The sequester and conservation science

The budget sequester has limited federal spending, but the penny pinching has impacted conservation. The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), the international professional body for conservation scientists, estimated that because of the sequester at least 200 federal conservation scientists who normally attended could not go to this year’s International Congress for Conservation Biology (the largest meeting specifically for conservation scientists) in Baltimore. Even though the congress was so close to DC, many federal scientists were prohibited from attending, even ones who volunteered to do so in their own time, on their own dime. The sequester also resulted in government agencies reneging on pledges for funding. The SCB estimated that they had lost a minimum $150,000 because of the sequester that could have gone to conservation projects or helping developing country conservation scientists or students. The total cost to conservation is incalculable however, when you consider lost opportunities to make vital connections with leaders in the conservation field, and to discover and learn the latest conservation science knowledge and cutting-edge techniques.