ESA’s public and science policy initiatives focus on raising awareness of the importance of the entomological sciences in policy discussions, educating policymakers, and providing our members with a voice in science policy debates.

ESA’s 6,500 members receive a monthly Science Policy Newsletter which focuses on science issues that are being discussed on Capitol Hill, as well as regulatory policies and decisions made by government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, and others.

ESA’s Science Policy Committee is working on a science policy agenda that will guide and focus the Society's outreach efforts with government agencies, NGOs, and other organizations.

ESA’s Liaison to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs represents ESA’s membership to the EPA, provides critical input on topics such as the clarity of insecticide labels, the utility of label mitigations, spray drift, invasive arthropod species, insecticide resistance, and the role of insecticides in integrated pest management.

ESA is a member of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Coalition, whose mission is to heighten the awareness and appreciation among policymakers and the public of the importance and role of USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grants program.

ESA is also a member of the Coalition for a Sustainable Agricultural Workforce (CSAW), a partnership of professional scientific societies and agricultural industry leaders who have come together to generate support to train future generations of agricultural scientists to work at universities, corporations, and government agencies.

In addition, ESA has partnered with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) in order to provide ESA members with an even stronger voice in the nation’s science policy debates. ESA is a 2013 sponsor of the AIBS Legislative Action Center, and ESA is the primary sponsor of the 5th Annual Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits, a nationwide event that enables scientists to meet with their members of Congress in their own district. ESA’s executive director, David Gammel, serves on the AIBS Public Policy Committee.

In the future, ESA plans to provide a policy training workshop at the 2013 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas in order to help entomologists become effective advocates for their science and to effectively communicate with policymakers. ESA is also working on a short publication that provides entomologists with information about how to schedule, prepare for, and conduct meetings with lawmakers.

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