornia Gnatcatcher:<\/strong> A federal judge upheld<\/a> federal threatened species protections for the coastal California gnatcatcher <\/strong>and rejected a lawsuit from a coalition of property rights and homebuilder organizations contending that the birds do not constitute a separate species. The judge determined that the groups did not have sufficient standing to make this challenge. Coastal California gnatcatchers are found in coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California and Baja California.<\/p>\nStates<\/h2>\n
\nAlaska: Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) vetoed<\/a> a provision in the state government\u2019s budget, cutting state funding to the University of Alaska System by 41%.<\/strong> University administrators said that the cuts will lead to the elimination of academic programs and mass layoffs of employees, including tenured faculty members and imperil universities\u2019 accreditation status.\u00a0 Already, thousands of students were notified that they will no longer receive state scholarships. An effort to override Dunleavy\u2019s veto failed.<\/p>\nScientific Community<\/h2>\n
\nEurope:\u00a0The European Union Commission increased funding for Horizon 2020, the continent\u2019s flagship research funding program, by 6.4%.<\/strong>If the budget is approved by EU member states, as much as 21% of the EU\u2019s research budget could be directed towards climate change research.<\/p>\nFederal Register Opportunities<\/h2>\n
\nPublic Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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ESA In the News<\/strong><\/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<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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