National Pollinator Week -- Jun 22-28, 2008
Pollinator Partnership.
Due to the enormous success of National Pollinator Week 2007, officially declared by the U.S. Senate (S.Res. 580) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pollinator Partnership has received requests from all over the continent to expand on this year's festivities and events.

Pollinators
DOI. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Includes presention that provides an introduction to pollinators.

EPA Begins Development of New Regulations for Boaters (Jun 17, 2008)
EPA. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
A federal court decision in 2006 ruled that vessels were subject to the effluent discharge provisions of section 402 of the Clean Water Act, and directed EPA to set up a permitting framework for vessels. The EPA proposal would establish two federal permit programs — one for recreational boaters and one for operators of commercial vessels.
These new regulations are set to take effect in Sep 30, 2008, if Congress does not pass the Clean Boating Act of 2008. The public will have 45 days to comment on the proposals. Submit comments by Aug 1, 2008.

• What does this mean for boaters? (PDF | 138 KB)
  BoatU.S.
• Webcast Overview / Session Description and Registration (Jul 2, 2008) -- Webcast provides information on this proposed permit.

Species Profile -- Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia
USDA. NAL. National Invasive Species Information Center.
Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) virus is a serious pathogen of fresh and saltwater fish that is causing an emerging disease in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. It causes clinical signs including internal hemorrhaging and death in susceptible species. The disease does not pose a risk to people, but the VHS virus can affect multiple fish species at any age.

Reports Highlight Environmental Trends Call for Action on Better Data (Jun 17, 2008)
H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment.
The State of the Nation's Ecosystems 2008 report released by the Heinz Center provides authoritative documentation of key environmental trends.

Threatened or Invasive? Species' Fates Identified (Jun 13, 2008)
The University of Adelaide (Australia).
A new ecological study led by a University of Adelaide researcher should help identify species prone to extinction under environmental change, and species that are likely to become a pest.

New Ballast Treatment Could Help Shield Lake Superior from Deadly Fish Disease (Jun 4, 2008)
Michigan Technological University.
A Michigan Technological University professor has developed a new water treatment that could help keep a deadly fish disease (viral hemorrhagic septicemia) out of Lake Superior.

USDA Report Says Climate Change Affecting Crops, Livestock (Jun 4, 2008)
AG Weekly.
Climate change is increasing the risk of U.S. crop failures, depleting the nation’s water resources and contributing to outbreaks of invasive species and insects, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report released Tuesday.

Report -- Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity (May 27, 2008)
U.S. Climate Change Science Program.