Scientists publish cancelled report
- After the White House rescinded the National Nature Assessment, scientists decided to publish it anyway. (kuow.org) - The story highlights researchers continuing work outside formal federal channels to get findings public. (kuow.org) - That approach signals tensions between federal policy choices and scientific efforts to maintain transparency. (kuow.org)
Scientists working on a canceled federal nature report have released an 868-page draft on their own and plan to publish it by the end of 2026. (kuow.org) The project began after President Joe Biden signed an executive order in Seattle on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, creating the first National Nature Assessment. President Donald Trump terminated the effort on January 30, 2025, according to Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center. (kuow.org) (climate.law.columbia.edu) The assessment was designed to measure the condition of U.S. lands, waters, wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems, and to track how those changes affect the economy, public health, equity, climate adaptation and national security. The U.S. Global Change Research Program published that scope in a Federal Register notice on August 4, 2023. (federalregister.gov) More than 150 scientists and experts had already spent thousands of hours on the report before it was canceled. Phil Levin, a University of Washington professor who had led the original federal effort, is now directing the independent version. (climate.law.columbia.edu) (kuow.org) The independent project is now called The Nature Record. A draft went out for public comment in March 2026, with comments open through May 30 and final publication planned for later this year. (washington.edu) (naturerecord.org) The National Academies is conducting an independent technical review of the draft, asking whether its findings, graphics and conclusions accurately reflect peer-reviewed research and other evidence. That review is being carried out under the Federal Advisory Committee Act process used for formal expert advice. (nationalacademies.org) The draft says U.S. nature cannot be reduced to a single metric, so it spans 13 chapters linking ecosystems to food, water, health, culture, jobs and disaster risk. University of Washington researchers said the report also documents biodiversity loss alongside examples of restoration and Indigenous stewardship. (washington.edu) (naturerecord.org) Some of its examples are concrete: about 50% of U.S. land is used for agriculture, and the country’s rivers are broken up by tens of thousands of large dams and as many as 2 million small dams and culverts. Those details are part of the report’s case that farming, water management and habitat policy are tied together. (washington.edu) Supporters of the original federal effort said canceling it cut off a science review meant to guide decisions on conservation, health and climate resilience. The authors’ answer was to move the work outside government and keep the assessment public. (nwf.org) (kuow.org) The result is a report that no longer carries federal backing but still aims to serve local officials, researchers and the public. Instead of disappearing with the executive order, the assessment is moving toward publication under a new name. (naturerecord.org) (kuow.org)
