Monday March 3, 2025
The Columbian —
Large Trump administration cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have hit a crucial part of the agency that runs a fleet of more than 100 coastal weather buoys. The buoys enable national and regional weather forecasting, safe maritime navigation and tsunami warning systems.
The staff losses stand to slow down maintenance of the essential system, which will leave shippers, fishermen and others who navigate the notoriously perilous mouth of the Columbia River in a more dangerous and less informed position. The buoys enable shippers to safely transport the more than $31 billion in goods that move up and down the Columbia each year.
The National Data Buoy Center lost three of its 34 total government employees to the Trump administration’s early retirement offer, said its chief of engineering, Craig Kohler, who retired today after nearly 17 years at NOAA.
Kohler said emails firing probationary employees were sent out Thursday night. While it isn’t yet clear how many people were let go in that move, he estimated Thursday the center would lose three or four staffers.