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The Division The Academies
Topic: Natural Resources and Ecology
Reports: Academies' Findings Workshop Summaries Studies in Progress: Upcoming Reports Upcoming Events Past Events
Reports: Academies' Findings

The division produces 60-70 reports per year. These reports are unique, authoritative expert evaluations. Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review. The experts who volunteer their time participating on study committees are vetted to make sure that the committee has the range of expertise needed to address the task, that they have a balance of perspectives, and to identify and eliminate members with conflicts of interest. All reports undergo a rigorous, independent peer review to assure that the statement of task has been addressed, that conclusions are adequately supported, and that all important issues raised by the reviewers are addressed. Thus, while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy.

Reports

Showing results 1 - 5 of 197

Water management in the California Bay Delta is directed toward providing a more reliable water supply for California, and protecting and rehabilitating the Delta ecosystem, including five endangered and threatened populations and species of fish that live in or migrate through the Delta. However, water management in the Bay and Delta is distributed among many agencies and organizations, a structure that hinders the development and implementatio... More >>
The Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of the costs associated with implementing numeric nutrient criteria in Florida's waterways was significantly lower than many stakeholders expected. This discrepancy was due, in part, to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency's analysis considered only the incremental cost of reducing nutrients in waters it considered "newly impaired" as a result of the new criteria—not the total cos... More >>
Report in Brief >> A range of health and environmental issues and related risks are important considerations as Virginia deliberates on whether to rescind its almost 30-year moratorium on mining uranium. Although there are internationally accepted best practices to mitigate most of these risks, there are still steep hurdles to be surmounted before mining and processing could take place within a regulatory setting that appropriately protect... More >>
Mycoherbicides, which are developed from plant pathogenic fungi that infect specific host plants, have been proposed as a targeted means of preventing or reducing the cultivation of illicit drug crops. This study focused on mycoherbicides intended to target illicit plantings of cannabis, coca, and opium poppy. The committee was asked to examine questions about the efficacy of the mycoherbicides, their persistence in the environment, th... More >>
The unprecedented magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill presents significant challenges for oil spill responders and those tasked with assessing the impacts of the spill. Evaluating changes to ecosystem services—the benefits people receive from natural resources and processes—caused by the oil spill could expand the potential to capture and value the full breadth of impacts to the ecosystem and the public. This report assesse... More >>
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