Coalition of Scientific Groups Sends Letter to Secretary Salazar, Concerns About Lack of Scientific Integrity Policy

Online, June 2, 2010 (Newswire.com) - A coalition of scientific societies, including The Wildlife Society, American Fisheries Society, Society for Conservation Biology, and Society of Wetland Scientists, wrote a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to comment on the recent Inspector General's (IG's) report regarding the lack of a scientific integrity policy at the Department of the Interior (DOI). The letter addresses the importance of having an official scientific integrity policy in order to maintain the credibility of the scientific enterprise at DOI.

The IG report, released on 28 April 2010, said that the DOI never has had, and continues to operate without, a scientific integrity policy, despite the fact that science is key to the DOI mission of conserving our nation's natural resources. The IG report noted that DOI has already found itself in situations in which there has been a need for a scientific integrity policy, but because it lacked such a policy, was unable to handle those situations properly and consequently garnered intense media and congressional scrutiny.

"The oil spilling daily into the Gulf of Mexico is stark testimony to the fact that the Interior Department needs all the help it can get in ensuring the integrity of the science on which it relies," said John Fitzgerald, Policy Director of the Society for Conservation Biology. "The steps that we and the Inspector General recommend, when completed, will be steps toward a government we can trust. We hope we can help."

Without a transparent and ethical process for dealing with scientific research and scientific conduct, the science that is performed at DOI may be called into question. This will not only harm the reputation of DOI, but will threaten the conservation of the nation's treasured natural resources. To ensure that science is being used properly to implement natural resource decisions, science should not be suppressed, scientific misconduct should be punished, and scientists who report suppression or other scientific misconduct should be afforded whistleblower protections. Additionally, the science that informs natural resource decisions must be clear, transparent, and subject to independent peer review.

"Good science must be the basis for our decisions regarding natural resource management, or at the very least, it must inform us about the potential consequences of our actions should we choose to go in another direction," says Michael Hutchins, Executive Director and CEO of The Wildlife Society. "Because the wise and sustainable management of our natural resources is critical for the future of humankind, scientific integrity is therefore something that our government should take very seriously."

The coalition letter supports the recommendations provided in the IG report, including developing a DOI-wide scientific integrity policy and delegating a responsible official to guide the implementation and development of such a policy across various bureaus within the agency. The coalition also recommends creation of a DOI-wide policy that specifically addresses the need for independent peer review, and that the DOI use a transparent process to inform the public when disagreements between science and preferred natural resource policies exist. Finally, the coalition recommends that such a policy be developed with the participation of DOI science advisors, ethics officers, scientists, and the general counsel within DOI, and that a draft be available within the next several months for public comment.

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