As the year wraps up and we head into the holiday season, we invite you to take a look at NSC Alliance’s accomplishments in 2025. We engaged in a number of efforts to advocate for natural history collections and elevate their profile on the national and international stage. A few highlights are presented below:
- Successfully opposed proposals to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) by coordinating a joint letter to Congress signed by 74 professional societies and organizations and launching a grassroots letter-writing campaign that enabled individuals to urge their members of Congress to take immediate action. These efforts helped secure bipartisan support for IMLS in the FY 2026 appropriations process.
- Joined the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) in co-hosting an educational webinar on repatriation, exploring ethical and voluntary return of natural history specimens beyond the scope of Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
- Provided comments on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) reorganization plan, which calls for closing the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center—home to the U. S. National Fungus Collection and the USDA Nematode Collection.
- Submitted joint comments with SPNHC to augment the draft International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) position statement on the vital role of natural history museums, herbaria, and scientific collections (NHMCs) in biodiversity monitoring and conservation.
2025 Year in Review