Author | Lightnews

Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · 1d

Not one but two quantitative ecologist openings at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. This team is doing great work, if you're interested in avian ecology and biodiversity conservation and have a quantitative bent go check them out! abmi.ca/abmi-home/co...

Statistical Ecologist

<p>The Human Footprint Analyst plays a pivotal role in one of ABMI’s most recognized programs—the Human Footprint Monitoring Program—tracking human land use patterns across Alberta&r...

abmi.ca

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 3d

I found this a really illuminating thread on what demonstrations do and why they matter.

Dr. Lisa Corrigan @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social · 3d

In social movement studies, we talk about how marches and protests expand the threshold of acceptable risk so that people take more and bigger social risks IN PUBLIC, EN MASSE. This is extremely important for the bourgeois white folks holding signs and building social rapport.

Jonathan M. Katz @katz.theracket.news · 3d

Not a shitpost: #NoKings is feel-good performative activism for comfortable mostly upper and upper middle class white folks and that’s good, actually. Millions of people in the streets protesting a fascist regime is good. It is good for the normie baseline to be massive displays of public dissent.

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Hannah Waters @hanner.bsky.social · 26d

An essay explores how two things can be true at once: The climate system is impossibly chaotic and climate change is simply true. By Joseph Howlett

www.quantamagazine.org/the-climate-...

The Climate Change Paradox | Quanta Magazine

Earth’s climate is chaotic and volatile. Climate change is simple and predictable. How can both be true?

www.quantamagazine.org

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Jul 4

It was great to speak with Christina Kelso at the NYT about the threats fireworks pose to coastal birds. This year, consider skipping the fireworks and celebrate in ways that are safer for birds and people too! www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/c...

Beyond the Light Show: The Effects of Fireworks on Animals and People

www.nytimes.com

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Nate Swick @n8swick.bsky.social · Jun 26

Lots of stuff getting tossed from this bill but as far as I can tell, the elimination of the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, which includes the Bird Banding Lab and the Breeding Bird Survey, is still in there.

Would love to hear otherwise if anyone knows more.

Elizabeth Sandifer @eruditorumpress.com · Jun 26

Talking Points Memo reports the Medicaid trans ban was just struck from the reconciliation bill. talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/ba...

Backlash Over ‘Big Beautiful’ Bill Continues In Congress

talkingpointsmemo.com

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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · Jun 5

Quick. Somebody tell Trump that the best way to own Elon is to restore all research grants and double NSF funding.

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Martha W. Alibali @marthaalibali.bsky.social · May 14

"Imagine the auto industry without 3D printing. NSF funded that. Artificial intelligence? NSF. MRI machines that help doctors diagnose you? NSF. Doppler radar technology that makes aviation safer by conquering wind shear? NSF. Duolingo‘s underlying programming? NSF. The internet itself? NSF."

Michigan Advance @michiganadvance.com · May 13

The National Science Foundation was established 75 years ago this week, but as Professor Scott L. Greer writes in this commentary, it’s “been a bit of a rough birthday party.”

michiganadvance.com/2025/05/13/a...

A troubled birthday for the National Science Foundation • Michigan Advance

Happy 75th birthday, National Science Foundation! On May 10, 1950, Congress established one of the world’s best value, highest impact, and, frankly, coolest science agencies. The NSF finances federal ...

michiganadvance.com

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Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · May 10

Folks who feed your pets Hydrolyzed Protein food: Remember how difficult Royal Canin was to get during the pandemic? Well going into tarrifs I suggest swapping to Blue Buffalo if you can. Nearly all of their ingredients are sourced in the US and they are manufactured in the US as well.

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · May 10

1. After getting some further insight into changes at NSF (thanks to those who reached out), I deleted a previous post where I tried to make sense of Cheatham's memo as reported in the Science story below.

NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring

Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff

www.science.org

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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · May 9

🚨 All staff for NSF’s Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) have just been fired.

In email to grantees: “the entire Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM has just been dissolved and the entire staff fired.”

High time for scientists, public, Congress, YOU to take action to #SaveNSF

Take Action | Save NSF

www.savensf.com

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · May 9

It's #WorldMigratoryBirdDay and time to welcome back your favorite feathered friends. Take a look at the Bird Migration Explorer to find out where your neighborhood birds spent the last few months: explorer.audubon.org

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · May 1

BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones

US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

www.nature.com

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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Apr 20

🧪 Tip: You have the right to contest a grant termination, even though NSF says you don't. 🧵

On Friday, NSF terminated 402 grants (per Musk's DOGE).

The notification letters had one of the most egregious violations of fed regulations I've seen so far in these cases:

"not subject to appeal"

Megan Zahneis @mzahneis.bsky.social · Apr 18

Here's a copy of an NSF grant termination notice that went out today. "NSF is issuing this termination to protect the interests of the government pursuant...on the basis that they no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities." Not subject to appeal. #HigherEd #AcademicSky

Text of email: Dear [redacted],

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has undertaken a review of its award portfolio. Each award was carefully and individually reviewed, and the agency has determined that termination of certain awards is necessary because they are not in alignment with current NSF priorities. Effective immediately, the following are terminated: [redacted]

NSF is issuing this termination to protect the interests of the government pursuant to NSF Grant General Conditions (GC-1) term and condition entitled Termination and Enforcement; on the basis that they no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities. This is the final agency decision and not subject to appeal. Costs incurred as a result of this termination may be reimbursed, provided such costs would otherwise be allowable under the terms of the award and the governing cost principles. In accordance with your award terms and conditions, you have 30 days from the termination date to furnish a summary of progress under the award and an itemized accounting of allowable costs incurred prior to the termination date.

Sincerely, [redacted] Division Director
Office of Budget Finance and Award Management (BFA)
Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA)

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Apr 19

This would be an enormous loss for birds and bird conservation. The BBS and BBL datasets are the backbone of the work we do to understand why bird populations are declining and how to address it.

Shannon Skalos, PhD @shannonskalos.bsky.social · Apr 19

All wildlife research at USGS will be eliminated. All research and science centers. All coop units. BBS, BBL…. gone.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump swings budget ax at USGS biology research

Plan to eliminate $307 million ecosystem program could face obstacles in Congress

www.science.org

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Apr 19

What a huge loss this would be, so sorry to hear it Shannon. I hope it doesn’t go through

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Apr 16

It’s infuriating to hear they sent Corps members home mid-program for a paltry “savings” (in scare quotes because really they’re losing more in services than they’re saving in expenses) of a few million dollars.

Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Apr 16

This is far from the worst thing Trump and Musk are doing, but it hits close to home. My time in an AmeriCorps program at Trout Lake, WA my first year out of college literally launched my career and set me on the path to where I am today. apnews.com/article/amer...

AmeriCorps members who respond to disasters and help nonprofits let go in DOGE cuts

Young volunteers who respond to natural disasters and help with community projects across the U.S. have been discharged.

apnews.com

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OMSI @omsiedu.bsky.social · Mar 10

Do you remember getting piggyback rides from your parents when you were little? Loons have that exact same experience!

Learn more about the mighty loon at our exhibit, Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest!

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Mar 27

Excited to see this literature review of coastal bird stewardship & management strategies w/ a focus on the Gulf published in JFO. This was Jennifer Fuller's first first-authored paper, & we worked with an amazing team of scientists to prepare & publish this work! journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss1/a...

Journal of Field Ornithology: Effectiveness of stewardship and management strategies to conserve coastal bird populations in the northern Gulf of Mexico: a literature review

Shorebirds, seabirds, and wading birds (hereafter coastal birds) have experienced considerable losses over the last century and require proactive conservation management to stabilize or grow populatio...

journal.afonet.org

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Mar 24

I asked around and we have not published any further analysis of this act, and there aren’t any plans to at this point.

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Nicolas Gonzalez @nicosgonzalez.bsky.social · Feb 27

U.S. Birders, By the Numbers

• At-home birders: 91 million people
• Away-from-home birders: 43 million people
• Time spent birding in 2022: 7.2 billion days

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Feb 26

Congrats, Jeff!

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Feb 26

Great to see the new BBS trends out!

Jeff Hostetler @jeffhostecology.bsky.social · Feb 26

Our analysis of BBS data (through 2023) just came out!
doi.org/10.5066/P1F2...

The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Analysis Results 1966 - 2023

This data product consists of a database of population change and abundance estimates for North American birds, estimated from North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Data are presented for 54...

doi.org

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Feb 24

Their work is more important than ever as we work to bring back the 3 billion birds lost since 1970. Due to recent federal actions they're facing a shortfall. Please join me in helping to support IBP so they can continue doing their critically important and impactful bird conservation work! (2/2)

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Nicole Michel @nicolemichel.bsky.social · Feb 24

The Institute for Bird Populations is a small but mighty bird conservation organization that is close to my heart (I worked with them for 8 years). They run the MAPS & MoSI programs that provide the demographic data essential for understanding the causes of bird population declines. (1/2)

The Institute for Bird Populations @instbirdpop.bsky.social · Feb 24

🪶 Today, more than 1/3 of the federal grant $$ we were relying on to finance our science & conservation work in 2025 is paused w/ no indication of when, or if, we will be able to access it again. Your tax-deductible donation helps us weather this period of uncertainty. birdpop.org/pages/do... 1/2

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