About SCB North America’s Policy Committee
Resources on proposed rule to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (September, 2026)
On August 20, 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture announced a proposed rule 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 Federal Register on September 3, 2026**
***FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE.***
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
– FAQ: How to Submit your Public Comment
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 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)
Click here for additional information!
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:
Past Actions
Support for Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
In 2021, SCB North America joined hundreds of other conservation organizations and interests in signing on to the National Wildlife Federation’s letter urging Congress to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. The Act would create a dedicated fund for proactive conservation efforts led by local states, tribes and territories. Learn more about the Act and read the letter here.
Our Top Initiatives:
Climate change adaptation
Climate change presents a significant risk to biological diversity around the world, and could push over 30% towards extinction by the end of the century. Helping species adapt to the worst impacts of climate change is an important management strategy to minimize the impacts of climate change. SCBNA has worked towards improving and adopting policies that strengthen climate change adaptation, for example to strengthen connectivity policies especially on publicly owned lands in the United States.
Endangered species
SCBNA has a long history of working to improve policies for endangered species in the United States and Canada. For example, in 2002 SCB led a comprehensive review of all recovery plans for imperiled species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and offered a series of recommendations to strengthen those plans. Since then, SCBNA has continued to focus on the recovery of plant and animal species protected under the ESA and Canada’s Species At Risk Act.
Scientific integrity
SCB North America’s Policy Committee works to strengthen and advance scientific integrity to ensure that scientific knowledge relating to the conservation of biological diversity is used by decision makers when shaping policies that affect the planet’s biodiversity.
The Policy Committee recently convened a transnational team of scientists to identify policies on scientific integrity which should be supported by scientists and scientific societies active on the issue. The result is a study published in the journal Conservation Biology.
Crowdsourcing Survey:
If you have any information on advocacy actions as they relate to biodiversity conservation, please considering submitting a response for our survey. Links to survey responses can be accessed below as well.
Conservation Advocacy Actions
Policy Committee:
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- Keegan Mobley, Vice President for Policy, Chair
- Lauren Jonaitis
- Erin Sexton
- Aerin Jacobs
- Rachel Prokopius
- Kathryn Ruth Ware
- Steve Lemeshko
- Sean Hoban
- Sylvia Fallon
- Fred Koontz
- Alana Luzzio
- Kevin Bixby
- (Jen) Nifer Wilkening
- Sau Silwal
