good news, thanks to everyone who wrote in to protest the impending
closure of the smithsonian's CRC due to budget cuts. read on ...

regards,

Deborah Wisti-Peterson, PhD Candidate nyneve at u.washington.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash, USA
Visit me on the web: http://students.washington.edu/~nyneve/
Love the creator? Then protect the creation.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Research Center Won't Close

By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 7, 2001; Page A1

Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small yielded to public pressure
yesterday and dropped his plan to close the sprawling research facility
in Front Royal, Va.,
that studies endangered species and habitat.

His attempt to close the Conservation and Research Center, a part of the
Smithsonian's National Zoo, had prompted an international outcry from
prominent
scientists and politicians and an open revolt from many of the
scientists at the Smithsonian.

The reversal was announced at an informal meeting of the Smithsonian's
Board of Regents, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist. The full
17-member board, which sets policy for the institution, is to meet this
morning for its formal voting session.

"We made this decision because it was clear from the messages we
received from individuals and organizations around the country that the
proposal was interpreted
by many as indicating that the Smithsonian was backing away from its
commitment to science in general, and to the biological sciences in
particular," said Small in a
statement released by his office.

Small's proposal had been to shift some of facility's work to the zoo
and save $2.8 million, which would have been given to other scientific
research at the
Smithsonian.

Small argued yesterday that his proposal would not have diminished the
involvement the Smithsonian has had with science since its founding 155
years ago. The
complex of museums and research units had been headed by a scientist or
academic until Small, an investment banker, became secretary last year.
Some of the
criticism of the proposal attacked Small for his business credentials
and the corporate-style approach he took deciding Smithsonian funding
priorities for the 21st
century.

"While our intention has been to save the significant cost of managing
such a large physical property and reinvest those savings in scientific
research, it is now obvious
that the message did not come through," Small said. "Rather than
continue a controversy that was harmful to the Institution, we decided
to withdraw the proposal."

The center is a sprawling 3,100-acre complex whose work over the past 25
years has drawn international respect and attracted hundreds of
scientists interested in
conservation biology. Groundbreaking work has occurred on the
reproduction and conservation of Eld's deer, cheetahs, black-footed
ferrets and green sea turtles,
among dozens of other nearly extinct animals.

For the past six weeks, the Smithsonian has been preoccupied with the
fate of research center and with the proposed closing of another
scientific unit, the
Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education; a media unit,
Smithsonian Productions; and three branches of the Smithsonian
libraries, as well as the
elimination of at least 180 staff positions.

The turmoil became a national news story, with Small justifying his
positions just yesterday on "CBS Sunday Morning." "Change must take
place," he said forcefully.
One regent said privately on Friday that he had received 300 letters
opposing Small's proposals =96 about half the number he received in
protest of the controversial
Enola Gay exhibition in 1995, but enough to give him pause. Small's
office said the secretary had received hundreds of letters, along with
visits and calls from
members of Congress.

Typical of the letters was one sent Friday to Rehnquist from the
Smithsonian's Congress of Scholars, an internal research group. "The
proposed shut-down of these
programs and reductions of research staff will diminish an important
source of the Smithsonian's reputation," wrote Paula DePriest, the
group's chairwoman. "These
actions will do incalculable harm to the Smithsonian's national and
international reputation for excellence in science, history, and the
arts. Widely perceived as
arbitrary and ill-considered, these steps will make it difficult to
retain quality research staff and they will hamper efforts to recruit
talented new scholars, thereby
damaging =96 perhaps irreparably =96 the Institution's future research
potential."

Chris Wemmer, associate director of the conservation facility and a
critic of Small's proposal, said he was informed by zoo Director Lucy
Spelman late yesterday
that the CRC was saved.

"I am pleased with Secretary Small's decision to withdraw the proposal
to close the CRC, and I am confident that it will be possible to work
with Secretary Small
and external organizations to make CRC an even better center of
excellence," said Wemmer.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) applauded the reversal. "I am particularly
pleased that the outstanding scientists who work there, many of whom are
pioneers in their
fields, will be able to return to producing quality science instead of
worrying about losing their jobs," he said.

=A9 2001 The Washington
Post Company