Charles Monnett
Encyclopedia
Charles Monnett, Ph.D. is a Arctic
Wildlife biologist with U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS
).
As Contracting Officer's Representative (COR
) for BOEMRE, Monnett coordinated much of the agency's research on Arctic wildlife and ecology and had duties that included managing about $50 million worth of studies on the impact of oil/gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
In July 2011, Monnett was suspended for 6 weeks, and lost his COR
status, pending an ongoing investigation by the DOI
Office of Inspector General, while his defenders say he is being subjected to a smear campaign.
, particularly several done for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Some of Monnett's most noted work deals with polar bears and the effects of climate change on the species. Monnett was on a research flight tracking bowhead whales in 2004 when he and a colleague, Jeff Gleason, spotted four dead polar bears floating in the water after a storm. After additional research, Monnett found that this was "the first time dead bears [had] been spotted among more than 350 sightings of swimming bears recorded over 16 years of surveying the area." Monnett conjectured that this was due to "bears having to swim up to 60 miles across open sea to find food. They [were] being forced into the long voyages because the ice floes from which they feed [were] melting, becoming smaller and drifting farther apart."
Monnett published his findings in 2006 in an article in the peer-reviewed journal Polar Biology. Al Gore
referenced Monnett's study in his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth
, which made the polar bears into an important symbol of climate change. The paper was cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in its 2008 decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act
.
Office of Inspector General. .
During his paid leave, he was forbidden from speaking to colleagues or entering any Interior offices.
BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich stated that Monnett's dismissal was not politically motivated, and did not involve questions about his scientific integrity. .
Monnett's legal representative, the non-profit watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), stated that Monnett is subjected to a "witch hunt" regarding his 2006 scientific paper on drowned polar bears and released a transcript of a February 2011 interview of Monnett conducted by criminal investigator of the DOI
Office of Inspector General.
The integrity issues bureau officials have cited appear to relate not to the polar bear article but to Monnett's oversight of a Canadian research study. BOEMRE also briefly issued a stop-work order on the Canadian study, which was providing data on the movements of radio-collared polar bears being monitored by Canadian scientists.
Monnett returned to work on August 25, although BOEMRE declared that Monnett will have no role in developing or managing contracts and will instead be in the environmental assessment division, and that future administrative actions are not ruled out..
The investigation of a scientist by criminal investigators of the Inspector General triggered an outcry of protests from scientists and environmental and legal watchdog groups alike. "There's no way this can have anything but a chilling effect on the ability of other scientists to carry out their work," says Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute with the Center for Biological Diversity. and group of Australian scientists has send a letter to President Obama, stating "This seems like the type of anti-science action that would have occurred under your
predecessor and is similar to actions more expected in the pre-1989 Soviet Union". .
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) so far takes a neutral stand on the issue. "We won't know, until the inspector general is done, exactly what the charges are and exactly what they are finding," says Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. . Last year, UCS declared that the new DOI
scientific integrity policy, as instated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on September 29 2010, was "not an agency-wide scientific integrity policy as it states, but rather a scientist misconduct policy".
PEER filed an official complaint with the DOI
to protest the treatment of Monnett under this suspension and inquiry, asked that Monnett be reinstated and that the investigation be dropped or pursued by specifying charges against Monnett, along with a public apology from BOEMRE and the Inspector General..
Any official charges by the Inspector General, or BOEMRE or the DOI
against Monnett so far remain absent.
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
Wildlife biologist with U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS
Outer Continental Shelf
The Outer Continental Shelf is a peculiarity of the political geography of the United States and is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U.S...
).
As Contracting Officer's Representative (COR
COR
COR may refer to:* California State Prison, Corcoran, in the USA* IATA airport code for Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport, servicing Córdoba, Argentina* Central Outdoor Router...
) for BOEMRE, Monnett coordinated much of the agency's research on Arctic wildlife and ecology and had duties that included managing about $50 million worth of studies on the impact of oil/gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean.
In July 2011, Monnett was suspended for 6 weeks, and lost his COR
COR
COR may refer to:* California State Prison, Corcoran, in the USA* IATA airport code for Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport, servicing Córdoba, Argentina* Central Outdoor Router...
status, pending an ongoing investigation by the DOI
DOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
Office of Inspector General, while his defenders say he is being subjected to a smear campaign.
Research
Monnett's research has been focused on the Arctic. He is the author of several studies on the Arctic ecosystemEcosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
, particularly several done for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
Some of Monnett's most noted work deals with polar bears and the effects of climate change on the species. Monnett was on a research flight tracking bowhead whales in 2004 when he and a colleague, Jeff Gleason, spotted four dead polar bears floating in the water after a storm. After additional research, Monnett found that this was "the first time dead bears [had] been spotted among more than 350 sightings of swimming bears recorded over 16 years of surveying the area." Monnett conjectured that this was due to "bears having to swim up to 60 miles across open sea to find food. They [were] being forced into the long voyages because the ice floes from which they feed [were] melting, becoming smaller and drifting farther apart."
Monnett published his findings in 2006 in an article in the peer-reviewed journal Polar Biology. Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
referenced Monnett's study in his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
, which made the polar bears into an important symbol of climate change. The paper was cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in its 2008 decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
.
Investigation and Suspension
On July 18, 2011, Dr. Monnett was suspended and put on administrative leave by BOEMRE, pending results of an investigation into "integrity issues" by the DOIDOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
Office of Inspector General. .
During his paid leave, he was forbidden from speaking to colleagues or entering any Interior offices.
BOEMRE director Michael Bromwich stated that Monnett's dismissal was not politically motivated, and did not involve questions about his scientific integrity. .
Monnett's legal representative, the non-profit watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), stated that Monnett is subjected to a "witch hunt" regarding his 2006 scientific paper on drowned polar bears and released a transcript of a February 2011 interview of Monnett conducted by criminal investigator of the DOI
DOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
Office of Inspector General.
The integrity issues bureau officials have cited appear to relate not to the polar bear article but to Monnett's oversight of a Canadian research study. BOEMRE also briefly issued a stop-work order on the Canadian study, which was providing data on the movements of radio-collared polar bears being monitored by Canadian scientists.
Monnett returned to work on August 25, although BOEMRE declared that Monnett will have no role in developing or managing contracts and will instead be in the environmental assessment division, and that future administrative actions are not ruled out..
The investigation of a scientist by criminal investigators of the Inspector General triggered an outcry of protests from scientists and environmental and legal watchdog groups alike. "There's no way this can have anything but a chilling effect on the ability of other scientists to carry out their work," says Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute with the Center for Biological Diversity. and group of Australian scientists has send a letter to President Obama, stating "This seems like the type of anti-science action that would have occurred under your
predecessor and is similar to actions more expected in the pre-1989 Soviet Union". .
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) so far takes a neutral stand on the issue. "We won't know, until the inspector general is done, exactly what the charges are and exactly what they are finding," says Francesca Grifo, director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. . Last year, UCS declared that the new DOI
DOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
scientific integrity policy, as instated by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on September 29 2010, was "not an agency-wide scientific integrity policy as it states, but rather a scientist misconduct policy".
PEER filed an official complaint with the DOI
DOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
to protest the treatment of Monnett under this suspension and inquiry, asked that Monnett be reinstated and that the investigation be dropped or pursued by specifying charges against Monnett, along with a public apology from BOEMRE and the Inspector General..
Any official charges by the Inspector General, or BOEMRE or the DOI
DOI
DOI or DoI may refer to:* Doi , a Japanese surname* The Bengali term for Yoghurt* Doi , or Camera no Doi, a Japanese company* Digital object identifier, a persistent identifier given to objects...
against Monnett so far remain absent.
External links
- Polar Biology article on polar bear mortality by Monnett