BsalResearcher
New member
Hi all! A couple of years ago, I recruited on this site for my research project. I conducted surveys with amphibian owners and amphibian breeders about their Bsal management action preferences and biosecurity measures.
I just want to say with the introduction of the new bill that would ban interstate travel again, your community still has people advocating for you in the research arena. My team recently got an NSF grant that is funding the development of a clean trade program. We're a team of researchers around the country that care for salamanders and want to see a healthy and safe trade continue in our country. We recognize you all! Sadly, none of us are senators or representatives and therefore can't actively vote against the bill. But if it helps, when advocating and writing to your representatives against it, you can reference our work in creating a safe trade for the hobby's sake and our native ecosystems! Project | HealthyAmphibTrade
Been doing some writing to my senators/representatives on my own time, but I know it can feel like talking to a door sometimes. I'll keep the site updated as we move forward in our work. We just got the grant this past summer. In the future, we'll be doing more stakeholder engagement and ideally some workshops/informational campaigns.
I'm open for any questions and will do my best to answer them. As a disclaimer, I'm just a grad student on the project (not a principal investigator, people who take the lead), so I don't have much sway. As a second disclaimer, our team has no connection to the governmental decisions, but rather conducts research to hopefully inform said decisions. Seems like they don't always listen to research though....
I just want to say with the introduction of the new bill that would ban interstate travel again, your community still has people advocating for you in the research arena. My team recently got an NSF grant that is funding the development of a clean trade program. We're a team of researchers around the country that care for salamanders and want to see a healthy and safe trade continue in our country. We recognize you all! Sadly, none of us are senators or representatives and therefore can't actively vote against the bill. But if it helps, when advocating and writing to your representatives against it, you can reference our work in creating a safe trade for the hobby's sake and our native ecosystems! Project | HealthyAmphibTrade
Been doing some writing to my senators/representatives on my own time, but I know it can feel like talking to a door sometimes. I'll keep the site updated as we move forward in our work. We just got the grant this past summer. In the future, we'll be doing more stakeholder engagement and ideally some workshops/informational campaigns.
I'm open for any questions and will do my best to answer them. As a disclaimer, I'm just a grad student on the project (not a principal investigator, people who take the lead), so I don't have much sway. As a second disclaimer, our team has no connection to the governmental decisions, but rather conducts research to hopefully inform said decisions. Seems like they don't always listen to research though....
thank you!