New Restrictions on Conference Attendance for USGS Scientists

The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Office of Administration has rolled out new guidelines for USGS scientists attending two major geological sciences conferences. The guidelines, obtained by the Washington Post, were posted on the agency’s internal website. According to the guidelines, scientists at the agency will be required to provide a detailed “attendee justification” and submit their presentation titles for review by the Department of the Interior (DOI) when applying for travel approval to attend the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in Washington, DC, and the Geological Society of America meeting in Indianapolis this year. The scientists must describe how their research aligns with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s ten priorities for the Department, including “create a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt,” “sustainably develop our energy and natural resources,” “increase revenues to support the Department and national interests,” “strike a regulatory balance,” “modernize our infrastructure,” and “reorganize the Department for the next 100 years.” Faith Vander Voort, a spokesperson for DOI, explained that as a result of budget restrictions the Department “can only afford to send people who have a meaningful role at the conference…If taxpayer dollars are being spent to send someone to a conference, we’...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news