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.
Recently, leading anthropologists and archaeologists sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar expressing deep concern with a recently implemented rule from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) National Office in Washington, DC. NAGPRA is housed within the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. According to the American Association […]
How much of North America’s plant diversity is safeguarded in ex situ collections? The short answer is we don’t know, but BGCI-US (Botanic Garden Conservation International-US), in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the United States Botanic Garden, is using the North American Collections Assessment to answer this question. Results will be […]
On May 12, 2010 the Natural Science Collections Alliance (NSC Alliance) submitted comments to the Department of the Interior regarding a rule that outlines procedures for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains in the possession or control of museums or federal agencies. NSC Alliance called for the rescission of the rule, as […]
In a recent publication on GlobalPost.com, Dr. William Brown calls for the preservation of natural history collections as a way to preserve biodiversity. “Natural history museums and related institutions … are the keepers of the codes of life. They have the collections and the curators, scientists and educators who understand biodiversity,” wrote Brown, who is […]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) requests public comments regarding the agency’s application and reporting requirements for the take of migratory birds. Several permits issued by the FWS that regulate the disturbance and taking of migratory birds are scheduled for government review this year. Of potential interest to scientists are forms 3-200-6 (import/export of […]
NSC Alliance President William Brown recently provided written outside witness testimony to the House and Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations. The testimony requested that Congress provide President Obama’s requested funding for NSF in FY 2011. Moreover, the testimony expressed support for NSF initiatives that support natural science collections, digitization of […]
Several NSC Alliance members have written to House Research and Science Education Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) asking that his Subcommittee include natural science collections in the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. The letters support a request sent by NSC Alliance President William Y. Brown to Rep. Lipinski that the House adapt the language […]
The Department of the Interior has finalized a rule regarding procedures for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains in the possession or control of museums or federal agencies. The rule implements the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. According to the notice published in the Federal Register: “In brief, this rule […]
Congress is now considering appropriations for federal agencies for fiscal year 2011. It is important that members of Congress understand why federal investments in the National Science Foundation (NSF) are important to the nation and their district. NSF provides roughly 68 percent of federal funding for competitive, peer-reviewed grants in fundamental and environmental biological research […]
The intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations recently initiated a mid-term evaluation of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). GEOSS was initiated in 2005 with a vision to realize a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth observations and information. GEOSS implementation is […]