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THE SMITH FELLOWS GO TO WASHINGTON, D.C.

For years, a little voice in my head insisted that, although I was performing useful scientific work, it was time to take the next step of communicating with local and federal politicians. At the end of the day, these people sign the laws protecting our natural world and, of equal importance, determine funding for research, technology development, conservation, and incentives.

But for years, an opposing group of voices have largely kept me away from the policy arena. Here are some of the excerpts from their chatter:

"I just don't have the time" (the weary voice of a tenure-track professor who is a mother of three)

"It's like swimming with sharks who know a lot more about being a shark than I do" (the somewhat timid voice that keeps me from trying new things like rock climbing; my apologies to those SCB members who literally have swum with sharks and know they are not the monsters portrayed in popular movies)

"I don't know anything about politics" (an ignorant voice; many Smith Fellows are active and successful in the policy arena and certainly would be willing to provide guidance, not to mention the numerous publications on the topic)

"Politicians don't like scientists and don't care what we say" (the voice whose message was the least correct of all)

But this past autumn came my long overdue shove into the shark tank. After reading an article in Conservation Biology that stated that the final stumbling block in combating our environmental woes is politics, I spent two lecture periods imploring my undergraduate Environmental Issues students to become involved in the politics of the environment. Thank goodness none of the students raised a hand to ask what I was doing to reach out to politicians. Aside from an occasional blistering email regarding whale harvesting or manatee conservation, none of my actions resembled what I was asking of my students. I hardly was leading by example.

So it was with great joy that I learned that a policy training workshop was being organized for the current Smith Fellows from 9-10 January, 2008 in Washington, D.C. The objective of the workshop was to expose Smith Fellows to the political world. Featured speakers represented an extraordinary range of functions and impressively long years of dedication to their work. In addition, each Fellow was asked to arrange meetings with staff members of the Senators and Representatives for their home states. To be honest, this request made me more than a little nervous. But, I was shocked to discover how easy it was to arrange a meeting. A staffer for my Representative answered the telephone on the second ring. I was immediately transferred to the legislative aide responsible for environmental issues, and we arranged our meeting in less than two minutes. I learned that any citizen can meet with these aides and that the aides actually enjoy meeting with constituents because they hear firsthand what is happening in their districts (and of course have an opportunity to tell you the good things that their boss is doing).

So far, so good. Now it was time to receive the training that would ensure that my meeting with the legislative aide was productive for both of us. On the morning of 9 January, a phenomenal group of individuals working in the policy arena made time to talk to us about their occupations and experience. These diverse speakers came from both non-governmental agencies such as Trout Unlimited and government organizations like the Department of Justice and the U.S. Agency for International Development. They spoke candidly of successes and frustrations. Their extraordinary dedication to establishing policy that promotes the well-being of the environment was apparent and infectious. And to a person, they talked about how important it was for scientists to be directly involved. This came as a shock. I always thought that my job was to help to craft the message, not to be the messenger. And wait a second, isn't it standard practice to shoot the messenger? Well, now it was time to shine my shoes, pull the dog hair off my coat, and find out.

On Friday morning, our group of Fellows walked to Capitol Hill. Giving a lecture to 200 students does not make me anxious, but the sight of the Capitol's prominent white dome gave me pause. Again, the morning began with talks by individuals with careers in government offices at the environment / policy interface, such as the House Committee on Natural Resources, the Congressional Research Service, and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior. Each speaker described the personal and professional paths that led to his or her current job. Again, each noted their reliance on scientists in making their decisions and justifying their actions. After lunch and a talk from the former General Counsel for Council on Environmental Quality, we were given a tour of Capitol Hill by a knowledgeable staffer for Congressman Obey (Wisconsin). Then it was time for the Fellows to meet with the staffs of their Representatives and Congressmen. The Fellows provided reports on those meetings, summarized below.

Pete McIntyre (Smith Fellows class of 2007) and Jackie Grant (2004) met with legislative aides from the offices of Michigan's Senator Carl Levin and Representatives Bart Stupak and John Dingell. They discussed a wide range of issues related to conservation and management of the Great Lakes. Stupak's staffer seemed especially aware of local conservation issues and regional efforts to secure major funding for Great Lakes conservation. Pete and Jackie also had an interesting discussion with Stupak's aide about a proposed nickel mine that would affect the areas where both Jackie and Pete work.

Juliann Aukema (2003) and Vickie Bakker (2007) met with a legislative aide for California Representative Lois Capps. They discussed issues related to the Channel Islands and, briefly, invasive species. The meeting was primarily informational, but Juliann and Vickie thought it would be easy to engage with the aide on specific issues in the future.

Juliann Aukema, Vickie Bakker, Myra Finkelstein (2006), and Julia Baum (2007) met with an aide for the Environment and Public Works Committee, which is chaired by California Senator Barbara Boxer. They discussed the aide's portfolio and climate change. The Fellows thought that the aide would be willing to help them access information and contact appropriate legislators on particular topics of interest.

Jedediah Brodie (2007) met with a staffer for Montana Senator John Tester, with whom he discussed the impacts of climate change on wildlife in the northern Rocky Mountains. Jedediah offered to serve as a resource if Tester requires any information as background for development of legislation.

Robert McDonald (2006) met with the legislative aide of Massachusetts Representative Michael Capuano for the Transportation Committee. Robert and the aide discussed ways to make federal funding of transportation more compatible with conservation of wildlife (e.g., associated land-use planning, underpasses for bridges).

Jim Manolis (2003) first met with an attorney and specialist in energy policy who also is a Congressional Fellow working for Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. They discussed the status and prospects for the Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Security Bill. Coleman's fellow was quite interested to learn that John Fitzgerald, SCB's policy director, is working on a detailed analysis of the bill. Jim noted that SCB's Minnesota Chapter will be following the climate change bill and other related legislation closely. Jim then met with a legislative correspondent for Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Jim provided a copy of comments on the Farm Bill that were developed by the Minnesota Chapter and endorsed by the North America Section and discussed several key comments related to native prairie, wetlands, conservation reserve programs, and biofuels.

Bob Hilderbrand (1999) met with an aide for Maryland Representative Roscoe Bartlett. Bartlett's office has begun interacting with one of Bob's fellow faculty members regarding the ecological effects of wind turbines.

Katherine Smith (2006) met with an aide from Rhode Island Representative Patrick Kennedy's office with whom she discussed importation of live animals into the United States and the potential for improved regulation. Kennedy sits on the Natural Resources and Appropriations committees, which are concerned with these issues.

I met with an aide for Pennsylvania Representative Jim Gerlach to talk about research on transportation and farm land conservation conducted by students in my undergraduate class on Environmental Issues. Gerlach visited my class in April 2008.

My sincerest thanks to the organizers of this excellent workshop, to all the presenters, and to the staff of the Representatives and Senators with whom we met. My mind is swimming with ideas, and I still feel the excitement of that march we made together up to "the Hill." With the growing knowledge of the global-scale impacts of humans on the environment comes an anxious sense of urgency. Not only is it easier than I expected to deliver this message directly to our lawmakers, but they are interested to hear from scientists. I will share the lessons learned at this workshop with all of my students, and hope to continue my own forays into the shark tank.

For more information on the Smith Fellows Program, please visit www.smithfellows.org or contact Shonda Foster (sfoster@conbio.org).

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