The Birth of a Federal Research Agency

occurred in the past several tens of millions of years. Furthermore, it appears that we ourselves are the primary causal agents for this change. Yet we are in profound ignorance of the details of what is happening and what impact the changes might have on the quality of life for us and for future generations. Given this degree of scientific uncertainty, it is little wonder that we are unable to fully agree among ourselves about what to do, if anything. We all clearly have a stake in the outcome of the debate about how we approach questions of biological diversity. We all share some of the responsibility. However, the US Department of the Interior (DOI), as custodian of 22% of all US lands, has a special responsibility. Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that the Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, on assuming office, asked the question: How can science be better organized in the Department of the Interior? The result was the birth of the National Biological Survey (NBS) in November 1993.1