LAUSR

A body funded by Australia9s federal government plans to cut off funding for all 12 sites in the nation9s Long Term Ecological Research Network at the end of this year. In a letter in the 11 August issue of Science , 69 co-authors decry the decision as "totally out of step with international trends and national imperatives." Project leaders at the sites are now scrambling to find other sources of funding before their coffers run dry. The network9s demise could have major consequences, supporters say, including the loss of the ability to monitor and predict the status of Australia9s environmental assets. Barring an 11th hour reprieve, some sites will have to shut down.