FT 17

Ecologists Go to Washington: Exploring the Frontier of Ecology and Public Policy

Participants will travel to Washington, DC for a day-long exploration of how ecologists engage with the policy process. The program will have three parts:

(1) A short overview of how science policy is coordinated at the federal level and the mechanisms that the government uses to acquire scientific advice and information. The overview will be modeled after the AAAS Fellowship orientation. This discussion will also explore the ways in which professional societies like ESA work with their members to infuse science into policy discussions.

(2) Conversation with ecologists who are “embedded” at the science-policy frontier, both inside federal, state, and local governments and outside the government in NGOs. Panelists will represent ecologists at various career stages, and we hope to feature ESA leaders and members who have worked at high levels of science and policy. The formal discussion will conclude with a discussion of emerging issues at the frontier of ecology and policy and how to support ecologists working at this intersection.

(3) A networking reception in collaboration with science-policy fellowship programs in the DC area. The reception will include a short plenary address by a science-policy leader. The reception will also allow participants to engage in informal discussions with each other, the day’s speakers, previous and current science-policy fellows, and other professionals working at the interface of policy and science.