Help Shape ESA's Comments for the US First National Nature Assessment by Feb. 3, 2023.

The Ecological Society of America is seeking feedback from the ecological community to inform its response to the White House Office of Science Technology and Policy (OSTP) recent Request for Information (RiF), entitled Framing the National Nature Assessment published in the Federal Register.

OSTP needs scientifically sound input from the ecological and biological community to shape the NNA because taking stock and measuring nature within the entire United States has never been done. Led by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the NNA will assess the state of U.S.  lands, waters, and wildlife and the specific benefits that they provide.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for ecologists to provide input to the US government on how nature, biodiversity and ecosystems will be measured to provide the information needed to manage ecosystems and biodiversity within the United States.

As a member of the ecological community, your feedback is essential to shape the NNA.  We encourage everyone to participate by providing feedback to ESA to inform its comments. Additionally, we strongly encourage all ecologists to submit individual responses to the NNA RiF.

Visit the ESA website for more information.

ESA is collecting names and affiliations to communicate with respondents, but your name will not be made public or used in the RiF comments ESA submits. All comments will be considered for inclusion, but they will be edited into one comprehensive document. You can submit comments anonymously if desired.

We encourage you to submit individual comments along with helping to inform ESA comments. Each RiF submission is limited to 3500 words and seven pages.

The opportunity to help inform ESA comments closes Feb. 3, 2023. (ESA deadline)

OSTP will accept comments until March 31, 2023.

***You may choose to answer all or just one of the questions.***

More Information, Resources and Tools

  1. Contact ESA staff with any questions, Director of Public Affairs Alison Mize at alison@esa.or Public Affairs Manager Nicole Zimmerman at nicole@esa.org
  2. Read the Framing the National Nature Assessment RFI.
  3.  ESA hosted a webinar about the NNA. View the OSTP NNA Informational Webinar

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Questions To Inform Development of a Use-Inspired Assessment

1. Assessments can be tailored to inform a wide range of audiences. For example, assessments can be created for use by the general public, government decision makers (at any scale from Federal to state to local, territorial or Tribal), researchers and practitioners, non-profit organizations, private sector companies, individuals, different generational groups, or other audiences.

Who are the key audiences for, or users of, the NNA?

Who should find the information that the NNA provides useful?

         2a. What engagement processes should be used so that the audiences identified above are best able to participate in the development process?
2b. What forms or formats of engagement ( e.g., in-person town hall meetings, virtual conversations, community workshops, social media events, calls for stories or art) are likely to help USGCRP meet its principle of inclusivity and best inform the assessment?

3. Use inspired assessments are tailored to their intended use.

3a. What decisions should the NNA help inform, and what information is needed for those decisions?

3b. What needs can the assessment fill, and how should information be provided to fill them?
3c. What questions should the NNA answer? What do you wish you knew about nature in the United States?
4. The scope of the NNA includes assessment of the observed trends and future projections of nature and the benefits it provides to people.

4a. Given this: How far back in time should the NNA explore observed trends, and why?
4b. What kinds of questions about the future should the NNA aim to answer? How far into the future should projections extend, and why?
4c. What types of future scenarios would best support the recommended uses ( e.g. quantitative time series, directional changes, stories)?
5. Assessments can create a wide variety of products that help users access, understand and use the information that is provided. These can include large written reports, a series of shorter reports, online interactive settings, artistic expressions (paintings, poems, etc.), infographics, virtual or augmented reality tools, phone or tablet apps, presentations, data resources, films, podcasts, social media, events, entertainment products, and many others.

5a. What kinds of products can best communicate the findings of the NNA?

5b. How would you like to use the findings of the NNA?

6. Past assessments have used various approaches to organizing findings. Some give information for each region of the country ( e.g., findings for the southeast, northwest, southwest, the Arctic). Others give information for different types of ecosystems ( e.g., kelp forest, desert, temperate forest) or levels of ecological organization ( e.g., species, communities, ecosystems). Still others organize findings for specific audiences ( e.g., government, businesses, land owners, resource users like fishers, hunters, hikers), or specific decision-making contexts ( e.g., NEPA requirements, corporate ESG reporting, financial risk disclosure, research prioritization). The NNA is tasked to assess the connections between nature and the benefits it provides, and so findings could also be organized by benefit ( e.g., public health, equity, economy) or by sector ( e.g., agriculture, transportation, health, housing, energy).

6a. Given that the scope of the NNA is quite broad, how should information in the assessment be organized?
6b. What format would best match the ways you think the NNA should be used?
Questions To Inform a Definition of Nature

7. What does nature mean to you?
8. What should the definition of nature used in the NNA be sure to address or include, and why?
9. What should the definition of nature used in the NNA be sure to leave out or exclude, and why?
Questions To Inform Identification of Relevant Knowledge Sources

10. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is an important body of knowledge that contributes to the scientific, technical, social, and economic advancements of the United States and to our collective understanding of the natural world.

10a. Responsive to this recognition: How can USGCRP best engage with Tribes and Indigenous Peoples in the development of the NNA?
10b. How should IK be woven together with other forms of knowing in the NNA?
11. There are many ongoing assessments, and existing quantitative and qualitative data and knowledge that relate to the many aspects of nature and the wide range of benefits the NNA is charged to assess. These sources may be generated by government agencies, Tribes and Indigenous Peoples, colleges and universities, local communities, non-profit organizations, the international community, the private sector, and others.

11a. What existing assessments and knowledge efforts should the NNA draw from to provide a comprehensive view of the status, observed trends and future projections of nature and its benefits in the United States, and why?
11b. How can USGCRP best engage with local communities to incorporate their lived experiences into the NNA?
11c. What existing datasets, knowledge sources, information or stories should USGCRP draw from in creating the NNA, and why?
11d. How should the NNA be designed to add value beyond what these existing efforts and sources already provide?
Would you be interested in serving as an ESA volunteer technical expert for the NNA?
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