Congressman John Yarmuth Selected as 2019 ESA Regional Policy Award Winner

Posted by on August 6, 2019

ESA Annual Meeting 2019 Logo.August 6, 2019
For Immediate Release

Contact: Alison Mize, 202-833-8773 ext. 205, gro.asenull@nosila

 

Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) will present its 12th annual Regional Policy Award to Representative John Yarmuth, who represents Kentucky’s third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, during the Society’s Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. The ESA award recognizes an elected or appointed local policymaker whose record reflects the use of ecological science to inform policy decisions.

“The Society applauds Rep. Yarmuth’s commitment to science-based environmental protection and natural resource management,” said ESA President Laura Huenneke. “Congressman Yarmuth provides an important voice for environmental issues in Kentucky, such as the serious impacts of mining on the state’s water, health and ecosystems.  He has also shown consistent leadership in understanding and addressing the challenges posed by climate change.”

Constituents in Louisville and its surrounding areas first elected Yarmuth to the U. S. House of Representatives in 2007. He is a champion for clean water and environmental stewardship. Since 2013, the Congressman has introduced and reintroduced legislation to place a moratorium on mountain-top removal mining until a comprehensive study of the health impacts of the practice on surrounding communities is completed. In the current session of Congress, he co-sponsored legislation to stop drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to provide funds for states and tribes to reclaim and restore land and streams damaged by coal mining. Yarmuth serves as the Chair of the House Budget Committee. During his tenure as Budget Committee Chairman, Yarmuth convened a hearing on the impacts of climate change to the federal budget and invited relevant experts to participate in the hearing.

ESA President Huenneke will present the 2019 ESA Regional Policy Award at the beginning of the meeting’s Opening Plenary Sunday, Aug. 11 at 5:00 PM in the Kentucky International Convention Center Ballroom C.

 

2019 Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky
Bridging Communities and Ecosystems: Inclusion as an Ecological Imperative
11-16 August 2019

Ecologists from 50 U.S. states, U.S. territories, and countries around the world will converge on Louisville, Kentucky this August for the 104th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America. Up to 3,000 attendees are expected to gather for thousands of scientific presentations on breaking research and new ecological concepts at the Kentucky International Convention Center, August 11-16, 2019.

In the spirit of collaboration, inclusion and cross-disciplinary science, the Ecological Society of America will be holding its 104th Annual Meeting in partnership with the United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE), one of many regional professional organizations within the umbrella society of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE).

The Opening Plenary features Karen Warkentin, professor in the Biology Department and the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program at Boston University, who will speak about, “All the variations matter: bridging disciplines and communities to study diversity in life history and sexual behavior.” The event is free and open to the general public.

ESA invites press and institutional public information officers to attend for free. To apply, please contact ESA Public Information Manager Zoe Gentes directly at gro.asenull@setnegz. Walk-in registration will be available during the meeting.

 

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The Ecological Society of America (ESA), founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 9,000 member Society publishes five journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 3,000-4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.

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