What we know about the NOAA cuts in New England
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A right whale's tail in Cape Cod Bay, seen during a whale research expedition with the Center for Coastal Studies in 2022. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images
The federal cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may strike a blow to animal and weather research conducted in New England.
The big picture: NOAA, the latest federal agency caught in DOGE and Elon Musk's crosshairs, is central to weather and climate research, especially as climate change causes and exacerbates extreme weather.
- The federal government said it was cutting 800 probational employees at NOAA.
- One of them was Francis Tarasiewicz, a meteorologist under the National Weather Service in Massachusetts, NBC Boston reported.
The latest: Two major centers for weather forecasting will soon have their leases canceled, and others across the country could be affected, sources told Axios.
- Facilities in East Falmouth and Narragansett, Rhode Island, appear on a list of properties sent to NOAA that are intended for lease cancellations.
Yes, but: These cancellations aren't a done deal (at least not yet).
- The lease terminations have not appeared on DOGE's "Wall of Receipts." The database did show a lease cancellation for a NOAA facility in Barre, Vermont, with an annual lease savings of $9,310.
- Axios' calls to the East Falmouth and Narragansett facilities went unanswered Tuesday.
The Government Service Administration's list of federal buildings for sale names the U.S. Custom Houses in New Bedford and Portland, Maine, which list NOAA as a tenant.
- The federal government also cut funding to the Maine Sea Grant — the only state to have its sea grant revoked, WBUR and Maine Public reported.
Threat level: The cuts to grant programs and support may affect research conducted by the New England Aquarium, a spokesperson said.
- The aquarium conducts aerial surveys and works with NOAA on responding to changes to biodiversity and trends in the North Atlantic right whale population.
- The aquarium and NOAA also work together on curating the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, a photo database that tracks all sightings of the endangered species.
- Aquarium leaders say they worry the cuts could affect partnerships that enable them to study animals like the right whales and rescue animals like endangered sea turtles.
What they're saying: "A healthy ocean and a habitable planet need scientists, the government and private industry to work together to address threats the ocean faces for the future of our planet," Vikki N. Spruill, the aquarium's president and CEO, said in a statement.