Ecologists' Big Step Forward: Opening the Ecological Society of America’s Washington Office in 1983

Abstract

AbstractIn a bold move, the Ecological Society of America (ESA) decided in 1982 to open a Washington Office. Promoting an ecological viewpoint at the national level and providing advice on matters of national and international importance were the long‐term objectives. Seemingly few if any ESA actions have been more significant. ESA President Lawrence Bliss appointed Richard Forman to spearhead the effort, while Frank Golley, Arthur Cooper, Francis Evans, and Elliott Norse played major roles, and some 33 of our other leading ecologists contributed significantly. Golley chaired a Search Committee which selected Elliott Norse, former member of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, as Washington Office (WO) Director. Forman chaired the Public Affairs Committee which worked intensively in uncharted territory to delineate policies and practices for WO and oversee the Office and Director. The search for an office considered some 50 locations and ended next to the World Wildlife Fund at Dupont Circle. The primary immediate goals and approaches of the WO were outlined: (1) widely introduce ESA, as a source of ecological expertise, to Washington agencies, organizations, and decision makers; and (2) develop a list of qualified and willing ESA members who could provide advice or testimony on specific environmental issues to national decision makers. Not just another environmental lobby organization, ESA should fill an unfilled role in Washington. Endless problems arose and were solved, but gradually time spent on accomplishing goals predominated. Keeping the ESA Executive Committee, Council, and membership informed on progress remained a key mission. After several months Cooper chaired a committee which reviewed the WO and its Director and reported favorably on progress. Encapsulating 180 documents, mostly correspondence and reports, reveals the remarkable process of opening ESA’s pioneering Washington Office. Exactly one year after approving the WO effort, the office was operating and building a record of accomplishment. No one, including Bliss, Forman, and other key ESA leaders, had expected this success. Four decades of accomplishment now highlight the wisdom of ESA’s action.