US EditionFederal budget proposal puts Great Lakes research at risk
- The 2026 federal budget proposal plans to cut NOAA funding by a quarter, putting research on the Great Lakes—particularly around Lake Michigan—at risk.
- This cut follows broader federal funding rollbacks amid staffing losses and hiring freezes that have weakened vital monitoring programs in the region.
- Dr. Harvey Bootsma at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee manages a buoy network funded mainly by NOAA that tracks real-time environmental data on Lake Michigan.
- Bootsma highlighted that a single buoy near Atwater Beach is utilized more than 30,000 times each season by a wide range of users, including boaters, educators, and researchers who depend on its data.
- Cuts to NOAA funding risk undermining water quality monitoring and ecosystem management, which could harm public health, local economies, and aquatic species.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Michigan House Passes Resolution in Effort to Protect Great Lakes from Asian Carp
Photo: Junfu Han ~ USA TODAY NETWORK DETROIT, May 8, 2025 ~ Michigan Legislators are aiming to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp. The House passed a resolution on Wednesday, May 7, linked to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, urging the state to resume construction on a barrier project that was halted in Feb. The carp begin their journey in the Mississippi River and head through the Joliet Dam into Lake Michigan. The barrier plan h…
Millions of people depend on the Great Lakes’ water supply. Trump decimated the lab protecting it. • Michigan Advance
This story originally appeared in ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of […]
Local View: To protect Great Lakes' economic engine, save research funding
At a time when a strong economy is paramount, the U.S. government risks undermining one of its most valuable assets: the Great Lakes. These waters, and the fisheries sustained within them, support a multibillion-dollar economy and countless jobs, all of which depend on the crucial scientific research conducted by many state and federal entities, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ecosystem Mission Area. The proposed elimination of fundi…
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