Policy-Making and Capacity Building in Wildlife Policy & Advocacy
Over the next few months, the Policy Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology North America (SCBNA) will be gathering useful resources and making them available for our members via this page. This effort will be implemented in conjunction with our ongoing Webinar Series and with the input of our Working Group and other partners. If you have questions about these resources – or have some to share – please reach out to mail@scbnorthamerica.org.
Resources on proposed changes to federal financial assistance regulations (August, 2026)
SCBNA is deeply concerned by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed rule, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance, 91 Fed. Reg. 32198 (May 29, 2026), which would rewrite the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200 governing federal research grants. SCBNA’s members depend on federally funded, peer-reviewed research to inform science-based conservation of imperiled species and ecosystems across North America. The proposed rule would replace that merit-based system with one vulnerable to political interference, and we join the growing chorus of scientific societies urging OMB to withdraw it. As such, SCBNA encourages our members and partner organizations to reach out to their congressional delegations about the proposed rule’s impact on federally funded conservation research.
For tips on writing effective public comments, we invite you to utilize the following resources from EDGI:
– How to Write Effective Public Comments
– Research Recommendations for Writing Informed Public Comments
Resources on proposed changes to regulations guiding the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (December, 2025)
Click here for more information!
SCBNA opposes the changes proposed by the Services (US FWS & NMFS) to the regulations guiding the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), including the revisions to the regulations for interagency cooperation, revisions related to listing species and designating critical habitat, and the rescission of the 4(d) regulations for threatened wildlife and plants. We contend that if these proposals are enacted, they will severely weaken protections for existing endangered and threatened species in the United States and may well result in even more extinctions. Moreover, the move will reverse decades of conservation successes and harm the very economic and national security activities that the revisions intend to prioritize, as the resilient ecosystems are critical to achieving those goals.
We encourage SCBNA members and our organizational partners to use the tools below and join us in urging the Services to abandon their proposal and to reaffirm their commitment to protecting the ESA.
**SCBNA submitted the following letter to the Services for consideration on December 15, 2025**
***FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE.***
Resources on proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (September, 2025)
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On June 23, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture announced a proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Roadless Rule is a cornerstone of American conservation policy, protecting some 58.5 million acres of national forest land, and its proposed repeal would have devastating and irreversible consequences for our nation’s forests. It would lead to the degradation of our nation’s biodiversity, increase wildfire risks, compromise the long-term sustainability of our forests, and jeopardize access to a clean living environment.
We encourage SCBNA members and our organizational partners to use the tools below and join us in urging the USDA to abandon this proposal and to reaffirm its commitment to protecting our last wild and roadless forests for the benefit of all Americans, today and tomorrow.
**SCBNA submitted the following letter to the USDA for consideration on September 9, 2025**
***FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE.***
Resources on proposed bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (August, 2025)
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The Committee on Natural Resources has proposed draft bill to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972. This legislation would roll back the foundational safeguards that have protected marine mammal populations for over 50 years. It threatens to undermine ocean health, reverse decades of conservation success, and harm the coastal economies that depend on productive, resilient marine ecosystems.
We encourage SCBNA members and our organizational partners to use the tools below and join us in urging the Committee to suspend consideration of this draft until its implications can be fully evaluated. Should the reauthorization process proceed, it must involve input from the Marine Mammal Commission, marine biologists, and conservation experts to ensure the bill reflects the best available science and sound policy.
***NOTE: SCBNA submitted the following letter to the Committee for consideration on July 31, 2025, prior to Congress’ August Recess.***
***FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE.***
Resources for Comments on Proposed ESA “Harm” Rule Change (May, 2025)
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The Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have proposed rule to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed action would significantly weaken one of our nation’s most effective conservation laws and jeopardize the survival of imperiled species by stripping away a critical mechanism for addressing habitat-based threats. It is necessary to continue to protect the habitat of threatened species to preserve the unique natural heritage that is the pride of our Nation.
We encourage SCBNA members and our organizational partners to use the tools below and join us in urging the Services to retain the current definition of “harm” within the regulatory definition of “take.” Doing so is both legally justified and essential to fulfilling the ESA’s purpose of conserving endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.
***NOTE: Public comments to USFWS/NOAA are open until May 19th, 2025. Submit yours HERE.***
***FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE.***
SCBNA Sign-Ons & Additional Actions (2025-2026)
In addition to the above, SCBNA has submitted the following comment letters in response to proposed policy changes:
SCBNA has also supported the efforts of partner organizations by signing on to the following letters:
Policy Issues Working Group Members:
- Adrian Treves, Professor, University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Gregg Servheen, Retired Wildlife Biologist
- Bruce Thompson, Retired Wildlife Biologist
- Fred Koontz, Retired Wildlife Biologist & SCBNA Policy Committee Member
- Logan Christian, Wildlife and Habitat Specialist, National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL)
- Naomi Edelson, Senior Director, Wildlife Partnerships, National Wildlife Federation
- Teri Wright, Wildlife Advocate
- Joann Lindenmayer, DVM, MPH, Dipl. AVES (Hon.)
- Lily Piel, Wildlife Advocate
- Viola Halle, Science Writer
Introductory Speaker Articles for our 2025 Webinar Series
Click here for more information!
John Organ, North-American-model-of-Wildlife-Conservation.pdf
Michale Paul Nelson, 2016, Why the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is Problematic for Modern Wildlife Management: Human Dimensions of Wildlife: Vol 22 , No 1 – Get Access (tandfonline.com)
Anja Heister, 2023, Beyond the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Michael Manfredo and Tara Teel, 2020, Social value shift in favour of biodiversity conservation in the United States | Nature Sustainability
Tara Teel et al., 2022, Reenvisioning the university education needs of wildlife conservation professionals in the United States
Emily Pomerantz, 2021, Frontiers | Successful Wildlife Conservation Requires Good Governance (frontiersin.org)
Treves, 2017, Predators and the public trust – Treves – 2017 – Biological Reviews – Wiley Online Library
Naomi Edelson, Strengthening State Wildlife Agencies Tookit
Koontz, F. 2022. Refocus Fish and Wildlife mandate on conservation. The Seattle Times, April 7.
Koontz, F. 2023. Wildlife Management 2.0: A Revolution in the Making. PAN Works Medium, June 12.
Koontz, F. 2022. Defining “Conservation” to Strengthen Biodiversity Policy and Legislation, Video Presentation, North American Conservation Biology Congress, Reno, NV, July 19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcgeLqIZQW0
Special collection of articles in Conservation Science and Practice on “agency organizational change”: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.
