Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
Several members of the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSCA) Board of Directors, led by Barbara Thiers, Director Emerita at the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium of The New York Botanical Garden, have authored a Viewpoint article for BioScience calling for “continued enhancement, not dissolution” of the Duke Herbarium. The article reads, in part: “We urge […]
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF)—an alliance of more than 140 professional organizations, scientific societies, universities, and businesses that advocate for the National Science Foundation (NSF)—has called on House and Senate appropriators to provide at least $11.9 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year (FY) 2025. Then House and Senate letters […]
In 2020, an ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released its report, Biological Collections: Ensuring Critical Research and Education for the 21st Century. Recommendation 8-1 of the report called for the establishment of a national Action Center for Biological Collections, which was codified into law by the U.S. Congress […]
On February 16, 2024, the Natural Science Collections (NSC) Alliance sent a letter to Duke University leadership in response to reports about the closure of their herbarium due to a change in funding priorities. The letter strongly urged Duke leadership to reconsider the decision to dismantle the herbarium. “Duke’s proposed divestment of its herbarium is […]
NSC Alliance has joined more than 1000 organizations in a letter urging Congress to reject any full-year continuing resolution that would result in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, the funding source for most scientific research programs. “Such cuts would be disastrous for the capacity of the federal government to serve the public, assist those in […]
As the year wraps up and we head into the holiday season, we invite you to take a look at the NSC Alliance’s accomplishments in 2023. We engaged in a number of efforts to elevate the profile of natural history collections with policymakers, researchers, and the general public. A few highlights are presented below: Read […]
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF)—an alliance of more than 140 professional organizations, scientific societies, universities, and businesses that advocate for the National Science Foundation (NSF)—has called on the Biden Administration to request $16.7 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year (FY) 2025, which is the level of funding for NSF […]
The Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) has identified six emerging and early career professionals who will join the steering committee of the National Science Foundation-funded project, “Building an Integrated, Open, Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (BIOFAIR) Data Network.” The BIOFAIR Data Network project, led by BCoN and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) in partnership […]
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee is holding two virtual public meetings on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, and Thursday, November 30, 2023. Agenda, meeting materials, and registration links for the two meetings can be found here.
The Associated Press reported last week that the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology has acquired tens of thousands of reptile and amphibian specimens from Oregon State University, many of which are snakes. Thanks to this recent donation, the museum’s reptile and amphibian collection is now believed to be the largest held by any research […]