PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 16, 2025
We’ve been bombarded with news of deep cuts to federal funding for research, science and monitoring. The immediate impacts are stark: jobs lost, projects canceled, colleagues scrambling to find their footing. There are also impacts we’ve yet to see: fewer people to monitor plant and animal populations, an erosion of scientists’ ability to establish baselines and an overall weakening of our ability to carry out science-backed management. But there is something you can do: go outside and look around. Download iNaturalist, Nature’s Notebook, eBird or other apps designed to help you document nature in your yard and share what you see in your local environment. By contributing observations of leafing, flowering and pollinator activity, you help scientists understand how climate is changing, how species are responding and how our communities can adapt for the future. ~ Georgia Murray, Appalachian Mountain Club, and Georgia Silvera Seamans, independent researcher