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.
The Natural Science Collections Alliance was among 170 science and research stakeholders to write to congressional leadership urging swift action to complete work on the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills with increases for federal science agencies and to provide emergency supplemental funding for research relief in the wake of COVID-19. The groups argue, in […]
The Natural Science Collections Alliance has joined 15 other scientific organizations in thanking House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA), and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) for introducing the Saving the Civil Service Act (H.R. 8687) to reverse the October 21, 2020 Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service. The […]
On October 19, 2020, the NSC Alliance reiterated its request to key House and Senate leaders that any economic measures crafted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic address the financial harm being felt by natural history museums, botanical gardens, and other scientific societies and research organizations, which are an integral part of the nation’s bioeconomy. […]
In April, the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN) conducted a survey of the natural history collections/museum community to understand how COVID-19 related economic disruptions are affecting the work of professionals associated with such collections. The results were shared with the scientific community, including federal program managers and policymakers, in May 2020. This second survey follows up […]
A federal judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled against the Trump Administration’s effort to narrow the reach of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918. A 2017 legal opinion by the Department of the Interior solicitor’s office concluded that incidental bird take resulting from an […]
A new special collection of natural history collection related articles from BioScience highlights some of the exciting new ways scientists and educators are mobilizing and using biodiversity data from natural history collections. The collection entitled, Natural History Collections: Advancing the Frontiers of Science, is available at https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/pages/natural-history-collections.
National Fossil Day, an annual celebration organized by the National Park Service (NPS), will take place on October 14, 2020. The event highlights the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations. The annual celebration will include paleontology activities planned by partner organizations across the United States. NSC […]
Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation to provide emergency relief appropriations for federal science agencies to support the research community during the ongoing public health crisis. On June 24, 2020, the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (H.R. 7308) was introduced by Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Fred Upton (R-MI), […]
On July 6, 2020, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a new guidance that would have forced international students to leave the U.S. if they did not participate in in-person instruction during the fall 2020 semester. The ICE guidance modified temporary exemptions issued in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those provisions […]
Two articles published in the July 2020 issue of BioScience — an Editorial led by NSC Alliance Treasurer Jennifer Zaspel and a Viewpoint led by Past-President Joe Cook — are calling for increased coordination and new strategies for integrating biodiversity collections into efforts to tackle pathogen discovery and emerging infectious diseases, including zoonoses. In the […]