North American bird populations decrease an estimated 30% in 50 years<\/strong><\/a> Senate Appropriations Bills Include Increases for Department of Energy and Agricultural Research Programs<\/strong><\/a> Administration Finalizes EIS for drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge<\/strong><\/a> OSTP Letter Reviews Its Security Priorities for the U.S. Scientific Enterprise<\/strong><\/a> Congress<\/strong><\/a> Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a> Courts<\/strong><\/a> International<\/strong><\/a> Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a> Opportunities to Get Involved<\/strong><\/a> ESA In the News<\/strong><\/a> A new\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0published in\u00a0Science<\/em>\u00a0estimates that since 1970 North American bird populations have declined around 30%, corresponding with a loss of 3 billion birds.<\/strong>\u00a0Bird species across habitat types experienced population losses \u2014 grassland and coastal birds were severely impacted. Common bird species, including the invasive house sparrow, blackpoll warbler and the horned lark, experienced the most dramatic population declines.\u00a0Yet, there is some good news: species that are the beneficiaries of concerted conservation efforts like raptors and waterfowls have recovered in the same period. Materials accompanying the study attribute the birds\u2019 plummeting numbers to habitat loss and degradation, but it also points out practical actions individuals can take to help bird populations recover, like keeping cats indoors and planting native plants. For more information see\u00a03billionbirds.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n In response, the Audubon Society has\u00a0declared a bird emergency<\/a>\u00a0and highlighted a set of policy actions focused on bird conservation.<\/strong><\/p>\n Scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the U.S. Geological Survey, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the American Bird Conservancy and the Smithsonian contributed to the report.<\/p>\n Appropriators in the Senate released their first spending bills for fiscal year (FY) 2020, which begins Oct. 1. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) had declined to start the appropriations process until the White House and Congress agreed on overall spending levels. In late July, the administration and congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise defense spending by 3% and nondiscretionary defense spending, which includes funding for most science agencies, by 4.5%. The deal also raises the debt ceiling and permanently ends sequestration \u2013the mandatory, across the board cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011.<\/p>\n Senate appropriations bills released so far mostly include increases for ecological science.\u00a0The Senate Energy and Water appropriations bill includes $7.22 billion for the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science, a 9.6% increase over FY 2019. Within the Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research receives $770 million, a 9.2% increase.<\/strong><\/p>\n Report language accompanying the energy bill recommends $100 million for the Bioenergy Research Centers, $45 million for terrestrial ecosystem science and $97 million for earth and environmental modeling. Senate appropriators direct the Energy Department to further invest in machine learning to understand environmental and climate dynamics, improve watershed, ecosystem and climate models and project extreme events. The National Microbiome Data Collective receives $10 million, the full amount requested by ESA and other scientific organizations.<\/p>\n The Senate Agriculture spending bill includes $1.728 billion for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a 3% increase, and $1.484 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), an increase of a little less than 1%.<\/strong>\u00a0This includes $25 million to relocate NIFA to the Kansas City area. The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative receives $425 million, a 2.4% increase.\u00a0The ARS budget includes a 9% increase for the agency\u2019s main budget item \u2014 salaries and expenses.<\/strong>\u00a0The Senate report prohibits ARS from terminating any research programs or labs. Senate appropriators direct the USDA to prioritize pollinator research, providing an additional $2 million for ARS\u2019 Center for Pollinator Research and $1.5 million to the ARS to establish a Pollinator Recovery, Education and Research Center in Appalachia.<\/p>\n The House approved 10 of out of 12 required spending bills earlier in the summer before Congress finalized the budget agreement (see ESA Policy News, July 1, 2019<\/a>). Senate spending bills for the National Science Foundation, the Interior Department, the Forest Service and other agencies are expected this week. ESA will continue to update the\u00a0Federal Budget Tracker.<\/a><\/p>\n The full House approved a continuing resolution, a stop-gap measure, keeping the government funded at FY 2019 levels through Nov. 23 and averting a shutdown on Oct. 1. Shelby said that the Senate will likely approve the continuing resolution this week.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bureau of Land Management released a\u00a0final environmental impact statement<\/a> (EIS), opening around 1.6 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge\u2019s coastal plain to oil and gas drilling. In the document, the agency chooses the most aggressive of the three options outlined in the draft EIS. Only 359,000 acres of the coastal plain will be designated as off-limits to surface drilling activities and another 585,400 acres will be subject to time limitations for oil and gas activities.<\/p>\n A provision in the 2017 tax reform law lifted a prohibition on oil and gas drilling in the coastal plain and requires the BLM to hold at least two oil and gas lease sales by December 2024, with each sale offering at least 400,000 acres.<\/p>\n The EIS notes that 96% of the area is classified as wetlands or waters of the U.S. \u2013 the remaining 4% is unmapped and is likely also wetlands or waters. The document admits that the combination of climate change and energy development will possibly lead to the extinction of 69 of bird species found in the area within the next 85 years. Oil and gas development and related infrastructure will displace and fragment habitat for the area\u2019s mammal species, including caribou, moose and muskox. Development in the area could also accelerate the spread of invasive species, and lead to the introduction species like the Canadian Waterweed (Elodea canandensis<\/em>), which degrades aquatic habitat and alters water flow patterns.<\/p>\n A July\u00a0article<\/a>\u00a0in Politico Magazine reports that career agency scientists were rushed to complete the EIS, to the detriment of the scientific quality of the analysis. Scientists said that sections warning of \u201cpotentially harmful\u201d impacts to polar bears were edited, analysis on the effects of the project on native communities was removed and \u201cfundamental inaccuracies\u201d were added to sections on impacts to fish and water.<\/p>\n The full House approved a bill (H.R. 1146<\/a>) blocking drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Sept. 12, mainly along party lines. It is unlikely that the Senate will approve the bill and President Trump said he will veto the bill if it reaches the White House. Nevertheless, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and four other Democratic senators introduced similar legislation (S. 2461<\/a>) Sept. 11 that would designate the coastal plain as wilderness, blocking oil and gas development.<\/p>\n The administration released a letter concerning foreign influence in the research enterprise in a\u00a0September 16 letter to scientific community<\/a> signed by Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Kelvin Droegemeier. Established in May 2019, the Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE), a committee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is working to develop a framework to address the exploitation of scientific research. Droegemeier chairs NSTC.<\/p>\n JCORE\u2019s Research Security work will focus on four areas: (1) Coordinating outreach and engagement with federal agencies and other parties to increase the visibility of\u00a0foreign interference in research; (2) Establishing and coordinating disclosure requirements for participation in federally-funded research enterprise (3) Developing best practices for academic research institutions; and (4) Developing methods for identification, assessment, and management of risk in the research enterprise.<\/p>\n JCORE\u00a0will hold meetings with the academic community in the next few months.<\/p>\n Agricultural Research:<\/b>\u00a0Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0the America Grows Act (S. 2458<\/a>), which would provide\u00a0a 5% annual increase for U.S. Department of Agriculture research programs, including the National Institute for Food and Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Service.<\/b><\/p>\n Nominations:\u00a0The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a\u00a0confirmation hearing<\/a>\u00a0to consider President Trump\u2019s nominee Aurelia Skipwith to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).<\/strong>\u00a0Trump originally nominated Skipwith in Oct. 2018. USFWS has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the end of the Obama administration. Under questioning from Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Skipwith vowed to use career agency scientists\u2019 expertise and the best available science in decision-making. Skipwith hesitated, but she ultimately agreed that her decisions and advice to administration officials would be based on science.\u00a0\u00a0She also agreed to pushback to the administration if necessary. Carper also questioned Skipwith\u2019s experience working for Monsanto and potential conflicts of interest. Skipwith defended the Interior Department\u2019s reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and its decision to allow neonicotinoid use in national wildlife refuges. The Committee will vote on Skipwith\u2019s nomination Sept. 25.<\/p>\n Endangered Species Act:\u00a0<\/strong>Congressional Democrats, led by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM),\u00a0introduced legislation<\/a>\u00a0(H.R. 4348<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0S. 2491<\/a>)\u00a0to repeal the administration\u2019s changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations<\/strong>\u00a0finalized in August (see\u00a0ESA Policy News, Sept. 9, 2019<\/a>). The House Natural Resource Committee\u2019s Water, Ocean and Wildlife Subcommittee will consider Grijalva\u2019s bill in a Sept. 24 hearing.<\/p>\n House Science Committee:\u00a0EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler\u00a0told the committee<\/a>\u00a0that the agency does not plan to finalize its \u201ctransparency in regulatory science\u201d proposed rule this December as planned \u2013 instead, it will release and ask for public comments on a \u201csupplementary proposal\u201d to accompany the rule.<\/strong>\u00a0This proposed rule would prohibit the EPA from using studies in regulatory decisions where the underlying data are not publicly available. ESA and members of the scientific community\u00a0strongly oppose<\/a>\u00a0the proposed rule and similar legislative efforts, such as former House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX)\u2019s HONEST Act.<\/p>\n Offshore Drilling: The full House approved<\/a>\u00a0two bills stopping offshore drilling. The Protecting and Securing Florida\u2019s Coastline Act of 2019<\/strong>\u00a0(H.R. 205<\/a>), sponsored by Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL), extends a moratorium on drilling the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Almost all House Democrats and 22 House Republicans voted for the bill.\u00a0The Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act<\/strong>\u00a0(H.R. 1941<\/a>), sponsored by Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC), permanently bans offshore drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Cunningham\u2019s bill passed by a slightly narrower margin \u2013 almost all House Democrats and 12 Republicans for the bill.<\/p>\n CRS:<\/strong>\u00a0A new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by a Congressional Research Service attorney examines legal issues in how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service interpret climate change effects in their Endangered Species Act decisions.<\/p>\n House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee<\/strong>:\u00a0The Committee\u00a0approved a set of bills<\/a>\u00a0reauthorizing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Estuary Program (H.R. 4044<\/a>) and creating a San Francisco Bay Program office within the EPA (H.R. 1132<\/a>).<\/strong>\u00a0The Great Lakes bill (H.R. 4031<\/a>), sponsored by Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), would increase authorized spending levels to $475 million by 2026. In FY 2019, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative received $300 million. The Chesapeake bill (H.R. 1620<\/a>), sponsored by a bipartisan group of legislators from Maryland and Virginia, would increase funding for the Chesapeake Bay Program, which works to reduce nutrient pollution in the bay, by $17 million to $90 million in FY 2020. The Trump administration has repeatedly, unsuccessfully attempted cut funding for the GLRI and the Chesapeake Bay program by 90% in its presidential budget requests.<\/p>\n House Natural Resources Committee:\u00a0The Committee\u00a0advanced a set of bills<\/a>, covering issues from trophy hunting to NOAA\u2019s Sea Grant College program.<\/strong><\/p>\n Other legislative updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n White House:<\/strong>\u00a0Emeritus Princeton physicist William Happer\u00a0left<\/a>\u00a0his position at the National Security Council.<\/strong>\u00a0Happer was the lead proponent of a plan to conduct an adversarial review of climate science, questioning the findings of the National Climate Assessment. This plan was put on \u2018indefinite hold\u2019 in July 2019. He is the founder of the CO2 Coalition, a group that argues that increased carbon dioxide levels are beneficial.<\/p>\n WOTUS:<\/strong>\u00a0EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civic Works R.D. James\u00a0signed an order<\/a>\u00a0finalizing the Trump administration\u2019s repeal of the 2015 Waters of the U.S rule (WOTUS), which specifies what waters are covered under the Clean Water Act. Next, the administration\u00a0will likely finalize its proposed Waters of the U.S. rule in Dec. 2019.<\/strong>\u00a0The Trump administration\u2019s proposed rule would eliminate protections for ephemeral and intermittent streams and leave an estimated 18% of streams and 51% of wetlands unprotected.<\/p>\n Democratic Attorneys Generals, including California\u2019s Xavier Beccera and Maryland\u2019s Brian Frosh, plan to challenge the WOTUS repeal and the upcoming new Clean Water Rule in the courts.<\/strong><\/p>\n EPA:<\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0memo<\/a>, announced Sept. 10, tasks the agency with reducing its requests and funding for animal testing on mammals by 30% by 2025 and eliminating tests on mammals by 2035. The EPA uses animals testing to determine the impacts of potential pollutants and new chemicals, such as pesticides. Simultaneously, the EPA also announced that it would award $4.25 million to five universities to develop alternatives to animal models.<\/p>\n Texas Tech University environmental toxicologist Ron Kendall\u00a0will join<\/a>\u00a0the EPA\u2019s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). Kendall\u2019s research interests include wildlife toxicology and ecotoxicology. Last spring, the EPA sought a new CASAC member with expertise in ecology to replace replacing retired Army Corps of Engineers aquatic ecologist Timothy Lewis.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, the EPA\u00a0appointed<\/a>\u00a012 new scientific consultants who will assist the CASAC in its review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter and ozone. Last fall, EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler disbanded the 24-member particular matter review panels, which was tasked with similar work. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and other committee leaders sent a\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to the EPA, questioning the administrator\u2019s decision to use a pool of consultants rather than an expert panel similar to the disbanded panel.<\/p>\n USFWS:<\/strong>\u00a0The Foskett speckled dace, a small fish endemic to Foskett Spring in southeast Oregon,\u00a0has been removed<\/a>\u00a0from the federal endangered species list. After the fish was listed in 1985, the Bureau of Land Management purchased the land surrounding Foskett Spring and protected the spring from the impacts of grazing. Federal and state agencies continue habitat management and monitoring efforts to protect the fish.<\/p>\n Air Pollution:\u00a0A federal appeals court\u00a0struck down<\/a>\u00a0a 2016 Clean Air Act regulation that allows requires states to reduce air pollution emissions that could hurt air quality in downwind states and required the EPA to redo the regulation. A coalition of environmental groups and the state of Delaware challenged the regulation, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, claiming the rule is not strict enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n NOAA<\/strong>:\u00a0Advocacy group Democracy Forward\u00a0sued<\/a>\u00a0NOAA for failing to release documents about former Acting NOAA Administrator Timothy Gallaudet\u2019s ouster in February under the Freedom of Information Act.<\/strong>\u00a0The group claims that Gallaudet\u2019s removal is part of a larger Trump administration attack on scientific integrity, noting that Gallaudet told a group at the American Geophysical Union\u2019s fall meeting that NOAA scientists have not briefed the president about climate science shortly before he left the acting administrator position.<\/p>\n U.N.:<\/strong>\u00a0The United Nations General Assembly holds a climate summit, starting this Tuesday through Sept. 30<\/strong>. The leaders of 136 out of 196 U.N. member nations will attend. Ahead of the event, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on national leaders to make tangible commitments to reduce emissions greenhouse gas emissions, calling the event a \u201cclimate action summit,\u201d not a \u201cclimate talk summit.\u201d<\/p>\n AAAS:<\/strong>\u00a0A new\u00a0report<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0details how 18 communities across the country are\u00a0adapting to climate change<\/strong>\u00a0and reducing carbon emissions. The report, titled \u201cHow We Respond,\u201d builds on to an earlier climate science report,\u00a0\u201cWhat We Know<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n NAS:<\/strong>\u00a0The Academies held a kick-off event Sept. 16 for a\u00a0new study<\/a>\u00a0looking at the mental health needs of undergraduate and graduate students,<\/strong>\u00a0with a focus on students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The study will analyze how colleges and universities treat mental health and challenges that institutions face in addressing mental health issues. At the end of the project, the NAS committee will release a consensus report with recommendations and other supporting products to be distributed on campuses and at scientific society meetings.<\/p>\n The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a\u00a0<\/strong>request for information<\/a>\u00a0from stakeholders in the bioeconomy to \u201cinform notable gaps, vulnerabilities, and areas to promote and protect in the U.S. bioeconomy that may benefit from federal government attention.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The announcement defines the bioeconomy as \u201cthe infrastructure, innovation, products, technology and data derived from biologically-related processes and science that drive economic growth, promote health and increase public benefit.\u201d Stakeholders should submit comments on or before Oct. 22, 2019.<\/p>\n The House Natural Resources Committee is looking for\u00a0public comments and input<\/a>\u00a0on a draft set of policy principles which will guide upcoming environmental justice legislation.\u00a0<\/strong>All comments received by Sept. 27 will be read and considered by the committee\u2019s policy staff.<\/p>\n Public Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nCommon bird species severely impacted.<\/p>\n
\nThe Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science receives a 9.6% increase.<\/p>\n
\nThe House of Representatives passes bill to stop drilling.<\/p>\n
\nCommittee plans meetings with the academic community.<\/p>\n
\nSenate holds confirmation hearing for USFWS nominee. New bill would increase funding for agricultural research by 5% annually.<\/p>\n
\nEPA and Army Corps of Engineers finalize repeal of the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule.<\/p>\n
\nAppeals court requires the EPA to redo 2016 air quality regulation.<\/p>\n
\nU.N. holds \u201cclimate action summit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNAS launches student mental health study.<\/p>\n
\nWhite House seeks input on the bioeconomy and Federal Register opportunities.<\/p>\n
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\nNorth American bird populations decreased an estimated 30% in 50 years <\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Senate Appropriations bills include increases for Department of Energy and Agricultural Research Programs<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Administration finalizes EIS for drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge<\/a><\/h2>\n
OSTP Letter Reviews Its Security Priorities for the U.S. Scientific Enterprise<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Congress<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Executive Branch<\/a><\/h2>\n
Courts<\/a><\/h2>\n
International<\/a><\/h2>\n
Scientific Community<\/a><\/h2>\n
Opportunities to get involved <\/a><\/h2>\n
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