{"id":18581,"date":"2022-01-18T16:54:38","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T16:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=18581"},"modified":"2022-01-18T16:54:38","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T16:54:38","slug":"policy-news-january-18-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2022\/01\/18\/policy-news-january-18-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: January 18, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this issue:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

ESA Water Cooler Chat: COP 26 Debrief<\/a><\/strong>
\nJoin ESA in sharing lessons learned from COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/strong><\/a>
\nSenate committees advance EPA, USFWS and USDA nominees.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a>
\nWhite House releases scientific integrity report.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nJudge orders USFWS to reconsider 2019 decision to not list the Yellowstone bison under the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n

States<\/strong><\/a>
\nPennsylvania governor vetoes measure stopping the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.<\/p>\n

International<\/a><\/strong>
\nA draft of IPBES\u2019 thematic assessment of invasive alien species and their control is open for review.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe USCRP seeks ecologists feedback on outline of NCA5 chapter outlines.<\/p>\n

Federal Register opportunities<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>ESA Water Cooler Chat: COP 26 Debrief<\/h2>\n

Please join ESA in sharing lessons learned from the 2021 United Nations Conference of the Parties Meeting (also known as COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, and actions we can take going forward as a professional society Jan. 27 at 11:00am eastern. Panelists will share their experience at COP26 and together we will discuss what actions ESA members can take to help society mitigate and adapt to climate change in a just and equitable way.<\/p>\n

ESA President Dennis Ojima will share some introductory remarks and Pamela Templer will facilitate the discussion. Join COP 26 attendees Kaydee Barker, Andrew Barton, Fabio Berzaghi and Andrea Swei to hear their insight and perspectives.<\/p>\n

You can also read Andrew Barton\u2019s blog posts from the event\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The webinar will take place on Jan. 27 at 11:00am eastern. Register\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/a>Congress<\/h2>\n

Nominations:<\/strong> The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to advance the nominations of Chris Frey to the assistant EPA administrator for research and development and Martha Williams to be director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Biden administration renominated Frey and Williams at the start of the year, as required by Senate rules.<\/p>\n

Frey is a former chair of the EPAs Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and he was a member of the CASAC Particulate Matter Review Panel that former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler dismissed in 2018. He was a prominent critic of the EPA during the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Williams joined the Biden administration in January 2021 and is currently serving as the agency\u2019s principal deputy director. She previously worked as the director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks from 2017 to 2020 and was an assistant professor of law at the University of Montana.<\/p>\n

The Senate Agriculture Committee approved the nomination of Chavonda Jacobs-Young to be the US Department of Agriculture\u2019s Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics, the top scientific position at the USDA.<\/p>\n

Jacobs-Young currently serves as the Agriculture Research Service and she has led the National Institute of Food and Agriculture on a temporary basis. The Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics oversees the Agriculture Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, among other agencies. Jacobs-Young has a Ph.D. in wood and paper science.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Executive Branch<\/h2>\n

White House:<\/strong>\u00a0The Office of Science and Technology Policy\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0about scientific integrity in the federal government. The report recommendations include creating a Scientific Integrity Council with representatives from across the federal agencies, standardizing scientific integrity policies across the government and requiring federal contractors and grantees to complete scientific integrity trainings.<\/p>\n

BLM:<\/strong>\u00a0The Biden administration is\u00a0walking<\/a>\u00a0back plans developed by former President Trump to open most of the National Petroleum Reserve \u2013 Alaska (NPR-A) for drilling. The Trump administration proposed opening 80% of the around 19 million acres, or about 80% of the area, to oil and gas development. This move reverts the area to the previous management plan, finalized in 2013, which protected 11.2 million acres of the NPR-A, citing the importance of these areas to migratory birds and caribou.<\/p>\n

EPA:<\/strong>\u00a0The agency\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0a new\u00a0policy<\/a>\u00a0to evaluate the potential effects of a new pesticide active ingredients on federally threatened or endangered species and their habitats and initiate endangered species consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA, as appropriate. This reverses a decades-old policy. The EPA hopes that the new policy will reduce the number of legal challenges to its approvals of new active ingredients.<\/p>\n

PCAST:\u00a0<\/strong>The President\u2019s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology will\u00a0meet<\/a>\u00a0virtually Jan. 20-21 to discuss measuring and monitoring greenhouse gases and accelerating innovation in energy technologies.<\/p>\n

More News:<\/u><\/p>\n