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MLIVE: Great Lakes advocates rally against Trump cuts that would shut down Michigan NOAA research labs

State and regional environmental advocates are pushing federal lawmakers to halt proposed funding cuts that would shut down two Great Lakes research labs — and the protections against major water pollutants they help monitor.

The Michigan lab work notably supports efforts to combat harmful algal blooms, but advocates said the labs’ scientists also perform a host of other lake-monitoring tasks. These tasks provide beneficial information to other government agencies, Michigan communities and nonprofit organizations that could otherwise be lost if National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs are left on the chopping block.

“Together with our partners, like the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, we take measurements that produce forecasts of currents, waves and ice,” said Greg Dick, a University of Michigan professor and director the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research.

“These are used by boaters to safely navigate the waters of the Great Lakes, which can be unpredictable and dangerous.”

Speaking to media Friday, July 25, at the University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Dick, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, and representatives from several organizations laid out a lengthy list of perils that would arise from spending reductions to Great Lakes-related projects and initiatives through the NOAA.

Recent calls from the Trump administration threaten cuts to several research laboratories in Florida, Washington and Michigan, including those dedicated to regional research in Ann Arbor and Muskegon.

According to a NOAA budget estimate submitted to Congress for the 2026 fiscal year, the agency proposed cutting $39.5 million that funds the labs and terminating well over 100 jobs in total.

The institute was originally formed to help address the threat of algal blooms after 500,000 residents in Toledo, Ohio, lost access to drinking water for three days in 2014, prompting the National Guard to deliver bottled water.

Now, advocates say harmful algae are in all five Great Lakes.

According to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a lot of the work on blooms yields helpful measurements for emergency response and safe drinking water access. Losing federal funds to support just the Michigan labs and the institute would mean terminating 48 staff jobs.

Entities like the U.S. Coast Guard and companies involved in shipping industry delivering products to mines, factories and Midwestern farms commonly utilize the labs’ research, advocates said.

“People depend on the information we produce for safe recreation, life-saving, search-and-rescue operations and for commerce to support the thriving Great Lakes economy,” Dick said. “We’re also leading the development of the next-generation of forecasts for coastal flooding and water levels going from higher heights to lower lows in shorter periods of time.

“This causes coastal erosion that threatens infrastructure, homes and communities.”

The proposed NOAA cuts come after more than 35% of the agency’s workforce was laid off since the start of the year, advocates said, and would exacerbate research challenges already in motion.

Dingell, who co-chairs the Great Lakes Task Force, recalled the impact of comforting sobbing researchers and the polarization among congressional lawmakers over federal spending.

However, she put a bigger emphasis on working together on the precedent of the often bipartisan support for things like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

In addition to healthy fisheries and ecosystems, Dingell said the Great Lakes supply 40 million people with regular drinking water in the U.S. and Canada, or roughly 10% and 30 % of each country’s respective population.

They also account for over $6 billion of America’s GDP, she said, and support 51 million jobs.

“The tourism and recreation economy in the Great Lakes suffers significantly during hot events as beaches are forced to close,” Dingell said. “The decline in water quality affects industries like fishing and boating, leading to lost revenue and job impacts on our local communities.

“NOAA’s and (Great Lakes Restoration Initiative’s) efforts to track, predict and manage these blooms are vital to help our communities mitigate the effects and develop long-term solutions to protect the health of the Great Lakes.”

Dingell said she had already written a letter to the Trump administration calling for answers to the NOAA layoffs earlier this year. Since then, she said she has co-sponsored a bill to protect the designation of funds for both the National Weather Services, a NOAA agency, and the Great Lakes programs.

The measure, she said, would prevent funds from being reduced or redirected and require NOAA’s administrator to report to Congress annually on how they’re complying.

Joel Brammeier, president and CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, said federal funds have primarily financed the Great Lakes protection movement developed over several decades. It has given rise to the federally supported Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which advocates said has aided with supplemental support in addition to existing NOAA funds.

With toxic algal blooms “unfortunately becoming normal” and other drinking water concerns, Brammeier said, “Now is not the time to cut the support for tracking, analyzing and understanding the solutions.”

Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, spoke against allowing the responsibility of care and protection to rest solely on the states.

“Great Lakes restoration and science investments have been successful because of the partnership between the federal government and state governments,” she said. “States cannot do this job by themselves.”