ESA Policy News: January 13 | EcoTone

"[The Ecological Society of America's] letter on access to scholarly publishing requested that publishers retain their ability to experiment with models to increase accessibility to their journals’ content. “ESA respectfully requests that the Administration allow the scientific publishing community to continue to explore workable solutions that meet the dual goals of the scientific enterprise as well as provide resources to interested members of the public.” The Society’s letter sparked a lively online discussion among both members and non-members. The most vocal responses came from those who believe that all federally funded research, including that published in journals, should be available free of charge to all readers/users/interested consumers....ESA...has been successful with its first attempt at an alternative to subscriptions, with its open access journal Ecosphere, which is supported by author fees ($1250 for members)...."