Tanya Heikkila

SCOOP

www.importantcontext.news/p/national-s...

Sky9 over the #NoKings protest in Denver. Marchers filled Colfax from Fox St to the Capitol, about eight city blocks long.

Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin, satellite data show As the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined, even larger amounts of groundwater have been drained from aquifers. Using satellite data, scientists have estimated the vast water losses.

Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin, satellite data show

These students at Chicago State University are part of a program to broaden participation in science that the National Science Foundation has terminated. William Woods/Chicago State

NSF’s grant cuts fall heaviest on scientists from underrepresented groups 🧪

Projects to broaden participation were cut disproportionately—and were often led by Black scientists, women, and those with disabilities
www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump administration cancels grant to recruit engineering students from rural Nebraska Among the hundreds of National Science Foundation grants terminated by the Trump administration were programs to recruit engineering students from rural Nebraska and improve math instruction at the co...

A $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation was supposed to help the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recruit engineering students from rural parts of the Cornhusker State.

The Trump administration canceled the grant last month: journalstar.com/news/state-r...

Redefining "harm" in the Endangered Species Act could undo decades of habitat protection for threatened species. The public has until May 19 to comment on the Trump Administration proposal to exclude habitat destruction from the definition. An ecologist and a law professor explain: buff.ly/RIZKUJh

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We don't have justice or liberty without it."
Repost!

This is terrible and I really wish scientists had heeded the warnings from colleagues in the liberal arts

Learning in Polycentric Governance: Insights from the California Delta Science Enterprise by Tara Pozzi, Mark Lubell, Tanya Heikkila, Andrea K. Gerlak, & Pamela Rittelmeyer Science enterprises play an increasingly important role in shaping the policy process. While existing literatu…

UC Davis Ph.D. student Tara Pozzi led our new paper on learning and adaptive management in the California Delta. Big takeaway: Social capital is way more important than resources in driving how policy forums contribute to learning. @taheikkila.bsky.social psjblog.net/2025/04/30/l...

NCA6 Update April 28, 2025 Dear NCA6 Participants, Thank you for your participation in the 6th National Climate Assessment. At this time, the scope of the NCA6 is currently being reevaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990. We are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles. As plans develop for the assessment, there may be future opportunities to contribute or engage. Thank you for your service.

Well, it's official. We just received notice that all authors on the Sixth National Climate Assessment have just been released from their roles.

The NCA is a vital, Congressionally mandated resource for our nation as we prepare for the impacts of climate change. This is a huge loss.

The $10M steered to Hope Florida by the state was Medicaid money, document shows A draft agreement of a $67 million settlement between the DeSantis administration and a Medicaid contractor that had overbilled the state sheds new light on how $10 million of that amount was diverted...

I'm sorry I know there's a lot going on but how are we not screaming about Ron DeSantis stealing $10 million from Medicaid and the money ending up with pro-DeSantis superPACs, funneled through a charity run by his wife?

HOW IS THIS NOT NATIONAL NEWS?
www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...

U.S. climate data websites go dark Lapse may be temporary, but draft budget plans would eliminate service

U.S. climate data websites go dark | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

Updates on NSF Priorities

The National Science Foundation is now terminating previously awarded grants that deal with DEI or misinformation.
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

Thank you @davebrady72.bsky.social !

Worried About the Climate? Get Off the Couch. The Data Supports It. Activism isn’t just the “antidote to despair.” A growing body of research suggests it’s also pretty effective at changing the world.

There’s now a growing body of evidence that climate protest works—not just to decrease anxiety in your head but to change the world outside of it. And contrary to all the stereotypes about preachy greenies putting other people off the cause, there doesn’t seem to be much risk of provoking backlash.

Trump Threatens Climate Policies in the States After halting federal attempts to combat global warming, President Trump is now targeting efforts by states to reduce greenhouse gases, setting up a legal clash.

Trump tries to put more nails in the coffins of democracy and climate change mitigation.

Oil Spill in North Dakota Prompts Shutdown of Keystone Pipeline An estimated 3,500 barrels of oil spilled in a field near Fort Ransom, N.D., and the release was contained, the pipeline’s operator said.

The Keystone pipeline system, which carries crude oil from Canada to the U.S., was shut down on Tuesday because of a leak that spilled an estimated 3,500 barrels of oil in southeastern North Dakota, government and company officials said.

UPDATED: At least 83 students -- at campuses for University of California, California State University and Stanford -- have had their visas revoked as of Monday evening.

Absolutely.

How to Save a Democracy Americans can learn from opponents of authoritarianism elsewhere.

"use creative tactics, stay active for long periods of time, and retain public support by eschewing violence even when facing government repression..."

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Assessing the State and Efficacy of Climate Governance Research and Practice in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Author(s): Rudnick, Jessica; Heikkila, Tanya; Koebele, Elizabeth; Morrison, Tiffany; Batavia, Chelsea | Abstract: Climate change affects nearly every aspect of the interdependent biophysical and socia...

Grateful to have participated in this research for the State of the Bay Delta Science report - which features an article on governance issues for the first time! - w/ Jess Rudnick, @taheikkila.bsky.social, Tiffany Morrison, & Chelsea Batavia. Article version out now ⬇️

doi.org/10.15447/sfe...

How Colleges Are Surveilling Students Now Colleges are using surveillance videos and search warrants to investigate students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. Experts say it’s a new frontier in campus security that could threaten civil li...

The world of higher ed now.

Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security Overfishing, disease and environmental crimes cause social and political instability, economic strife and strained international relations.

Ecological disruptions can cause social and political instability, economic strife, and strained international relations. Scholars explain how these crises impact #nationalsecurity: buff.ly/CXbn2QA #ecology #publichealth

Ms. Ozturk was listed as one of several authors of an opinion essay published last March in the Tufts student newspaper. The essay criticized university leaders for their response to demands that Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest itself from companies with ties to Israel. She is one of several students who have been targeted for deportation by the Trump administration. Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian citizen and doctoral student at the University of Alabama, was detained off campus by federal immigration officials, the school said in a statement on Wednesday. It was not clear why the student was targeted, and U.S. immigration officials did not immediately respond to questions on Wednesday evening.

Congratulations everyone: we live in a country where Fulbright students can be grabbed off the streets and disappeared for writing an essay protesting foreign policy.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/u...

Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal The administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief.

And here it is!

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Columbia University’s Concessions to Trump Seen as a Watershed Threatened with losing $400 million in federal funding, the university agreed to overhaul its protest policies and security practices.

“Todd Wolfson, the president of the American Association of University Professors, a nat’l faculty rights group, described the move as the greatest incursion into academic freedom & free speech since Sen Joseph R. McCarthy’s crusade against communism in the 1950s.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/n...

Water cooperation is essential when countries share lakes and rivers – yet it’s been deteriorating in many places, with serious consequences Nationalistic behavior can put people, economies and ecosystems, and even peace, at risk. The US, which paused Columbia River talks with Canada, isn’t the only country shifting in this direction.

Water cooperation is essential when countries share lakes and rivers – yet it’s been deteriorating in many places, with serious consequences buff.ly/XpBUZ6H
#WorldWaterDay

Wired is dropping paywalls for FOIA-based reporting. Others should follow As the administration does its best to hide public records from the public, Wired magazine is stepping up to help stem the secrecy

They're called public records for a reason. Starting today, WIRED will *stop paywalling* articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, becoming the first publication to partner with @freedom.press to offer this for our new coverage.

Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm More than 1,000 chemists, biologists and other scientists could be laid off under a plan to dismantle the Office of Research and Development.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/c...

Opinion | Don’t Fool Yourself Into Thinking It Will Stop With Mahmoud Khalil The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil show that the culture war is no longer just a culture war.

If universities can’t stand up for free speech, who will?