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U.S. Drought Monitor staff preparing for NOAA disruptions

A climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center says he’s closely following how staffing cuts at USDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could impact work.

Brian Fuchs tells Brownfield, “When we see some of these agencies starting to get some of their people cut, you really need to understand what that trickle down is, and I think right now it’s been too soon to understand exactly what’s going to happen.”

More than 800 NOAA employees were laid off last week by the Trump administration.

Fuchs says a three-way partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, and NOAA has supported their reports for the past 25 years.

“With every weekly drought monitor that has come out over the last decade or so, there’s been $15 million or more associated with programs tied to the drought monitor for every single one of those weekly maps,” he explains. “It is a substantial tool being used in very official capacities.”

Fuchs says disruptions to data or weather platforms at NOAA could cause problems in the creation of drought maps, and the reduced workforce might limit weekly contributors and peer review networks.

He adds his organization is reviewing what partners have been affected and how disruptions at the National Agricultural Statistics Services could impact weekly crop progress reports next month.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is mostly grant funded through the USDA, and Fuchs says has not yet been subject to a freeze.