Scientific Reviews Task Force

Overview and Purpose

The Oregon legislature found in Senate Bill 202 that policy and program decisions made by natural resources agencies, boards and commissions can benefit from independent scientific review that: (a) reflects a balance of representation from various research sectors, academic and nonacademic, public and private; (b) is performed by distinguished scientists from a range of disciplines; and (c) is clearly communicated to the public and state and local officials.
 
Senate Bill 202 establishes the Task Force on Independent Scientific Review for Natural Resources to “evaluate and assess the need for independent scientific reviews in Oregon and make appropriate recommendations” to the Governor and appropriate Legislative committees no later than September 15, 2016.
 

Task Force

Members of the task force were appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Vice Presidents of Research, or their designees, at Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and Portland State University.

Task force members included members from the forestry, agriculture, manufacturing, conservation, academic and research sectors, and representatives of the three universities. In addition, at least one member was to have previously served on the Independent Multidisciplinary Science, Team, or on another state or federal scientific review body such as the National Academy of Sciences. The task force was directed to hold its first meeting on or before January 1, 2016.
Task Force Staffing

Senate Bill 202 directed the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University to provide staff support to the task force.

 

Phases and Goals

The task force’s work was conducted in two consecutive phases. Phase I (goal 1) and Phase II (goals 2-4). The scope of Phase II depended on the results of the first phase.

Phase I

Goal 1: Assess the need (and capacity) for independent scientific review for natural resources in Oregon.

Phase II

Goal 2: If the task force determines there is a need for independent scientific review in Oregon, make recommendations on one or more entities that are best situated to conduct or coordinate independent scientific review.
 
Goal 3: Make recommendations on whether the entity or entities identified would need legislative authority to act as independent scientific review bodies for Oregon.
 
Goal 4: Make recommendations regarding the structure, function and processes of the scientific review entity or entities and the process for conducting reviews. Senate Bill 202 requires the task force to consider a number of questions in forming its recommendations.
 

Milestones

Spring 2016

Phase I: Evaluate and determine:

  • if natural resources agencies, legislators and the public would benefit from independent scientific review
  • if existing resources for conducting reviews are meeting the needs of natural resource agencies and other policymakers
  • the mechanisms and structures being used in other states and at the federal level for independent science reviews in natural resources

If yes, then move to the next phase milestones. 

Summer 2016

Phase II: Recommend:

  • the entity or entities best situated to coordinate or conduct independent science reviews
  • the need for legislative authority
  • the structure and function of the review process

15 September 2016

At the latest, final report delivered to the Legislature.

 

For further information about the SB 202 Task Force, please contact:

Governor’s Office
Lauri Aunan, Natural Resources Policy Advisor
1.503.373.1680
 
Institute for Natural Resources
Lisa Gaines, Ph.D., Director
1.541.737.1976

Task Force Members

Members of the task force were appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Vice Presidents of Research, or their designees, at Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and Portland State University.
 
Task force members included members from the forestry, agriculture, manufacturing, conservation, academic and research sectors, and representatives of the three universities. Representation was to include at least one member who previously served on the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, or on another state or federal scientific review body such as the National Academy of Sciences.  

Members

Allison Aldous

Allison is a freshwater scientist with The Nature Conservancy (TNC). She is based in Portland and works across Oregon and in Gabon, central Africa. Her work includes the research and conservation of groundwater-dependent biodiversity; wetland restoration; assessment and mitigation of water quality impairment; environmental flows restoration; landscape-scale mapping and modeling freshwater systems; and climate change impacts to freshwater biodiversity. Allison served on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board Panel to provide technical advice on jurisdictional waters of the United States and on the U.S. Forest Service’s Groundwater Technical Team. She works extensively with partners in state and federal agencies, other non-governmental organizations, and scientists in academic institutions. Allison has published extensively in the peer-reviewed literature and has presented her work across the U.S. and abroad. In the past she led a wetland training program for TNC staff across the U.S. and in Central and South America; and directed the Oregon TNC chapter’s Research and Monitoring program.

Allison holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University in wetland ecology; a M.Sc. in plant sciences; and a B.Sc. in biochemistry, both from McGill University in Montréal, Canada.

 

Jennifer Allen

Jennifer is an Associate Professor of Public Administration in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and a Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University. Her research focuses on sustainable economic development, collaborative approaches to reducing use of toxics, and rural-urban connections. Jennifer served as the Director of Portland State’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions from 2012-2015, and has previously worked at the World Bank, Ecotrust, and the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.  She is an Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commissioner, and has served on the boards of Oregon Forest Resources Institute, Shorebank Pacific, Portland Energy Conservation Inc., Illahee, the Portland Sustainability Institute, Friends of Forest Park, and the Food Alliance.

Jennifer holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University, a Master of Environmental Management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University.

 

Adell Amos

Adell first joined the UO faculty in 2005 after practicing environmental and natural resources law with the U.S. Department of Interior in Washington DC. She is Clayton R. Hess Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the UO School of Law. She teaches in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program and is courtesy graduate faculty in the OSU Water Resources and Policy Management Program. Her research emphasizes jurisdictional governance structures for water resources management in the US and internationally. She focuses on the relationship between federal and state governments on water resource management, the role of administrative agencies and law in water policy, and stakeholder participation in water resource decision-making. Adell’s most recent scholarship focuses on the integration of law and policy into hydrologic and socioeconomic modeling for the Willamette River Basin as well as the legal framework that provides the backdrop for water conflicts and dispute resolution through a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary effort funded by the NOAA and the National Science Foundation. In 2008 Adell accepted a 2-year appointment with the Obama Administration as US Dept. of Interior Deputy Solicitor for Land and Water Resources, overseeing legal and policy issues involving US water resources and public lands. She and her team of attorneys provided counsel directly to the Secretary and of Interior and Deputy Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Adell has a J.D. from the University of Oregon (Coif), and a B.A in 1995 Drury College.

 

Barbara Bond (co-Chair)

Barbara came to Oregon in 1977 after earning a B.S. with honors in Biological Science from the University of California, Irvine, followed by a secondary teaching credential from U.C. Santa Barbara and three years of teaching middle school math and science in southern California.  For several years after that she moved back and forth between motherhood, continuing education (M.S. in Plant Ecology from OSU in 1984, Ph.D. with a double major in Forest Science and Plant Physiology from OSU in 1992), serving as the director of a curriculum project (“Forestry for Teachers”) and working as a research assistant in hardwood silviculture.

After completing her Ph.D. she continued working at OSU, first as a soft-money research scientist, with research projects that included remote sensing of forest canopy health and studies of the physiology of aging in forest trees. She was hired into a tenure-track, professorial position in the Department of Forest Science in the College of Forestry in 1997. With a Fulbright fellowship in 2001/2002, she spent a sabbatical leave conducting research and teaching in Argentina and Uruguay – an enlightening experience, especially in terms of the differing perspectives on management and values of natural resources in these different countries. She was named as the first Ruth Spaniol Chair of Natural Resources by the College of Forestry in 2003. Shortly afterwards, she became the lead principal investigator of the Long Term Ecological Research Program at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. In that capacity, she led a team of about 50 scientists and became deeply involved in the scientific culture that emerge after the fabled “owl wars” of the 1990s – a wizened culture that advocates a stronger role of interdisciplinary scientists in the arena of public policy-making. 

Barbara is now retired and living with her husband on a small family farm that includes a small vineyard and a lot of animals, vegetables and trees. The intersections among economic, environmental and social concerns has never been more poignant to her than it is now. 

 

Tim Deboodt

Tim is an OSU Crook County Extension Agent with a program emphasis in range and natural resource management and natural resource public policy issues. He serves the central Oregon area and is responsible for developing and delivering educational programs on rangelands, their use and management.  His programs specifically include information on grazing, range improvements and restoration and range/watershed issues. He works with public land management agencies, landowners and others to provide technical information and research findings for management issues related to Oregon’s rangelands.  Tim represents OSU on Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Region 4 review team and Crook County Court on the Ochoco-Deschutes National Forest Resource Advisory Committee. Tim has served on state-wide committees for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Department of Forestry and the Department of Environmental Quality. Before he and his family moved to Prineville in 1983, he worked for the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service in Teton County, Jackson, Wyoming. 

His current research activities include the evaluation of western Juniper control on watershed function and hydrology, the impact of juniper harvest systems on Oregon’s watersheds, assessing water quality parameters as influenced by land management activities and restoration of rangeland health using prescribed fire and other management practices.

Tim has Ph.D. in rangeland ecology and management from Oregon State University, a M.S. in Range management from the University of Wyoming, and a B.A. in rangeland resources from Oregon State University.

 

W. Daniel (Dan) Edge

Dan has four degrees from the University of Montana, culminating in a Ph.D. in Forestry in 1985. He then did a post-doctoral project in Pakistan, worked with the U.S. Forest Service, with the Smithsonian Institution, and had a temporary teaching appointment at Humboldt State University. Dan came to OSU as the Extension Wildlife Specialist in 1989. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1995 and added teaching to his extension-research appointment. He was named the first Mace Professor of Watchable Wildlife in 1997, was promoted to Professor and appointed Department Head in 2001 and started as Associate Dean in 2015. Dan has taught 15 different courses at OSU including 3 online. He has directed the Agriculture and Natural Resources Study Abroad Program in Chile since in 2012. Dan has successfully mentored 22 M.S. and 3 Ph.D. students and 2 Post-doctoral trainees, and his research has focused on wildlife habitat and population ecology in forest and agricultural ecosystems including ecological risk assessment. 

Dan’s scholarship includes 54 peer-reviewed journal articles including 4 related to teaching and curriculum development; 25 non-peer-reviewed professional journals or symposia proceedings, including 8 related to teaching, curriculum development, or extension programming; and 12 extension bulletins, 5 extension videos and 7 book chapters. Dan’s accomplishments have garnered him 6 national teaching awards, 1 national extension award, and 2 university and 3 college awards. Dan has made substantial service contributions to the university and his profession. He currently serves as Past-President of OSU Faculty Senate, has served as President of the National Association of Fish and Wildlife University Programs, Chair of both the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, Fish and Wildlife Section and Board on Natural Resources, and served as an Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commissioner for 8 years, including 2 years as Chair.

 

Linda A. George

Linda is an atmospheric chemist and Professor of Environmental Science and Management Department at Portland State University. Her primary research interests include monitoring and modeling of urban air pollutants as they relate to urban infrastructure, such as transportation systems and urban form. In addition her group works on assessing human exposure of air pollutants using statistical models and GIS, development of measurement techniques for quantifying atmospheric species and sensing and analysis of urban climate modification. Her research and teaching also explore the intersection of environmental justice, gender and class as it influences scientific research and policy in air quality and climate science. She has served in scientific review capacities as a Program Director for the National Science Foundation (Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences) as well as an Associate Editor for the journal "Science in the Total Environment". Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, USAID and several private foundations.

Linda has a Ph.D. from Portland State University in environmental sciences and resources/chemistry, and a B.S. cum laude from Loyola University of Chicago in chemistry.

 

Sara Gray

Sara serves a Senior Corporate Counsel to the Precision Castparts Corporation. Prior to working for Precision Castparts Corp. in 2013, her legal experience included work with Con-way Inc., Stoel Rives LLP, and the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to her legal work, Sara was a professional staff member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, where she provided analysis and recommendations on legislative and policy matters relating to water resources development, conservation and management, water pollution control and water infrastructure, and hazardous waste cleanup. She was also the Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Nonproliferation and National Security in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sara has a J.D. from Cornell, and a B.A. international relations and German from The College of William and Mary.

 

Michael Harte (co-Chair)

Michael is a tenured Professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University and specializes in Marine Resource Management, Marine Spatial Planning and fisheries management. He has research and teaching interests in geospatial analysis and planning, small-scale fisheries and food security, co-management of coastal marine resources, sustainable fisheries, and the governance and sustainable management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. He has chaired and served on many advisory boards, committees, working groups and provided scientific and policy advice to a wide range of stakeholders at local, national and international levels. He trained in physical geography and economics, specializing in natural resource management and planning.

Michael has a Ph.D. from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, a Master's degree in Geography from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Geography from the University of Auckland.

 

Cassandra Moseley

Cassandra is a research professor and Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation. Dr. Moseley serves as an institutional official and as the UO’s research integrity officer. She is the direct supervisor for Research Compliance Services, which supports and protects the interests of the university, faculty, staff, students, and research subjects in research compliance matters. She directs the Ecosystem Workforce Program and the Institute for a Sustainable Environment (ISE) at the UO and is a past chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forestry Research Advisory Council.

Cassandra has developed applied research and policy education programs focusing on community-based forestry, federal forest management, and sustainable rural development. She has testified before Congress about rural green jobs, rural development, and the working conditions of forest workers. Additionally, she has participated in dozens of briefings and presentations to congressional and presidential administration officials, including the White House Economic Council, Regional Development Cluster. She is a member of the board of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, and a former board member of the Flintridge Foundation and the Applegate Partnership, as well as recent past associate editor for policy of the Journal of Forestry.

Cass earned her Ph.D. and two Master’s degrees in political science from Yale University, and a B.A. in mathematics and government from Cornell University.

 

Maryanne Reiter

Maryanne has been a forest hydrologist in Environmental Forestry Research at Weyerhaeuser Company for over 20 years and is currently part of a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency research team examining the effects of contemporary forest management practices on aquatic ecosystems in the Oregon Coast Range. Maryanne also manages the company’s long-term water quality research project in Washington State and has used the 40-year data record from this watershed to investigate the effects of forest regulations and climate change on water quality, including water temperature, turbidity and suspended sediment.  In addition, she works with company engineers and foresters on stream, wetland and riparian projects and provides scientific and technical support for forest-related policy and regulatory issues.  

Prior to Weyerhaeuser Company she was a Faculty Research Assistantin theDepartment of Forest Engineering at Oregon State University where she coordinated an interdisciplinary team assessing the cumulative effects of forest practices on air, soil, water, fish, and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.  She has also worked as a consulting hydrologist/soil scientist on municipal and industrial sludge storage and on-land application projects and wetland delineations.  

Maryanne has an M.S. in forest engineering from Oregon State University, and a B.S. in soil and water resource technology from the University of Minnesota.

 

Mark Sytsma

Mark is a Professor of Environmental Sciences, the director of the Center for Lakes and Reservoirs, and co-director of the Aquatic Bioinvasion Research and Policy Institute. He also served as the Associate Vice President for Research and Strategic Partnerships. His primary research interest is in limnology and the biology and management of aquatic invasive species. His long-term, ongoing projects include the limnology of Waldo Lake, an ultraoligotrophic lake in the Cascade Mountains; aquatic plant surveys in Pacific Northwest lakes; invasive species in the Columbia River; dreissenid mussel monitoring in western states; spartina management in Oregon estuaries; and invasive species policy. He co-authored the Oregon Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan and is responsible for implementation of the Plan in collaboration with other state agencies. He is a founding member of the Oregon Invasive Species Council, the Columbia River Basin Team of the 100th Meridian Initiative, and the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species.

Mark earned his PhD from the University of California-Davis, and his M.S. from the University of Washington.

 

Jason Younker

Jason is the Assistant Vice President and Advisor to the President on Sovereignty and Government-to-Government Relations at the University of Oregon, Associate Professor of Anthropology and a member of the Coquille Indian Tribe. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the UO in 2004 and returned to Oregon after teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology for 10 years where he was chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. He received the prestigious Ely S. Parker Award in 2014 from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society for his work with tribes and Native American students in higher education. He is the Past-President of the Association of Indigenous Anthropologists for the American Anthropological Association and is originally from Coos Bay, Oregon.

 

 

Agendas & Meeting Notes

The public was invited to attend meetings. For assistance and questions please contact Jeff Behan at [email protected].

Past Meetings

Online webinar task force meeting: Wednesday, 31 August 2016, 9:00am -12:00pm
Draft Report Overview Webinars: 18 August 2016, 9-10 am; 25 August 2016, 9-10 am

A 20-minute presentation of the report and offer time for questions and brief comments. Substantive comments can be submitted to the Task Force in writing.  The deadline for submitting comments is August 26, 2016 by 5:00pm and should be submitted to [email protected]. The Task Force will hold its final meeting via Webinar on August 31st (time yet to be determined) in order to discuss comments received.

Host - Institute for Natural Resources; Presenters - Barbara Bond and Dan Edge (co-Chairs); Moderator - Jane Barth

 

Tuesday, 26 July 2016 (8:30am-3:30pm) – Prineville

 

Wednesday, 25 May 2016 (9:00am-4:00pm) – Eugene

 

Monday, 28 March 2016 (9:00am-4:00pm) – Salem

 

Monday, 8 February 2016 (9:00am-4:00pm) – Portland

Examples of Other Science Review Processes 

 

December 2015 Task Force Informational Meetings 

 

 

Resources

Readings

National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Public Interfaces of Life Sciences. 2015. Trust and Confidence at the Intersections of the Life Sciences and Society Workshop, 5-6 May. Trust Workshop Background Reading, Listening, and Viewing Materials.

 

Organizations

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academies work "to improve government decision making and public policy, increase public understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge in matters involving science, engineering, technology, and health". Through the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) provides objective, science-based advice on critical issues affecting the nation. The NAS charter commits the Academy to provide scientific advice to the government “whenever called upon” by any government department.

The National Research Council (NRC) is the operating arm of the National Academies. The NRC conducts studies and facilitates workshops for all seven program areas within the National Academies in "service in the national interest and for furnishing scientific and technical advice to governmental and other organizations".

 

Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (IMST)

The Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (IMST) is a scientific review panel charged with advising the State of Oregon on matters of science related to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. These matters include fish recovery, water quality improvements, and enhancing watershed health. Download a general brochure about the IMST. IMST evaluation of the scientific basis for programs provides the public, the Governor, and the Oregon Legislature with a frame of reference when struggling with policy decisions affecting Oregon Plan implementation.

The Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (IMST) was established by the 1997 Oregon Legislature via Senate Bill 924, signed by Governor John Kitzhaber on March 25, 1997 as Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 541.914 [formerly 541.409]. The establishment of the Team reflected the 1997 agreement between Oregon and the National Marine Fisheries Service concerning coho salmon. After the 1997 agreement was terminated, then Governor John Kitzhaber issued Executive Order 99-01, which expanded the scope of the Oregon Plan and specified the continued role of IMST in the recovery of wild salmonids in Oregon.

During the 2001 Oregon Legislative Assembly, additional direction was given to the Oregon Plan and IMST through Senate Bill 945 which was signed into law and amended ORS 541.920 [formerly 541.365] and 541.898 [formerly 541.405]. As Team members have completed their terms of service, new members have been appointed jointly by the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House.

(Text taken from IMST Website at: http://www.fsl.orst.edu/imst/index.html)

Timeline

SB202 Overview

Fact Sheet (PDF)

 

Draft Timeline

 

Deliverables

Overview Presentation of Final Report 

 

Executive Summary of Final Report


 

Final Report: "Independent Science Reviews for Natural Resources in the State of Oregon" 


Recommended Citation

SB202 Task Force. 2016. Independent Science Reviews for Natural Resources in the State of Oregon: Report to the Oregon State Legislature. Behan, J., Brennan, S., Bond, B., Edge, D., Gaines, L., and Harte, M. (Eds.). Institute for Natural Resources, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

For more information about this report please contact the Institute for Natural Resources, [email protected].