Congress Increases Funding for Ecological Science in FY2020 Appropriations<\/strong><\/a> EPA\u2019s Science Advisory Board Criticizes the \u201cTransparency Rule,\u201d Waters of the U.S repeal and more<\/strong><\/a> NSF Issues Solicitation for NEON Operations and Maintenance<\/strong><\/a> News to Note<\/strong><\/a> Member Opportunities<\/strong><\/a> ESA webinars: \u201cCommunicating Science with the Media\u201d and \u201cFutureProofing Natural History Collections: Creating Sustainable Financial Models for Research Resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Congress<\/strong><\/a> Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a> Courts<\/strong><\/a> States<\/strong><\/a> Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a> Opportunities to Get Involved<\/strong><\/a> ESA In the News<\/strong><\/a> <\/a> Lawmakers included a handful of policy measures of interest in the final bills. The reports accompanying the appropriation bills directs the EPA to consult with the agency\u2019s scientific advisory board before finalizing its proposed \u201cTransparency in Science\u201d rule. The Office of Science and Technology Policy is directed to apply the findings of a recent JASON study to maintain a balance between openness and security of scientific research. Lawmakers incorporated a provision allowing graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to contribute stipend income to Individual Retirement Accounts.<\/p>\n NSF<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0National Science Foundation\u00a0<\/strong>as a whole receives $8.278 billion, a 2.5% increase. Congress does not set funding levels for NSF individual directorates, including the BIO directorate. NSF\u2019s research and related activities account, which funds the majority of NSF grants, receives $6.762 billion, a 3.33% increase.<\/p>\n Appropriators provide $10 million to NSF to launch a pilot program providing partial support for operation of new facilities and divestment from lower-priority facilities. Of this $10 million, $8 million will go to the National Ecological Observatory Network, the Ocean Observatories Initiative and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. Congress also allocates $65 million to NSF to support \u201cmid-scale research infrastructure,\u201d which NSF defines as infrastructure costing between $20 million and $70 million.<\/p>\n Congressional appropriators note that that this increase will allow NSF to support approximately 350 additional research and education grants and 7,800 more scientists, technicians, teachers and students, compared FY 2019.<\/p>\n Department of Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n Following several years of budget increases, the\u00a0Department of Energy Office of Science<\/strong>\u00a0received a 6.3% increase in FY 2020.<\/p>\n Within the Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research receives $750 million, a 6.38% increase. Appropriators direct the Department of Energy to allocate $100 million to the Bioenergy Research Centers. Terrestrial Ecosystems is given $38.2 million, with $10 million going to the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic; $8.3 million to the SPRUCE field site; $7 million to Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments Tropics; $5.1 million to AmeriFLUX Long-Term Earth System Observations; and, $5 million for pilot studies for new Terrestrial Ecosystem Science manipulation experiments.<\/p>\n Department of Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Institute of Food and Agriculture\u00a0<\/strong>receives $1.537 billion, a 3.8% increase, while the agency\u2019s competitive grants program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, received $425 million, a 2.4% increase.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Agricultural Research Service\u00a0<\/strong>(ARS)\u00a0receives $1.607 billion, a 4.59% cut. The agency\u2019s salaries and expenses account receives an 8.55% increase.<\/p>\n The appropriations bill report notes that it provides funding increases for the Center for Pollinator Health, harmful algal blooms research, pollinator recovery research and long-term agroecosystem research among other priorities.<\/p>\n Appropriators instruct the ARS to provide equal funding to all Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network sites and to fill vacant positions.<\/p>\n The\u00a0U.S. Forest Service<\/strong>\u00a0as a whole receives $7.433 billion, or a 22% increase, with the agency\u2019s nonfire programs receiving $3.313 billion, a $50 million boost. Funding for Forest Service Research and Development increased from $300 million to $305 million. The Forest Inventory and Analysis program receives $77 million.<\/p>\n Department of the Interior<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0U.S. Geological Survey\u00a0<\/strong>(USGS) receives $1.27 billion, a 9.5% increase, with the Ecosystems Mission Area receiving an 8.71% increase. Appropriators reject a proposal from the agency to restructure its mission areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n Funding for the ecosystem mission area includes $22 million for the fisheries program; $45.9 million for wildlife programs; $38 million for the environmental program; and, $23.3 million for invasive species. The USGS Cooperative Units receive $24 million, a nearly $6 million increase and congressional appropriators direct the agency to use this funding to fill vacant positions.\u00a0The Trump administration proposed eliminating these units in previous budget requests.<\/p>\n The National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers receive $38.33 million and lawmakers direct USGS to establish a Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Bureau of Land Management<\/strong>\u00a0(BLM) receives $1.37 billion, a less than 2% increase.<\/p>\n Lawmakers criticize the agency\u2019s plan to relocate its headquarters away from Washington, DC to Grand Junction, CO with most DC-based positions going to other locations across the western U.S. Members of Congress expressed concern that the loss of senior staff will lead to decreased agency efficiency and require the Interior Department to brief the House and Senate Appropriations Committees monthly on its reorganization efforts.<\/p>\n Appropriators direct the BLM to not conduct any oil or gas leasing activities with a ten-mile radius of New Mexico\u2019s Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.<\/p>\n The\u00a0U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/strong>\u00a0receives $1.64 billion, a 4% increase, with all divisions of the agency receiving increases.<\/p>\n Lawmakers question USFWS\u2019s use of money allocated for the Landscape Scale Cooperatives (LCCs) and require a report detailing how USFWS will engage previous stakeholders and ensure collaborative conservation efforts on a landscape scale. This report should include how USFWS will engage in areas where LCCs have been diminished or dismantled. The appropriations bill also retains a policy rider from previous spending deals prohibiting USFWS from listing the greater sage grouse as an endangered species.<\/p>\n The\u00a0National Park Service\u00a0<\/strong>receives $3.37 billion, a 4.8% increase.<\/p>\n NOAA<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, the\u00a0National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/strong>\u00a0receives $5.35 billion, a 1.34% cut. The National Sea Grant College Program, which the Trump administration has proposed eliminating in its President\u2019s Budget Requests, receives an 8.8% increase. Major divisions of NOAA, including the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, receive significant funding boosts.<\/p>\n EPA<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, the\u00a0Environmental Protection Agency\u00a0<\/strong>receives $9.06 billion, a 12.4% increase, with a more modest 1.4% increase for the agency\u2019s Science and Technology programs. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative gets a $20 million increase. The Trump administration has proposed eliminating the program in its President\u2019s Budget Requests.<\/p>\n NASA<\/strong><\/p>\n NASA as a whole receives $22.629 billion, a 5.25% increase, while the Earth Science Directorate\u2019s funding is increased by 2.1% to $1.971 billion. This includes $131 million for the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission and $26 million for the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission.<\/p>\n <\/a> The SAB will\u00a0meet<\/a>\u00a0four times in January to finalize these reports. The topics of discussion are 1) the agency\u2019s proposed \u201cWaters of the U.S.\u201d repeal and replacement rule, 2) the proposed \u201ctransparency in science\u201d rule, 3) the proposal to weaken vehicle fuel economy standards and 4) the agency\u2019s planned repeal of the underlying legal basis for regulations limiting the release of pollutants from coal and oil-fired power plants, known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.<\/p>\n Ahead of the meetings, ESA submitted\u00a0comments<\/a>\u00a0to the SAB thanking the SAB for its review of the \u201ctransparency in science\u201d rule and reiterating its opposition to the rule. The Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies and ESA sent the SAB their previous comments in support of the 2015 Waters of the U.S. rule.<\/p>\n The SAB\u2019s criticism of the proposed rules is particularly notable because the majority of current SAB members were appointed by either former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt or current Administrator Andrew Wheeler. In 2017, Pruitt expelled many academic SAB members because they received EPA grants.<\/p>\n <\/a> Separately, BIO issued a\u00a0Dear Colleague letter<\/a>\u00a0reiterating its interest in developing and supporting the NEON user community. The letter details NSF\u2019s plans issue awards supporting the use of NEON data, including NEON user workshops and conferences, research coordination network awards, and support through the\u00a0Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science Program and other existing programs.<\/p>\n NEON completed construction and became fully operational in early 2019.\u00a0 In 2016, NSF changed NEON\u2019s management from NEON, Inc. to Battelle.<\/p>\n <\/a> Trump aims to weaken prime environmental law The Trump administration is proposing scaling back a bedrock federal environmental law to make it easier to build infrastructure like roads and pipelines by sidestepping concerns about climate change and imposing strict deadlines on federal agencies.<\/p>\n The National Environmental Policy Act requires agencies to conduct detailed environmental reviews for major projects that receive federal funding or permits and could significantly affect the environment, such as by increasing air pollution or bulldozing wildlife habitat. In a proposed rule announced by President Donald Trump today, the federal government would narrow its interpretation of the 50-year-old law, a move he said would help businesses avoid government red tape.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just the beginning. We will not stop until our nation\u2019s gleaming new infrastructure has made America the envy of the world again,\u201d Trump said at a White House event. \u201cIt used to be the envy of the world and now we\u2019re like a third-world country. It\u2019s really sad. You get approval, they even get financing for jobs and then they can\u2019t build them for 15 years and then it ends up costing five times more than it was supposed to cost.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House did not say how soon the proposal would be implemented; it first must go through a 60-day comment period. And expected lawsuits from environmental groups and Democratic state attorneys general could keep the rule tied up in court until after the election.<\/p>\n The proposal delivers a major wish list item for industry and conservatives who complain the permitting process takes too long, adding years of delay and unforeseen costs. Industry advocates said environmentalists and liberal activists have weaponized the law to sideline capital-intensive projects like oil and gas pipelines and highways.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Administration\u2019s modernization of NEPA removes bureaucratic barriers that were stifling construction of key infrastructure projects needed for U.S. producers to deliver energy in a safe and environmentally protective way,\u201d American Exploration and Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury said in a statement.<\/p>\n The proposal would impose a two-year deadline for environmental impact statements that agencies must conduct before approving activities that could significantly affect the environment, and one year for less rigorous environmental assessments. It would also expand the number of projects that could be excluded from NEPA reviews altogether, such as those that receive little federal funding.<\/p>\n For projects that require approvals from multiple agencies, the new proposal would assign one lead agency to oversee NEPA reviews, rather than having each agency conduct its own, as happens now.<\/p>\n Among the most significant changes in the new proposal is language that would eliminate \u201ccumulative\u201d effects from the factors agencies must consider \u2013 something agencies have previously used to incorporate considerations of climate change into their reviews. The new proposal says effects must be \u201creasonably foreseeable\u201d and have a direct, causal relationship to the project.<\/p>\n Environmentalists said the proposal ignores the mounting evidence of climate change and will endanger the public.<\/p>\n \u201cWe live in a democracy, not a dictatorship. Americans deserve to have their voices heard before their families\u2019 health and well-being are put at risk by projects that bring unwanted and unnecessary pollution and disruption into their communities,\u201d said Gina McCarthy, who was EPA administrator in the Obama administration and now runs the Natural Resources Defense Council. \u201cWhile our world is burning, President Trump is adding fuel to the fire by taking away our right to be informed and to protect ourselves from irreparable harm.<\/p>\n White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Mary Neumayr said the proposal would also take comments on whether to codify parts of a separate draft guidance on how to assess greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n The Trump administration repealed an Obama era guidance in 2017, which implored consideration of \u201cindirect\u201d effects from projects, and replaced it with a leaner version last year. The attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia slammed that draft Trump administration proposal in regulatory comments.<\/p>\n Neumayr said an update was overdue, noting the rule had been amended just once over its history. She said it takes an average of 4.5 years to process federal environmental impact statements.<\/p>\n \u201cOver time, implementation of NEPA has become increasingly complex and time-consuming,\u201d she said in a press call.<\/p>\n Administration critics contend slow permitting, which administrations from both parties have called problematic, stems from threadbare federal funding and staffing rather than onerous rules.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t about \u2018permitting reform,\u2019 \u2018modernizing,\u2019 or \u2018streamlining,'\u201d said Christy Goldfuss, who chaired the Council on Environmental Quality under President Barack Obama. \u201cThis is about allowing pipelines and dirty fossil fuel projects to bulldoze communities with less public input, and less disclosure of potentially harmful public health, environmental, and notably: climate change impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> The ESA Communicating Science workshop is designed to address the needs of ecologists to communicate scientific information in a variety of public and professional interactions. This workshop will build participants confidence and skill set for public engagement with media, Congress, and other audiences. It also provides a professional development opportunity to develop broader impact skills.<\/p>\n Up to a $200.00 travel award will be given to ESA members ($200.00 overnight award for those traveling more than 60 miles or a $100.00 commuter travel award for those who will travel between 45-60 miles from Knoxville.) Space is limited and preference will be given to Southeastern Chapter members.<\/p>\n Visit the\u00a0ESA website<\/a>\u00a0for additional information.<\/p>\n Communicating Your Science with the Media Have you ever wanted to see your research in the news? Ever been contacted by a reporter about your exciting study, but didn\u2019t know the next steps or how to communicate effectively?<\/p>\n The ESA Public Affairs Office is hosting a webinar to help you learn the \u2018do\u2019s and don\u2019ts\u2019 of communicating with journalists, press officers, and other media. Participants will get an overview of how to talk about your science in clear and concise language, the importance of communicating for greater public awareness, and best practices for engaging and even establishing relationships with science writers.<\/p>\n Register today at this link:\u00a0https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/yfa2pmfk FutureProofing Natural History Collections: Creating Sustainable Financial Models for Research Resources Who values collections, and why? How can museums build productive partnerships and income streams around these values? Join ESA\u2019s webinar, in collaboration with the American Alliance of Museums to explore emerging mission-related income streams\u00a0and sustainable financial models for research resources.<\/p>\n Learn more here:\u00a0https:\/\/esa.org\/sbi\/about\/futureproofing-natural-history-collections\/<\/a><\/p>\n Members of ESA\u2019s Rapid Response Team appeared in the media several times over the last few weeks:<\/p>\n <\/a> House Natural Resources Committee:<\/strong>\u00a0Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and other committee leaders\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act (H.R. 5435<\/a>), which would require the Interior Department and the U.S. Forest Service to achieve net-zero emissions on public lands and waters by 2040.<\/strong>\u00a0Agencies would have to pause all new fossil fuel leases until they can demonstrate that new drilling activities are consistent with meeting the 2040 goal and their strategic climate plans. A\u00a02018 USGS study<\/a>\u00a0found that public lands account for 23% of all carbon emissions in the United States.<\/p>\n House Energy and Commerce:<\/strong>\u00a0Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and subcommittee leaders\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0a\u00a0legislative framework<\/a>\u00a0for their goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.<\/strong>\u00a0The draft framework includes a clean energy standard requiring utilities to provide 100% of their energy from clean electricity sources, requirements for states to draft and submit climate plans for reaching net-zero emissions and a national climate bank to invest in low carbon technologies and climate resiliency projects.<\/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> Trump also\u00a0nominated<\/a>\u00a0Neil Jacobs to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/strong>\u00a0Jacobs has served as NOAA Administrator on an acting basis since early 2019 and joined the agency in 2018 as assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction. Before joining NOAA, Jacobs was the chief atmospheric scientist at Panasonic Avonics Corporation. Trump\u2019s original pick to lead NOAA, Barry Lee Meyers, withdrew his nomination in November 2019, citing health issues.<\/p>\n NOAA:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Marine Fisheries Service\u00a0issued<\/a>\u00a0an order stopping menhaden harvest in the Chesapeake Bay starting June 17, 2020. Governors from across the East Coast urged NMFS to halt fishing and accused Virginia-based company Omega Protein of \u201cbrazenly exceeding the Chesapeake Bay harvest quota by more than 35 million pounds.\u201d Menhaden are an important prey species for other fish, marine mammals and birds.<\/p>\n WOTUS:<\/strong>\u00a0Fourteen state attorneys generals, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0challenging the Trump administration\u2019s rollback of the 2015 waters of the U.S.<\/strong>\u00a0The suit argues the WOTUS repeal fails to uphold the requirements of the Clean Water Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.<\/p>\n Dams:<\/strong>\u00a0A panel of federal judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals\u00a0ordered<\/a>\u00a0the EPA to set a total maximum daily load for temperature under the Clean Water Act in the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest.<\/strong>\u00a0Water temperatures above 68 degrees harm endangered salmon and steelhead and prevent fish from migrating upstream to spawn. Dams and other point sources of pollution contribute to higher water temperatures in these rivers.<\/p>\n <\/a> Chesapeake Bay:<\/strong>\u00a0Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R)\u00a0directed<\/a>\u00a0his attorney general, Brian Frosh (D), to sue the EPA and Pennsylvania for failing to meet pollution reduction goals for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.<\/strong>\u00a0EPA officials have declined to take action against Pennsylvania, despite the agency\u2019s findings that the state\u2019s plans would only meet 75% of its nitrogen pollution reduction goals.<\/p>\n <\/a> Reintegrating Biology:<\/strong>\u00a0A series of nearly sixty vision papers resulting from NSF BIO\u2019s \u2018reintegrating\u00a0biology\u2019 jumpstart meetings held this past fall are now posted on the\u00a0project\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n NSB:<\/strong>\u00a0The latest\u00a0Science & Engineering Indicators 2020 report<\/a>\u00a0analyzes\u00a0U.S. and international global research output as measured by peer-reviewed science and engineering journal articles and conference papers. The report finds that the number of peer-reviewed papers grew about 4% annually between 2008 and 2018.<\/p>\n <\/a> The Senate Environmental Justice Caucus is\u00a0soliciting<\/a>\u00a0feedback and information from the environmental justice community on policies to mitigate the impacts of climate change in low-income communities and communities of color.<\/p>\n Public Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNSF receives a 2.5% increase, USGS funding boosted by nearly 10%.<\/p>\n
\nESA, aquatic science societies resubmit comments ahead of January SAB meetings.<\/p>\n
\nBIO will issue a single five-year award worth $65 million annually.<\/p>\n
\nTrump aims to weaken prime environmental law.<\/p>\n
\nAttend ESA Southeastern Chapter Communications Training geared toward policymakers in Knoxville, Feb. 3: Travel Awards Available.<\/p>\n
\nFull Senate passes conservation legislation. House Energy and Commerce Committee releases draft climate framework.<\/p>\n
\nTrump nominates new NSF director, NOAA administrator.<\/p>\n
\nStates files lawsuit challenging WOTUS repeal.<\/p>\n
\nColorado will vote on wolf reintroduction ballot measure in November.<\/p>\n
\nNational Academies will release new bioeconomy report.<\/p>\n
\nFederal Register opportunities.<\/p>\n
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\nCongress Increases Funding For Ecological Science in FY2020 Appropriations<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe president signed into law the appropriation bills passed by Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2020 ensuring there will be no government shutdowns looming into an election year. The bills provide funding boosts for ecological science programs and agencies, with the National Science Foundation receiving a 2.5% increase and the Department of Energy Office of Science and the U.S. Geological Survey receiving larger increases.<\/p>\nEPA\u2019s Science Advisory Board Criticizes \u201cTransparency Rule,\u201d Waters of the U.S repeal and more<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s top science advisers, the Science Advisory Board (SAB), released\u00a0draft reports and commentary<\/a>\u00a0criticizing several high profile agency initiatives. The SAB said that the proposed \u201ctransparency in science\u201d rule does not fully identify what problem the rule addresses and \u201cmay not add transparency, and even may make some kinds of research more difficult.\u201d This rule would require the underlying data from scientific studies to be made publicly available before the EPA can use those studies in crafting new regulations. The SAB commentary on WOTUS notes that \u201cthe proposed revised definition of WOTUS decreases protection for our Nation\u2019s waters and does not support the objective of restoring and maintaining \u2018the chemical, physical and biological integrity\u2019 of these waters.\u201d<\/p>\nNSF Issues\u00a0Solicitation\u00a0for NEON Operations and\u00a0Maintenance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe National Science Foundation\u2019s Biological Sciences Directorate (NSF BIO) issued a\u00a0solicitation<\/a>\u00a0for the operations and maintenance of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)<\/strong>, starting November 2021. NSF will issue a single five-year award worth $65 million annually. Colleges, universities and nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for the award, with letters of intent due Feb. 21, 2020.<\/p>\nNews to Note<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nIn the Headlines:<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>by Zack Colman, PoliticoPro, 1\/9\/2020<\/p>\nAttend ESA Communications Training in Knoxville, Feb. 3: Travel Awards Available<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe Public Affairs Office has an excellent opportunity for ESA members to attend a Communicating Science Workshop co-hosted with NIMBioS, University of Tennessee, Knoxville on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020.<\/p>\nESA Webinars<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>Thursday, Jan 23, 2020
\n2pm EST<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Wednesday, January 22, 2020
\n2pm EST<\/p>\nESA Members in the News<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Congress<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nSenate:\u00a0<\/strong>The full Senate passed the America\u2019s Conservation Enhancement Act (ACE Act,\u00a0S. 3051<\/a>), which combines several pieces of conservation legislation already introduced during the 116th<\/sup>\u00a0Congress into one bill. The legislation includes measures to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and to create a chronic wasting disease taskforce.<\/p>\n\n
Executive Branch<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nNominations:<\/strong>\u00a0President Donald Trump\u00a0nominated<\/a>\u00a0Sethuraman \u201cPanch\u201d Panchanathan to replace National Science Foundation Director France Cordova.<\/strong>\u00a0Her six-year term expires in March 2020. Panchanathan is a member of the National Science Board, NSF\u2019s top advisory board. He is a computer scientist and executive vice president for Arizona State University\u2019s Knowledge Enterprise and Chief Research and Innovation Officer.<\/p>\nCourts<\/strong><\/h2>\n
States<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nColorado:<\/strong>\u00a0The Secretary of State\u00a0confirmed<\/a>\u00a0that a petition submitted by the Rocky Mountain Wolf Action Fund contained the mandatory number of valid signatures and that\u00a0voters will consider a ballot measure requiring state wildlife commissioners to reintroduce gray wolves to western Colorado in November 2020.<\/strong><\/p>\nScientific Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nBioeconomy:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) will release its new report \u201cSafeguarding the Bioeconomy\u201d with\u00a0an inperson and livestreamed briefing<\/a>\u00a0on the report Jan. 14. NASEM defines the bioeconomy as research and innovation in the life sciences.<\/p>\nOpportunities to get involved\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nSpirit Lake Tunnel Intake Gate Replacement and Geotechnical Drilling Project #57259<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe US Forest Service, which manages the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, is proposing to build a road across the volcano. The road would be a 16-foot wide, gravel road, meant for the transport of tracked drilling rigs across the sensitive primary successional landscape. The road would cross about 15 small streams that are part of 5 newly formed watersheds (formed following the 1980 eruption). Comments on this environmental assessment are due January 16, 2020.<\/p>\n\n
\n