Diana Muñoz

Is the bat my crushing self-doubt? (No offense to bats)

My city council just voted to give NVIDIA 5 million to develop an "AI Ecosystem," whatever that means.

An anole extends its dewlap, which says "call for scientists!"

Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.

So fashionable!

A graphic featuring a monarch butterfly, cedar waxwing, rusty-patched bumblebee, and a pronghorn VIRTUAL RALLY FOR THE CORNERSTONE OF CONSERVATION SCIENGE For our science. For our futures. May 22 12 - 1 pm EST Hosted by National Wildlife Federation, co-sponsored by American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Society for Conservation Biology North America, The Wildlife Society, Entomological Society of America, the America the Beautiful for All Coalition, American Bird Conservancy, and Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Join us for an emergency rally to save critical government services targeted for elimination!

The Ecosystems Mission Area of USGS, which most people have not heard of, contains the US’s bird banding lab, monitors dangerous diseases and pollutants, and much more!

www.mobilize.us/nwf/event/79...

USGS grants will freeze, layoffs planned - The Wildlife Society But lawsuit puts temporary restraining order on reduction in workforce

The Trump administration will freeze funding for USGS Ecosystems Mission Area programs and plans workforce cuts. Although a judge temporarily blocked the layoffs, college students and USGS wildlife professionals face weeks of uncertainty.

USGS Bee Lab at the Eastern Ecological Science Center The USGS Bee Lab supports research on native bees. As part of that program we and our co-located USFWS partners develop identification tools and keys for native bee species, take public access hi reso...

The legendary USGS Bee Lab is being shut down. The 2026 budget proposal defunds the Ecosystem Mission Area, which supported the lab. If their science helped your work, there’s still time to make your voice heard. Read below. (1/4)
🧪 #pollinators #Pollinators #USGS #Entomology #Hymenoptera 🪲🪳

A view of the Nevadan landscape. Blue mountains in the background are backlit by pink light.

With the imminent downsizing of the USGS EMA, maybe I'm throwing my grief out there. That this could be the end for this leg of my journey. And what a loss for our up-and-coming scientists. Yet I still hope we survive the downsizing.

A snowy regret nest with an old staircase behind.

And now monitoring nests on Alcatraz, mentoring interns that are now where I once was.

Two hands palm up holding a Giant Gartersnake, an endemic species to California.

A young San Francisco Gartersnake coiled in some grassy looking vegetation.

Admired the unique biodiversity just a short drive away.

A seedling Great Basin sagebrush with a uniquely numbered tag.

Two young biologists release two ducks after banding.

From habitat restoration to waterfowl trapping and banding. I've learned about so many of our ecosystems.

Fresh out-of-college Diana holding a sage-grouse wearing a VHF transmitter.

What do the USGS Ecosystem Mission Areas (EMA) mean to me? They are where I gained the bulk of my wildlife experience: not only through fieldwork but also learning how to analyze those data.

When I started twelve years ago, I had no idea this was where I wanted to pursue my career.

Thousands of layoffs to hit Interior, National Parks imminently Employees fear diminished capacity after RIFs are tacked on to existing mass exodus.

DOI was notified of competitive areas on April 15. They have to wait 30 days to take action (RIF)- that is next week.

This story validates the concern.

Of our 8000+ employees in January, 1500 have opted into voluntary departures. Another 1000 were removed from FWS and consolidated to DOI.

It didn't sound like "closing imminent" struggling, just that it's not a very profitable business. But they're more passionate about their mission than making profits and want to keep it afloat!

I got to meet the current owner last year. I told her that I love the pruning guide on their website. She said that was probably her dad and that he wrote a lot of the content on the pages! She also mentioned that the business has been struggling if anyone wants some plants or seeds~

A view from Alcatraz Island: a large concrete slab covered in nesting Brandt's cormorants. The foreground has some plants and a full. Gulls fly above the waters. The Golden Gate Bridge is visible in the distance.

Sorry, it belongs to the birds now.

Have you read the president’s budget that was released today? Aside from the disgusting, offensive language and blatant lies, the cuts would be catastrophic. DOI cuts alone would destroy NPS, cut all natural resources/climate research at USGS, eliminate state wildlife agency funding sources… (1/3)

If you, like me, had you NSF granted terminated, here’s what I learned from a hopeful meeting with my VP of research:
1. We have 30 days to act! Meet with your admin asap
2. APPEAL: Everyone can appeal! It must go through your institution, there’s a template, sent registered mail. My VP told me ⬇️

More pigeons for the rest of us 😤

Trump cuts would cripple NOAA’s wide-ranging science partnerships The agency's cooperative institutes study everything from salmon stocks to tropical cyclones.

The Trump admin aims to zero out funding for NOAA’s 16 cooperative institutes, which study everything from extreme weather to fisheries to toxic algae. I spent last week talking with folks about the losses — & potential threats — to society if these institutes close. www.eenews.net/articles/tru...

Presidential budget requests are a call to action not an obituary. Call your reps.

Trump swings budget ax at USGS biology research Plan to eliminate $307 million ecosystem program could face obstacles in Congress

This USGS program includes, amongst others, the Climate Adaptation Science Centers and the Ecosystems' Land Change Science Program www.science.org/content/arti...

Yesterday, we had an office potluck to celebrate our colleagues who ended their federal service. Though bittersweet, it was a reminder that our bond keeps us going in times of adversity.

Which areas, exactly?

Go on, get! You lil cutie.

Hearings | House Committee on Natural Resources

naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eve...

This can't be good.

"Evaluating the Implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act | Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee"

From the fednews community on Reddit Explore this post and more from the fednews community

Yesterday many thousands of federal employees were terminated. This is a Reddit thread for federal employees that got laid off.

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Position Details
🐍 Check modified aquatic minnow traplines for giant gartersnakes and other snake species around the Sacramento Valley

🐍 Mark animals and collect morphological data for long-term monitoring of occupancy and abundance

Do the 200 include a California Condor? Also a must see absolute unit!