Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

Science Links: Linking Science and Public Policy

 

Long-Terms Trends from Ecosystem Research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

In 2007, HBRF cooperated with the USDA Forest Service to publish and distribute Long-term Trends from Ecosystem Research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (General Technical Report NRS-17), which discusses the long-term research at Hubbard Brook and includes 18 charts of significant ecological trends. Collaborative, long-term data are the keystone of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study and have provided invaluable insight into how ecosystems respond to disturbances such as air pollution, climate change, forest disturbance, and forest management practices.

View and/or download report here.



To receive a hard copy of the report, please contact HBRF.

Environmental monitoring programs fight for survival

Funding for monitoring programs is not always assured. In partnership with the Northeastern Ecosystem Research Cooperative, HBRF convened a team of scientists to discuss the implications and importance of environmental monitoring, resulting in the publication of “Who Needs Environmental Monitoring?” in the June 2007 issue of the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The article contends that monitoring costs relatively little compared to the policy it informs and should be considered a fundamental component of environmental science and policy. Team members then traveled to Washington, DC to voice their concerns about funding cuts for federal monitoring programs. The project also conducted a media outreach effort that included press releases and op ed articles. The Environmental Monitoring Project is supported by a grant from the Northeastern Ecosystem Research Cooperative (NERC).

Read Who Needs Environmental Montoring article here.

The Science Links program was developed by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation to help bridge the gap between science and public policy. This unique approach utilizes long-term ecological research from the Hubbard Brook study and other sites to frame specific issues threatening our environment, and translate the complex science to reach policy makers, decision leaders, and the public, with the goal of positively impacting the debate at the national and state level. Our first series of reports addresses the effects of atmospheric pollutants – sulfur, nitrogen, mercury and carbon – and analyzes potential policy remedies.

 

Science Links draws on several principles:

• Environmental policy is more effective and better serves the public when it is grounded in ecosystem science;
• Ecosystem science can be enriched byan awareness of current public policy questions and the social context in which the research occurs;
• Science serves the public best when it does not advocate particular policy outcomes, but rather provides scientific information on the likely consequences of potential actions in a timely, clear and widely available manner.

HBRF has completed three Science Links reports on atmospheric pollutants:

• Acid Rain Revisited (2001)
• Nitrogen Pollution: From the Sources to the Sea (2003)
• Mercury Matters (2007

A fourth in the series on forest carbon sequestration is due in 2008.

Each Science Links project convenes a team of scientists and policy advisors to define the critical public policy questions related to the specific pollutant; collect and analyze existing data regarding the specific sources and impacts of the pollutant; evaluate the relative effectiveness of real policy options under consideration for reducing or mitigating its effects; and work with HBRF staff and a team of communications and graphic design experts to translate and disseminate the findings from each project to high-level policy makers and the national media.

The wealth of long-term ecological monitoring and exacting science at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest provides a rich resource for future projects, including lakes and upland streams, birds of Hubbard Brook, and the importance of long-term monitoring.