"Scientists are lobbying Congress and others to save the almost $300 million program, which pays for a wide array of work and supports research centers."
"The Trump administration wants to unplug a high-powered U.S. Geological Survey research program whose scientists have helped protect wildlife, manage forests, thwart pests and illuminate nature for over three decades.
Eliminating the biological research branch of the USGS, as called for in President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal, would accelerate the administration’s targeting of scientific experts and studies already shown in layoffs and grant cancellations at the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
But the potential scrapping of the USGS program is also goading some scientists out of their labs and into lobbying, as they deploy letters, phone calls, professional advocates, social media messaging, virtual rallies and more in their bid to save a nearly $300 million-a-year program.
“It seems largely political,” Shahid Naeem, a prominent Columbia University professor of ecology, said of the proposed USGS budget slashing in an interview. “And from a scientific point of view, it’s really going to cost the country billions of dollars if we eliminate these programs which keep watch on things like avian influenza, water quality and forest fires.”"
Michael Doyle reports for E&E News June 9, 2025.
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