Welcome to the SCBNA Blog!
This site provides news on the activities of the Society for Conservation Biology’s North America Section (SCBNA).
SCBNA and its 3,000 members work to advance conservation science and practice in North America.
NACCB2018, the next SCBNA biennial conference, will be held in Toronto, Ontario, July 21-26, 2018.
You can subscribe to SCBNA blog posts via RSS by clicking here. You can also connect with SCBNA on Facebook and Twitter.
Not a member of SCBNA? Join here.
Support SCBNA’s initiatives in conservation science!
–
2020 Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award
SNAP Policy Committee- NACCB Policy Resolution
SCBNA and ASM release comment letter on management of the endangered Mexican wolf
On June 12, The Society for Conservation Biology North America submitted a joint comment letter with the American Society of Mammologists (ASM) to the US Fish and Wildlife Service as that agency prepares court-ordered revisions to its rule governing management of the endangered Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), which occurs in northern Mexico and the southwestern US. In the comments, SCBNA and ASM explained why the rule revision must take a fresh look at best available science regarding what steps are necessary for recovery of the Mexican wolf, rather than relying on a flawed 2017 recovery plan whose conclusions were distorted due to political pressure from some southwestern states.
The major issues that SCBNA and ASM identified in the recovery plan include 1) arbitrarily high thresholds for acceptable extinction risk, 2) lack of objective and measurable recovery criteria regarding threats from illegal killing and other anthropogenic mortality, 3) lack of objective and measurable recovery criteria regarding genetic threats, and 4) arbitrary limits on the geographic extent of recovery.
Read the full comment letter here.
NACCB 2020 is Going Virtual – Registration is now Open!
Statement from the Society for Conservation Biology North America condemning anti-Black racism and police violence
Announcing New Members for SCB North America Board
To those of you who voted in the SCB North America election – thank you! The votes are in, and we are excited to announce the following new members of the SCB North America Board, with terms beginning 1 July 2020:
Dr. Hufft is the Associate Director of Applied Conservation at Denver Botanic Gardens, where she has overseen plant conservation projects since 2011. Prior to coming to the Gardens, she received her doctorate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz, conducted a
postdoctoral fellowship at Colorado State University, and served as a Senior Supervising Scientist at the National Ecological Observatory Network. She is a broadly trained conservation biologist whose research interests include restoration, ex situ conservation, long-term monitoring, and phenology. She is currently the co-chair for the North American Congress for Conservation Biology 2020 and has enjoyed helping to shape the meeting and engaging with more SCBNA members. She would like to continue to support the organization and its mission by serving on the board and contributing her many years of experience in grant and project management, research, education, and outreach.
Erin is a Senior Research Scientist with the Flathead Lake Biological Station, at the University of Montana. Erin’s research focus includes transboundary rivers between the US and Canada, with an emphasis on aquatic ecology and conservation biology, in our shared
transboundary watersheds, between British Columbia, Alberta and Montana. Erin is involved in coordinating cross-border research, assessment of mining impacts and ecological condition and the application of science to environmental decision-making. Erin lives in NW Montana with her family. They enjoy skiing, hiking, biking, playing on the river and gardening.
Paige is an environmental scientist whose research focuses how we account for, make decisions about, and value nature – from a personal as well as economic standpoint. At the Smart Prosperity Institute Paige leads a conservation finance initiative, examining financial mechanisms and enabling conditions to catalyze interest and investment to support ecosystem services and the natural world. Her expertise centers around ecosystem services, nature-based solutions for climate change, ecological economics, and environmental and relational values. With a common thread of connecting people and nature, her work has spanned rural agricultural settings in Latin America and South East Asia, to advocating for change in international policy settings, to providing sustainability guidance to private sector actors. In this work and past positions at the Earth Institute in New York City and UNEP in Geneva, she enjoys working with a range of stakeholders to address conservation challenges — including local communities, NGOs, various scales of government, academia, and the private sector. Paige maintains affiliations with the CHANS (Connecting Human and Natural Systems) Lab at UBC, and the Copenhagen Business School as part of the Impact for Innovation Lab. She holds a PhD from the Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC and a Master’s of Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University.
NACCB 2020 Registration is Now Open
NACCB Registration now open
Registration is now open for NACCB 2020, July 26-31, 2020 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown in Denver, Colorado.
In addition to registering for the conference, you’ll be able to register for an amazing selection of workshops & short courses, events, field trips, and more! See a sampling of NACCB offerings below, but please check the conference website often at www.scbnacongress.org for the latest NACCB updates.
NACCB Accommodations
The NACCB 2020 organizers and Society for Conservation Biology North America are closely monitoring the changing situation related to the spread of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. For now, NACCB 2020 is proceeding as planned. The health and welfare of NACCB attendees is our highest priority, and we will continue to monitor the situation, consult advice from public health authorities, and provide updates as necessary. All updates will be posted to the conference website and communicated to NACCB registrants.
Call for Nominations: Join the SCB North America Board!
Make a difference in conservation and give back to your conservation community. Nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the Society for Conservation Biology North America (SCBNA) Board of Directors.
The Society for Conservation Biology is an international professional organization dedicated to advancing the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity. SCBNA represents the North American continent north of Mexico (i.e.,Canada and the United States). Although Mexico is a member of SCB’s Latin America and Caribbean Section, SCBNA members collaborate with Mexican colleagues on transboundary conservation issues. SCBNA also works with other scientific societies and conservation organizations in North America to advance the application of science to conservation practice.
The Society for Conservation Biology’s North America Section invites you to nominate SCBNA members to stand for election for several open positions on the SCBNA Board of Directors. SCBNA is especially interested in increasing equity and inclusion at all levels, including on the board, and encourages nominations of individuals from historically underrepresented groups. Every board member attends one in-person meeting (some financial support may be possible) and 4-5 virtual SCBNA Board meetings per year plus performs committee work (e.g., meetings, writing).
Historically, most nominations have been self-nominations which are always welcome. Before you nominate someone else, please ask if they are willing to be considered. Please indicate the office(s) for which you seek consideration. Each nominee must be a current member of SCBNA and demonstrate relevant skills and experience to the position being covered. After reviewing nominees, the SCBNA Nominations Committee will put forward the slate of candidates for each office and announce the start of the voting period. The term of each elected officer will begin July 1, 2020.
The call for nominations is open now through March 6, 2020. See the attached Board Code of Conduct and the SCBNA Bylaws for position descriptions and expectations of board members, and refer to the SCBNA website for further information on the section and activities. Please contact Karen Root, kvroot@bgsu.edu and Megan Keville, megan.keville@scbnorthamerica.org with additional questions regarding these positions.
The open seats are:
To submit a nomination please email the below nomination form to SCB North America Section Director of Operations, Megan Keville at megan.keville@scbnorthamerica.org by March 6, 2020. Please indicate ‘SCBNA elections’ in the subject line. Elections will open in March, and close in mid-April, 2020. Terms will begin July 1, 2020.
NOMINATION FORM:
________________________
Nomination Form — Board of Directors, Society for Conservation Biology – North America Section 2020
Nominations are sought for:
• Treasurer (3-year term)
• VP for Policy and Programs (3-year term)
• Member-at-large (2-year term)
DEADLINE: March 6, 2020
ELECTIONS: March to mid-April 2020
Nominees must be members in good standing with the Society for Conservation Biology as well as members of the North America Section, and must be willing to run for election before the deadline. In addition, we encourage nominations of candidates from both the US and Canada to achieve geographic diversity in our board representation. In this round of elections, we seek to fill at least one of the three open positions with a Canadian colleague.
By agreeing to stand for election, nominees indicate their willingness to serve the SCB North America Section by attending Board of Directors meetings during their term of office. In-person meetings occur yearly (coincident with NACCB during Congress years) with multiple virtual meetings throughout the year. In addition, Board members are expected to be actively engaged in directing the SCB North America Section through committee work and active engagement in the work of the section. Board members are also expected to adhere to the code of conduct in all aspects of their representation of SCBNA.
Nominations should include (in a single pdf or Word document):
Nominee Information
Name of Nominee:
Board Position (indicate one position):
Organization:
Address:
City:
State, Province or Region:
Postal Code:
Country:
Phone:
Email:
CV/Resume (2-page limit)
A short biographical sketch of the nominee indicating why they are interested in being part of the SCB North American Section Board and how their experience relates to the position for which they are being nominated (300-word max)
Your Information (if different)
Your Name:
Your Email Address:
COMPASS Journalism Fellowships are back for NACCB 2020
We’re excited to announce that COMPASS will be providing travel fellowships for journalists from across North America to attend the North American Congress for Conservation Biology (NACCB) in Denver, Colorado, July 26-31.
The biennial conference brings together over 1,000 conservation scientists, professionals, and students to share the latest research, explore challenges, and foster collaborations. The conference theme for 2020 is Crossing Boundaries: Innovative Approaches To Conservation.
The application period closes March 16, 2020. Please see this blog post or this downloadable flyer for more details on how to apply, and please share broadly with your network! To learn more about past journalist fellowships, click here.
NACCB 2020 Exhibitor Registration is Now Open!