104th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America convenes in Louisville, KY<\/a><\/strong> Honeybees in the Crosshairs<\/a><\/strong> Congress<\/a><\/strong> Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong> States<\/a><\/strong> International<\/a><\/strong> Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong> Federal Register Opportunities<\/a><\/strong> ESA In the News<\/a> Member Opportunities<\/a> <\/a> Karen Warkentin<\/a>,\u00a0Professor in the Biology Department and the Women\u2019s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program at Boston University, is opening the meeting\u00a0Sunday, August 11th<\/sup>\u00a0at 5:00 pm. Her plenary lecture, \u201cAll the variations matter: bridging disciplines and communities to study diversity in life history and sexual behavior,\u201d will discuss how the discovery of widespread and diverse expressions of same-sex sexual behavior in animals calls into question research based solely on the reproductive function of sexuality. Both inclusive biology, which integrates perspectives from diverse human lives, and interdisciplinary perspectives from fields such as gender studies and queer theory, can increase the variation we notice, inform the questions we ask, and broaden our understanding of nature.<\/p>\n In addition to her role at BU, Warkentin is a research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. She is an integrative biologist whose research combines ecology, evolution, development, behavior, and physiology to understand variation in life histories. Warkentin is also interested in reproductive diversity and evolved and plastic variation in sexual traits.<\/p>\n Also during the Opening Plenary, the 12th annual Regional Policy Award will be presented to Congressman John Yarmuth, chairman of the House Budget Committee and representative for Kentucky\u2019s 3rd District, for his leadership in environmental policy. The ESA award recognizes an elected or appointed local policymaker who has an outstanding record of informing policy decisions with ecological science. The event is free and open to the general public. A recording of the opening plenary will be available online after the plenary.<\/p>\n Meeting field trips will explore the meeting\u2019s theme outside the convention center. Local ESA members will lead visiting colleagues to the Thomas More University Biology Field Station for fish and algae sampling on the Ohio River.\u00a0On a walking tour of Louisville\u2019s urban waterways, participants will view sites where ecological restoration is enhancing water quality near former landfills. Other field trips present the opportunity for participants to learn about sustainable and organic agriculture on research farms, about management efforts to protect 400-year-old forests, and about how the socioeconomic gradient across the city relates to urban biodiversity.<\/p>\n A\u00a0special session<\/a>\u00a0led by\u00a0Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally<\/a>\u00a0will feature STEM professionals who have made substantive contributions to their communities through state and local government engagement, including Wyoming State Representative Chris Rothfuss, PhD (D-Albany County). For a full list of Policy Section sessions, see the\u00a0Policy Section website.<\/a><\/p>\n Visit the\u00a0Annual Meeting website.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> The EPA has called sulfoxaflor \u201cvery highly toxic\u201d to bees. In 2015, a federal judge sided with beekeeper groups and vacated the EPA\u2019s 2013 approval of sulfoxaflor. Later, the EPA restricted sulfoxaflor\u2019s use to crops that do not attract pollinators.<\/p>\n Chlorpyrifos, which is sold as Lorsban by Corteva Agriscience, is widely considered dangerous for childrens brain development and can poison bees and other nontarget insects for up to 24 hours after application. In 2015, the Obama administration announced that it would ban chlorpyrifos, but former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed that decision in 2017. The New York Times\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0in March that now-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt killed a study by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists concluding that chlorpyrifos jeopardizes the survival of 1,399 endangered species.<\/p>\n These developments come at the same time as the USDA\u00a0has <\/a>stopped collecting\u00a0honey bee and pollinator data and beekeepers\u00a0report<\/a>\u201cunprecedented losses.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0The USDA\u2019s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in July that it will not collect quarterly data for its Honey Bee Colonies report, citing \u201cavailable fiscal and program resources.\u201d The Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit affiliated with the University of Maryland, reported that beekeepers experienced their highest winter loss since the organization began collecting honey bee data 13 years ago. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, an associate professor of entomology and the president of the Bee Informed Partnership, added that the impact of last winter\u2019s high losses is compounded by the fact that the industry has already suffered a decade of high winter losses.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Appropriations<\/strong>:President Trump and congressional leaders reached a budget deal to raise the debt ceiling and boost discretionary spending for two years which permanently ends mandatory, across the board cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, known as sequestration.<\/strong>\u00a0The agreement raises defense spending by 3% and nondefense discretionary spending, which includes funding for most science agencies, by 4.5%, in fiscal year (FY) 2020. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) said that with this deal, the Senate will begin its FY 2020 appropriations process after the August recess. The Senate has been waiting for a budget agreement to start its appropriations process. The House passed 10 out of 12 required appropriations bills in June, including increases for most ecological science agencies (see\u00a0Policy News, July 1, 2019<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ESA Budget Tracker<\/a>), using a budget agreement that increased nondefense discretionary spending by 6% and increased defense spending by 2%. This agreement means that final spending levels for non-defense discretionary programs will likely be lower than the amounts specified in the House bills, but the House bills will serve as a starting point for negotiations with Senate appropriators.<\/p>\n The agreement also prohibits the use of policy riders in appropriations bills for the next two years, if both parties and the administration do not support the riders. This provision will likely stop riders in the FY 2020 House appropriations bills aimed at stopping offshore drilling, the Pebble Mine project and the relocation of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.<\/p>\n The full House approved the budget deal July 25, the Senate is expected to vote on the deal the week of July 29.<\/p>\n Harassment in Science<\/strong>:\u00a0The full House approved the Combatting Sexual Harassment in Science Act (H.R. 36<\/a>)<\/strong>. This legislation, sponsored by House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Science Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), would establish an interagency working group to coordinate federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment involving grant personnel and develop a \u201cuniform set of policy guidelines\u201d for addressing harassment. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) introduced the Senate version of this bill (S. 1067<\/a>) in April. The Senate has not acted on this bill.<\/p>\n Espionage in Science:<\/strong>\u00a0Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Secure American Research Act (S. 2133<\/a>) July 16. This bill is largely similar to Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ)\u2019s Securing American Science and Technology Act (SASTA,\u00a0H.R. 3038<\/a>), which is included in the House version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. It requires directs the White House Office of Science and Technology to create an interagency working group tasked with developed a policy framework to address the security needs of agencies and federal grant recipients. Both the House and Senate bills call for a National Academies of Science roundtable designed to increase dialogue to balance security measures with the benefits of openness in science. Cornyn and Rosen\u2019s bill includes additional provisions to require the working group to develop policies for sharing records about scientists determined to be \u201cknowingly fraudulent in disclosure of foreign interests, investments, or involvement relating to federal research.\u201d The Senators also require the working group to develop cybersecurity guidelines for protecting research from theft or espionage.<\/p>\n In June, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0the Protect Our Universities Act (S. 1879<\/a>), which takes a more aggressive approach than SASTA or Cornyn and Rosen\u2019s bill. Hawley\u2019s bill subjects students from Iran, Russia and China to background checks before they can participate in \u201csensitive research projects,\u201d as determined by a Department of Homeland Security-led interagency taskforce.<\/p>\n Similarly, Republicans on the House Science Committee, led by Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), introduced a bill (H.R. 3611<\/a>) creating a pilot program for a network of secure computing enclaves for use by federally funded researchers. Babin and his co-sponsors cite the threats of foreign espionage as motivating this bill.<\/p>\n These developments come amid increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and federal agencies about foreign espionage in science (see ESA Policy News, July 15<\/a>) and push back from prominent members of the scientific community. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, the president of the Royal Society \u2013 the U.K\u2019s national academy of science,\u00a0writes in Nature<\/a>\u00a0that reports of unfair treatment of Chinese scientists are \u201cextremely concerning\u201d and \u201cmorally objectionable.\u201d Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan that concerns about international students and scholars are \u201cdriving anxiety and fear on our campuses and undermining the impact of our critical work.\u201d<\/p>\n Scientific Integrity:<\/strong>\u00a0The House Science Committee held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0to review scientific integrity in federal agencies and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)\u2019s Scientific Integrity Act (H.R. 1709<\/a>).<\/strong>\u00a0Tonko\u2019s legislation codifies a 2010 memorandum on scientific integrity issued by former Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren. John Neumann of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented the results of a federal agencies scientific integrity GAO study. This report found that all of the agencies included in their review have scientific integrity policies and most have taken steps to achieve the goals of their scientific integrity policies, but five of the nine agencies, including NOAA and USGS have not monitored and evaluated the implementation of their scientific integrity policies. Michael Halpern of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Joel Clement, a former Interior Department official who resigned in protest of the administration\u2019s climate policies, testified in support of the bill. Science-policy expert Roger Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado, Boulder said that the legislation was a good start and offered suggestions to improve the bill.<\/p>\n The vast majority of House Democrats \u2014 208 members \u2014 are co-sponsors of the bill. The bill has no Republican co-sponsors \u2013 several Republican committee members expressed support for scientific integrity in general and Tonko said that he looks forward to Republicans joining the bill.<\/p>\n Separately, the House Natural Resources Committee held\u00a0another hearing<\/a>\u00a0on scientific integrity in the Interior Department with testimony from Clement, Andrew Rosenberg of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Daren Bakst of the conservative Heritage Foundation and Maria Caffrey, a former University of Colorado, Boulder scientist whose report on sea level rise was censored by the National Park Service.<\/p>\n Botany Bill:<\/strong>\u00a0A House Natural Resources subcommittee held a\u00a0hearing<\/a>\u00a0to consider Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL)\u2019s Botanical Sciences and Native Plant Materials Research, Restoration and Promotion Act (H.R. 1572<\/a>), also known as the\u00a0Botany Bill<\/a>. The bill aims to promote native plants by creating grant programs for botanical research and rare plant conservation in the Department of Interior and codifying policies that provide preference to native plants in land management programs. It also authorizes the Department of the Interior to hire additional personnel with botanical expertise and creates a student loan repayment program for botanists. A representative of the U.S. Forest Service said that the bill is duplicative of existing programs and efforts. Wayne Padgett, a retired vegetation ecologist, who worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, testified in support of the bill.<\/p>\n Office of Science and Technology Policy:<\/strong>\u00a0Director Kelvin Droegmeier made his first appearance on Capitol Hill in his current role, appearing before the House Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee.\u00a0Droegmeier confirmed that he agrees with the scientific consensus on climate change and said that plans to form a White House committee to critically review climate science have not materialized.<\/strong>\u00a0He also told Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) that he is happy to work with Congress on scientific integrity issues, including the Scientific Integrity Act.<\/p>\n Climate:<\/strong>\u00a0House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and committee members Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0that the committee plans to adopt a target of carbon neutrality by 2050. This target will be followed by supporting legislation, which will be introduced by the end of 2019.<\/p>\n Carbon Tax:<\/strong>\u00a0Lawmakers introduced two new carbon tax measures.<\/strong>\u00a0In the House, a measure\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) would impose a $30 tax per metric ton of carbon emitted with a target of a 42% reduction in carbon emissions from the energy sector by 2030. The legislation (H.R. 4058<\/a>) would prevent additional regulations on power plants as long as the electricity sector meets this target. In the Senate, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0another bill (S. 2284<\/a>) that would impose a fee on oil, gas and coal and aims to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2050.<\/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> Transparency:\u00a0A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) bill July 23 to directly challenge an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy implemented earlier designed to restrict the release of information to the public.<\/strong> EPA Administrator\u00a0Andrew Wheeler introduced the agency\u2019s new FOIA policy in late June without a public comment period which\u00a0gives political appointees the authority<\/a><\/p>\n to \u201cissue final determinations whether to release or withhold\u201d document requests.\u00a0The Hill reported that Senate Judiciary Committee members Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said the Open and Responsive Government Act of 2019\u00a0(S. 2220<\/a>)\u00a0is intended \u201cto reverse recent developments that undermine the public\u2019s right to access information and hold government accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n During the government shutdown in December,\u00a0the Interior Department proposed a new FOIA policy<\/a>\u00a0that would allow political officials to review documents related to them before being released to the public and withhold public documents from being released. Interior\u2019s Inspector General is investigating the process.<\/p>\n Agency relocations:<\/strong>\u00a0The Interior Department announced that around 250 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees currently based in Washington, DC will be reassigned to locations around the western U.S by 2020.<\/strong>\u00a0Twenty-seven positions will go to Grand Junction, CO, which will be the agency\u2019s new headquarters. A total of 85 jobs will go to Colorado and another 175 jobs will go to other western states. Around 60 positions will remain in DC. This announcement is part of former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke\u2019s larger plan to reorganize the department and is intended to bring agency decision-makers closer to the public lands that they manage. The BLM has 9,454 full-time employees total and 99% of BLM lands are in the western U.S.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the USDA\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that most National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Economic Research Service employees slated to move to the Kansas City metropolitan area have not accepted the agency\u2019s offer to relocation. Seventy-three NIFA employees said that they plan to relocate, 151 employees either declined to relocate or did not tell the agency their intentions.<\/p>\n NOAA:<\/strong>\u00a0Under a provision of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2017,\u00a0the agency is\u00a0looking for public comments<\/a>\u00a0on how it should define a harmful algal bloom event of national significance.<\/strong>\u00a0A declaration of a harmful algal bloom of national significance would allow NOAA to transfer funds to state and local governments for response. Comments are due Sept. 9, 2019. Under the law, NOAA is responsible for harmful algal blooms in marine and coastal areas while the EPA handles harmful algal blooms in freshwater.<\/p>\n USDA:<\/strong>\u00a0Politico\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that the agency \u2018buried\u2019 a 2017 climate resilience plan and did not release the plan publicly, as originally intended. The plan was intended to update a\u00a02010 climate change science plan<\/a>\u00a0and identify science needs over the next five to eight years.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> Missouri<\/strong>: The University of Missouri\u00a0received funding<\/a>\u00a0to create a Missouri Science and Technology Policy Fellows program. This program will bring Ph.D. scientists to the state Legislature to inform evidence-based policy decisions in Missouri. The program will be similar to California\u2019s science and technology policy fellowship.<\/p>\n <\/a> Argentina<\/strong>:\u00a0The country\u2019s Supreme Court is\u00a0considering<\/a>\u00a0designating South American jaguars as \u2018nonhuman persons.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0Authorities estimate that less than 250 jaguars remain in the country. The species\u2019 decline is attributed to widespread habitat loss.<\/p>\n <\/a> Law:\u00a0\u00a0Federal prosecutors in Louisiana\u00a0dropped<\/a>\u00a0a case against two Tulane University coastal scientists, Ehab Meselhe and Kelin Hu. Both scientists worked at a nonprofit, the Water Institute of the Gulf, which alleged that Meselhe and Hu took a copy of a proprietary computer model of the Mississippi River basin illegally when they left the organization.\u00a0<\/strong>Meselhe argued that the model is in the public domain because it was developed under contract with a state agency, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.<\/p>\n US-Mexico Border:<\/strong>\u00a0Scientists and conservationists working on the US-Mexico border\u00a0tell Public Radio International<\/a>\u00a0that increased security at the border combined with racial profiling, restrictions on travel to Mexico and difficulties transporting samples has hampered their work in borderland ecosystems<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Knauss Fellowship<\/strong>: The National Sea Grant College Program\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0the 2020 finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. The fellows will be placed in congressional or executive branch offices this fall and start their fellowships in February\u00a02020.<\/p>\n NASEM:\u00a0<\/strong>The National Science Foundation and the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine\u00a0are looking for community input<\/a>\u00a0for the first decadal assessment on the future of biological physics research. NASEM is currently\u00a0accepting nominations<\/a>\u00a0of individuals with relevant scientific and technical expertise to serve on the decadal committee and will begin consideration of nominations Aug. 6, 2019.<\/p>\n <\/a> Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMeeting plenaries and symposia explore the meeting theme \u201cBridging Communities and Ecosystems: Inclusion as an Ecological Imperative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nEPA affirms the use of the pesticides chlorpyrifos and sulfoxaflor.<\/p>\n
\nWhite House, Congressional leaders reach an agreement to boost nondefense discretionary spending by 4.5%, end sequestration.<\/p>\n
\nInterior Department moves Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado, most National Institute of Food and Agriculture employees refuse relocation to Kansas City.<\/p>\n
\nUniversity of Alaska declares financial exigency following a severe reduction in state funding.<\/p>\n
\nIUCN updates its Red List.<\/p>\n
\nNSF BIO announces its intent to compete the contract for the management of the National Ecological Observatory Network.<\/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>\n104th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America convenes in Louisville, KY<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nEnvironmental scientists, educators, and policymakers will gather at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY, Aug. 11-16, for the 104th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Ecologists from around the world attend the five-day conference. Registration is open\u00a0online<\/a>, and walk-in registration will also be available. Meeting plenaries and symposia explore the meeting theme \u201cBridging Communities and Ecosystems: Inclusion as an Ecological Imperative.\u201d<\/p>\nHoneybees in the Crosshairs<\/h2>\n
\nThe Environmental Protection Agency affirmed the use of the pesticides chlorpyrifos and sulfoxaflor, despite ecological and human health risks and honey bee colony losses associated with their use.<\/strong>\u00a0The agency declined a petition from environmental groups and seven states to cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos and approved the expanded use of sulfoxaflor, reversing earlier restrictions on the pesticide\u2019s use. The EPA\u00a0released new tolerances<\/a>\u00a0for sulfoxaflor July 24.<\/p>\nCongress<\/h2>\n
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Executive Branch<\/h2>\n
\nNominations:\u00a0President Trump formally renominated Aurelia Skipwith to be the director of the\u00a0U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\u00a0<\/strong>Trump originally nominated Skipwith in October 2018 \u2013 the Senate did not approve her nomination before the end of the 115th Congress in January. Skipwith has served as the deputy undersecretary for fish, wildlife and parks in the Interior Department since 2017. Previously, she worked for Monsanto for six years. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the beginning of the Trump administration.<\/p>\nStates<\/h2>\n
\nAlaska:<\/strong>\u00a0The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted to declare a\u00a0financial exigency<\/a>\u00a0after Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) cut state funding for the university system by 41% in early July. The Board of Regents\u2019 vote allows university administrators to potentially cut academic programs and lay off tenured faculty.\u00a0John Walsh, the chief scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks\u2019 International Arctic Research Center,\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0that the cuts might lead to a \u201cdeath spiral\u201d for climate research at the university.<\/strong><\/p>\nInternational<\/h2>\n
\nIUCN<\/strong>:\u00a0International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List added an additional 9,000 species bringing the list to 105,732 species in total<\/strong>\u00a0with 28,338 species threatened with extinction.\u00a0New species added to the Red List<\/a>\u00a0include the Scaly-foot snail, a deep-sea hydrothermal vent mollusk threatened by potential deep-sea mining in its habitat. The IUCN also highlights the decline of freshwater fish species and primates threatened by hunting for bushmeat and habitat loss. For this update, no species had a significant enough improvement to upgrade its threat category.<\/p>\nScientific Community<\/h2>\n
\nNEON:\u00a0The National Science Foundation\u2019s Directorate for Biological Sciences issued a\u00a0Dear Colleague letter<\/a>\u00a0notifying the scientific community of its intent to compete the contract for the operation and maintenance of the National Ecological Conservatory Network (NEON).<\/strong>\u00a0Batelle Memorial Institute\u2019s current contract to operate NEON expires in October 2020.\u00a0 NSF will issue a formal solicitation for proposals in the last quarter of calendar year 2019.<\/p>\nFederal Register Opportunities<\/h2>\n
\nPublic Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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