Latest news with #BringingtheSeatoInlandandRuralCommunities
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
University of Maine receives restored Sea Grant funding
Students from Sacopee Valley High School visit Bang's Island Mussel and Kelp Farm as part of Maine Sea Grant's new Bringing the Sea to Inland and Rural Communities program. (Photo by Maine Sea Grant) After an abrupt cancellation, funding for the Maine Sea Grant has been restored. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notified the University of Maine this week that it was awarding three more years of funding for the Maine Sea Grant, according to a news release from the university Friday. The money for the upcoming year was made available immediately, while the remaining two years of funding will be contingent on future appropriations from Congress. 'This vital funding for Maine Sea Grant is not a cost,' said lobsterman and marine biologist Curt Brown, in the release. 'It is an investment in the future of Maine's coastal industries and communities, an investment that has paid dividends for decades and will continue to support these iconic industries for generations to come.' Maine's Sea Grant program is one of 34 across coastal and Great Lakes states throughout the country. It has helped finance statewide research, strengthened coastal communities and supported thousands of jobs over more than five decades. The restoration of funding comes after the university received a letter in late February stating that NOAA was immediately discontinuing funding for the $4.5 million Maine Sea Grant because the grant's work was 'no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration's priorities and program objectives.' Maine's program seems to have been the only one in the country affected. The decision came about a week after President Donald Trump threatened Gov. Janet Mills during a heated exchange over the state not complying with an executive order barring transgender students from competing in women's athletics. Multiple members of Maine's congressional delegation pushed back on the decision, calling for its reversal. For example, independent Sen. Angus King and Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree wrote a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick demanding he immediately reverse the 'reckless decision' to terminate the federal grant that boosts research and economic development for coastal communities. Republican Sen. Susan Collins also spoke with Lutnick about how Maine's coastal communities could be hurt by ending that funding. Following that conversation, Vice Admiral Nancy Hann issued a memo that the department would renegotiate the Maine Sea Grant, according to a news release from Collins' office. 'The groundswell of support for Maine Sea Grant and the stories that have surfaced about its incredible impact on our state's working waterfronts have been extraordinary and effective,' said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. In line with the original four-year agreement, the award from the U.S. Department of Commerce this week was just shy of $1.5 million, the release said. That money will be matched by nearly $810,000 from non-federal sources, including industry and state research funding, as is required by the program. If Congress continues to fund the National Sea Grant College Program, it will provide $3 million in additional funding to the Maine Sea Grant through Jan. 31, 2028. That would be matched by another $1.6 million, the release added. That money will allow the Maine Sea Grant to continue fostering coastal workforce development, hands-on marine science education for students of all grade levels, research to inform lobster and other fisheries management, as well as storm preparedness for working waterfronts. Every federal dollar spent to support those activities resulted in $15 of economic activity in the state, amounting to a total annual impact of $23.5 million in 2023, the release said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Of the nearly three dozen Sea Grant programs, Maine's seems to be the only one cut
Students from Sacopee Valley High School visit Bang's Island Mussel and Kelp Farm as part of Maine Sea Grant's new Bringing the Sea to Inland and Rural Communities program. (Photo by Maine Sea Grant) Maine appears to be the only state whose federal grant boosting research and economic development for coastal communities was terminated. The University of Maine said it was notified late Friday that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was immediately discontinuing funding for the $4.5 million Maine Sea Grant, said university spokesperson Samantha Warren. The grant has helped finance statewide research, strengthened coastal communities and supported thousands of jobs over more than five decades. However, the letter from NOAA said the grant's work is 'no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration's priorities and program objectives.' Maine's Sea Grant program is one of 34 across coastal and Great Lakes states throughout the country. As of mid-Monday, the New Hampshire Sea Grant had not received a similar notice, said Director Erik Chapman. Similarly, Fiscal Officer Caroline Johnston was not aware of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant receiving a notification about funding cuts. Both Chapman and Warren said they were unaware of any program's termination beyond Maine. Pointing out that there is little information about the reasoning behind the cut, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree argued in a statement that the decision shows President Donald Trump has a 'personal vendetta against our state.' The funding cut came about a week after Trump threatened Gov. Janet Mills after a heated exchange over the state not complying with an executive order barring transgender students from competing in women's athletics. Since then, the U.S. Department of Education has launched several investigations into the state while the University of Maine System is being probed by the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture for alleged Title X violations. Maine Morning Star also reached out to NOAA and Sea Grant programs in other New England states, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Trump suggested cutting the federal Sea Grant program in a 2017 budget proposal he put forth during his first term in office. However, those cuts were negated by pushback from congressional lawmakers. More specifically, the Maine Sea Grant fosters coastal workforce development, hands-on marine science education for students of all grade levels, research to inform lobster and other fisheries management, as well as storm preparedness for working waterfronts. Every federal dollar spent to support those activities result in $15 of economic activity in the state, amounting to a total annual impact of $23.5 million, Warren said. 'Thanks to Maine Sea Grant support, Maine's fishermen, coastal communities and marine economy are experiencing employment and earnings growth, and are increasingly well-positioned to lead and innovate for a more resilient future,' said Maine Sea Grant Director Gayle Zydlewski. 'This notice is devastating for our team and countless partners, the University of Maine and the entire state.' From 2011 to 2021, Maine's marine economy grew not only through the number of marine businesses and jobs, but also with increases in average employee wages and gross domestic product, according to a fact sheet NOAA published last year. The most recent iteration of the grant was a four-year agreement for $4.5 million that took effect in February 2024 and would have provided nearly $1.5 million this year. The program also requires a 50% non-federal match, which usually comes from the university's budget, as well as industry and state research funding. Maine Sea Grant employees, which includes 20 university employees, were notified of the news Saturday; however, Warren said the university system is still assessing the federal notice and what it will ultimately mean for the workers. The Maine Coast Fishermen's Association said it was devastated and shocked to hear of the grant's end, given its economic value to the state's coastal communities, Executive Director Ben Martens said in a news release Saturday. Pingree echoed those concerns, calling the move a 'shortsighted and heartless decision.' She added that it not only threatens progress on addressing challenges such as ocean acidification, warming waters and habitat conservation, but it also puts fishing industry jobs at risk. Hundreds of NOAA employees have also been fired in recent weeks as part of efforts by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to drastically shrink the federal workforce. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
