Offices housing the U.S. Geological Survey’s New England Water Science Center have gotten a federal reprieve. The offices will stay open, at least for now, instead of closing at the end of the summer as planned.
The Trump administration terminated the leases on the offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts earlier this year as part of cost-cutting measures undertaken by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a unit within the White House.
The General Services Administration, which manages much of the federal government’s real estate, reversed the U.S. Geological Survey office closure decision last week, according to a spokesperson.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s New England Water Science Center maintains hundreds of sensors and gauges that monitor ground and surface water, including drinking water supplies. David Boutt, a hydrogeologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst cheered the reversal.
“This is great news,” said Boutt, who regularly works with U.S. Geological Survey data. “These offices support critical data collection activities that underlie important decision making and models to protect human health, safety, and environmental quality.”
Earlier this year, Democrats in the House Natural Resources Committee published a list of federal offices that the General Services Administration planned to close. In addition to the U.S. Geological Survey offices, the document also listed three New England properties used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including the Northeast Region Headquarters in Hadley, Massachusetts.
According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Garrett Peterson, the lease on the Hadley office is “not terminated,” and the site remains open. The future of other offices in Chelsea and Falmouth, Maine is unclear.
According to a list the General Services Administration published in May, the leases on both properties have been renewed. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would not confirm plans for the offices.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service remains committed to fulfilling our federal responsibilities to communities, tribes, and conservation partners,” Peterson wrote in an email. “We are working with GSA to ensure that facilities or alternative solutions remain available to support our mission while embracing new opportunities for efficiency and innovation. This process is ongoing, and we will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
The General Services Administration did not respond to WBUR’s request for comment.
DOGE, which was helmed until recently by the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, sought to cut costs through measures that included selling government buildings and canceling leases. As part of this effort, the General Services Administration listed more than 150 leases slated for termination nationwide, including the five in New England.
Even with some leases restored, the local offices of the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service still face deep funding cuts in President Trump’s proposed budget.
The Trump administration has proposed cutting more than $550 million from the U.S. Geological Survey budget, eliminating programs that “focus on social agendas (e.g., climate change) to instead focus on achieving dominance in energy and critical minerals.”
The proposed cuts include the $326 million ecosystems research program managed by the U.S. Geological Survey, which funds the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces more than $200 million in cuts in the president’s proposed budget. The cuts include $170 million for grant programs that fund conservation efforts for endangered and threatened species. The administration describes the programs as “non-essential” and “wasting taxpayer dollars on species better managed by local or international interests.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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