{"id":90,"date":"2008-04-14T13:06:11","date_gmt":"2008-04-14T17:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=90"},"modified":"2008-04-14T13:06:11","modified_gmt":"2008-04-14T17:06:11","slug":"policy-news-from-esas-public-affairs-office-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2008\/04\/14\/policy-news-from-esas-public-affairs-office-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News from ESA&#8217;s Public Affairs Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>A Bi-Monthly Publication of the Ecological Society of America <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CLIMATE: Feinstein, Snowe float bill to force EPA   action<\/li>\n<li>SALMON: U.S. halts commercial salmon   season<\/li>\n<li>AGRICULTURE: House puts wildlife taxes on chopping block   for farm bill<\/li>\n<li>OCEANS: \u2018Radical\u2019 shark-finning proposal aims to close   vessel loophole<\/li>\n<li>FORESTS: Final Forest Service planning rule   released<\/li>\n<li>APPROPRIATIONS: ESA Graduate Student Policy Award winners   participate in Hill fly-in day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>CLIMATE: Feinstein, Snowe float bill to force EPA   action <\/strong>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency   (EPA) would have 60 days to complete its Supreme Court-mandated endangerment   finding on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles under legislation   Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced April   2.<\/p>\n<p>The move follows EPA Administrator   Stephen Johnson\u2019s announcement that he would issue a rulemaking notice this   spring that would respond to the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in <em>Massachusetts v.   EPA<\/em>. That ruling requires EPA to determine whether GHG emissions endanger   public health and welfare and to regulate them if they are found to be   harmful.<\/p>\n<p>Feinstein said it should take EPA very   little time to complete its endangerment finding because \u201cthe work has already   been done.\u201d Earlier this month, senior EPA officials informed the House   Oversight and Government Reform Committee that EPA submitted a draft   endangerment finding to the White House Office of Management and Budget and a   regulatory proposal to the Transportation Department in December.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SALMON: U.S. halts commercial salmon   season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Federal regulators, worried about   collapsing populations, agreed on April 10 to cancel this year\u2019s   Oregon and   California commercial and   recreational catch of Chinook salmon. The ban, adopted by the Pacific Fishery   Management Council, is the first since the West Coast fishing industry began 150   years ago.<\/p>\n<p>In   California, commercial salmon   fishing is a $150 million business and the economic mainstay of many coastal   communities. The cancelled season will have repercussions beyond local fuel   docks and tackle shops to grocery stores nationwide.<\/p>\n<p>The ban largely results from the decline   in the Sacramento River, which became the powerhouse of   the chinook industry as other runs suffered. But in the past few years, its   numbers have been dropping and scientists predict that fewer than half the fish   needed to ensure a sustainable population will return to the run this   fall.<\/p>\n<p>Federal scientists have laid much of the   blame for the salmon slump on shifting ocean conditions and a flagging offshore   food chain, possibly brought on by global climate change. Fishers blame bridge   construction that creates underwater noise, water diversion and pesticide   contamination from agriculture in the   Sacramento delta. Fishers have   pushed for California to take   action to reduce water diversion and would like farmers along the   Sacramento to use less   water-intensive crops and change their pesticide practices. Studies have found   that 2 percent of salmon have survived the 250-mile trip from the headwaters of   the Sacramento to the   Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AGRICULTURE: House puts wildlife taxes on chopping block   for farm bill<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tax incentives for wildlife habitat,   timber and energy that were included in the Senate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version of the farm bill   are at risk, as the House and Senate push to iron out differences in a final   conference bill.<\/p>\n<p>At the first formal conference committee   meeting for the farm bill, House members insisted that all extra tax provisions   be struck from the bill \u2014 including measures on endangered species, forestry   and energy.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the taxes will survive the   ongoing negotiations remains unresolved. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus   (D-MT) and ranking member Charles Grassley (R-IA) said they are still working   out what offsets and taxes to be included in the bill. Sen. Blanche Lincoln   (D-AR), one of the cosponsors of the endangered species tax incentives, said she   hopes there is still an opportunity to include it and other resources tax   provisions in the bill. Lincoln is a   conferee on the farm bill and sits on both the Agriculture and Finance   committees.<\/p>\n<p>Landowner and environmental groups have   lobbied for years for the voluntary endangered species tax program. The $1.7   billion program would give tax credits to farmers, ranchers and other landowners   who incur costs to recover threatened or endangered species. The measure has   drawn praise from groups often on opposite sides of the endangered species   debate, including the Farm Bureau, Environmental Defense and the National   Wildlife Federation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy judgment is that these tax credits   cannot be in this bill, they just do not belong, there is no reason they could   not be in a tax extender bill,\u201d House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson   (D-MN) told reporters. \u201cIt is mucking up the farm bill right now, the Senate is   going to have to realize the House does business differently and these aren\u2019t   going to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>OCEANS: \u2018Radical\u2019 shark-finning proposal aims to close   vessel loophole<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ocean advocates are pushing for new   legislation that would close a loophole in   U.S. law on   shark-finning \u2014 the practice of slicing off a shark\u2019s fin and leaving its body   to sink and die in the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>Current   U.S. law forbids   shark-finning on fishing boats, but other vessels and international operations   are allowed to bring some shark fins into the country. The new legislation,   proposed by Delegate Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), would require sharks to be   landed whole with their fins attached.<\/p>\n<p>Ocean conservation advocates say the   practice contributes to a swift decline of the species and the ocean ecosystems   that depend on it. International environmental groups have identified 140   different shark species as threatened or imperiled.<\/p>\n<p>The bill comes on the heels of a 9th U.S.   Circuit Court of Appeals decision on a Hong Kong shipping   company that had 32 tons of shark fins seized by federal authorities in 2002.   The court ruled in favor of the company in a decision last month, because the   U.S. ban applies only to \u201cfishing vessels,\u201d and theirs was technically a   shipping boat. The 9th Circuit decision would require the government to return   $618,956 to the boat \u2014 the market value of the fins.<\/p>\n<p>The new \u201cShark Conservation Act\u201d from   Bordallo, who chairs a House subcommittee that oversees fishing issues, would   apply to all boats, not just fishing vessels.<\/p>\n<p>As many as 100 million sharks are killed   each year for their meat and fins, according to the U.N. Environment   Programme.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FORESTS: Final Forest Service planning rule   released<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Bush administration has released its   final planning rule for the development of new management plans for almost 200   million acres of national forests after a federal judge shot down a previous   version last year.<\/p>\n<p>The new planning rule is intended to   significantly expand the role of the public during plan development and to allow   plans to better adjust to changing conditions such as drought and climate   change.  It also requires each ecosystem   within a forest to be evaluated as a whole, eliminating the \u201cspecies viability   requirement\u201d that mandated evaluation of each species. Species-specific studies   will now occur only when the Forest Service determines that the \u201cecosystem   diversity\u201d provisions of the plan require examination of a particular   species.<\/p>\n<p>The final rule incorporates many of the   elements of a 2005 rule that was blocked by a federal judge in   San Francisco last year. The judge   ruled that the Forest Service had removed environmental protections without   providing for proper public comment or considering the effect on endangered   species.<\/p>\n<p>The Forest Service and timber industry   claim the 2005 rule properly focuses attention at the project level, but critics   say plans developed under the 2005 rule and the new planning rule would make it   more difficult to challenge individual projects and would substitute categorical   exclusions for environmental impact statements for forest plans.<\/p>\n<p>To view the final planning rule, go to: <a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.fs.fed.us\/emc\/nfma\/includes\/planning_rule\/08_planning_rule.pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fs.fed.us\/emc\/nfma\/includes\/planning_rule\/08_planning_rule.pdf\">http:\/\/www.fs.fed.us\/emc\/nfma\/includes\/planning_rule\/08_planning_rule.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>APPROPRIATIONS: ESA Graduate Student Policy Award winners   participate in Hill fly-in day<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ecological Society of America   (ESA) graduate students Rebecca   Chaplin-Kramer (UC-Berkeley) and Matthew Trager   (U. of   Florida) were two of the more than 30   biologists participating in a two-day event focused on federal support of the   biological and agricultural sciences.    Chaplin-Kramer and Trager both won   ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Graduate Student Policy Award, a   competitive award which gives ESA student   members the opportunity to learn more about the federal appropriations process   and to actively participate in a full day of team meetings with congressional   delegations.  The event focused on the   value of federal investment in the National Science Foundation and the U.S.   Department of Agriculture\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s National Research Initiative and participants   stressed how agricultural and biological research funded through these agencies   contribute to a wide range of society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s challenges, from conserving biodiversity   to alternative energy development.<\/p>\n<p>Organized by the Biological Ecological Sciences Coalition   (BESC) and the Coalition on funding Agricultural Research Missions (CoFARM), the   event also featured an afternoon of briefings from the agencies, a perspective   from a long-time Capitol Hill staffer, and a reception honoring Representatives   Baird (D-WA) and Bilbray (R-CA).  As   Chair of the Research and Science Education Subcommittee, Baird has strongly   championed investments in all sciences, and defended the integrity of the   scientific method and peer-review.  He   has also been a strong supporter of the America COMPETES Act.  Congressman Bilbray played a key role in   gaining inclusion of language supporting the biological and social sciences in   the report accompanying the NSF Authorization Act of 2007.<\/p>\n<p>ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtogether with the   American Institute of Biological Sciences\u00e2\u20ac\u201dco-chairs BESC (<a title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\/besc\" href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/besc\">www.esa.org\/besc<\/a>),   which supports the goal of increasing the nation\u2019s investment in the biological   sciences across all federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation   and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Sources:   Environment and Energy Daily, Greenwire, and Land   LetterSend questions or   comments to Nadine Lymn, ESA Director of Public Affairs, <a title=\"blocked::mailto:Nadine@esa.org mailto:Nadine@esa.org\" href=\"mailto:Nadine@esa.org\"><span title=\"blocked::mailto:Nadine@esa.org\">Nadine@esa.org<\/span><\/a> or Colleen Fahey, Policy   Analyst, <a title=\"blocked::mailto:Colleen@esa.org\" href=\"mailto:Colleen@esa.org\">Colleen@esa.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you   received Policy News from a friend and would like to receive it directly, please   send an e-mail to listserv@listserv.umd.edu with the following in the body of   the message: sub ESANEWS {your first and last name}<\/p>\n<p>If you wish to unsubscribe to ESANEWS and your biweekly   Policy News, send the command \u00e2\u20ac\u0153signoff ESANEWS\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to <a title=\"blocked::mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\" href=\"mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\"><span title=\"blocked::mailto:listserv@listserv.umd.edu\">listserv@listserv.umd.edu<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website at <a title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\/ https:\/\/esa.org\/\" href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/\"><span title=\"blocked::https:\/\/esa.org\/\">www.esa.org<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>See past editions of   ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Policy News at <a href=\"https:\/\/esa.org\/pao\/policyNews\/\">https:\/\/esa.org\/pao\/policyNews\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Read the latest biweekly Policy News from ESA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Public Affairs Office. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ecology-in-policy","category-policy-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}