Uncertainty looms over research conference as U.S. science cuts and tariff tensions mount
Open this photo in gallery:Uncertainty at the 68th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, set for the first week of June in Milwaukee, mirrors broader turmoil in U.S. science. Researchers prepare to deploy a remotely operated vehicle to explore sinkholes in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.NOAA Great Lakes Environmental R/ReutersSave for laterOnly months ago, the prospect of drawing hundreds of Great Lakes researchers to a conference in Milwaukee didn’t worry Jérôme Marty.As executive director of the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR), he had seen enthusiasm for such gatherings rebound postpandemic. Expecting 800 attendees, he and his colleagues booked venues and prepaid vendors in 2023.Then the second Trump presidency hit like a rogue wave. With worsening cross-border relations, deep job cuts at government science agencies and U.S. civil service travel freezes, the IAGLR is now recalculating attendance just to break even.“We thought the pandemic was the hardest time to run a conference,” said Prof. Marty, a University of Ottawa freshwater scientist. “But this one comes with a new set of headaches.”Uncertainty at the 68th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, set for the first week of June in Milwaukee, mirrors broader turmoil in U.S. science. An open letter published by nearly 2,000 scientists this week decries funding cuts, mass firings, data suppression and ideological interference.Across the Great Lakes, researchers fear the Trump administration’s blunt orders to downsize government could endanger critical monitoring programs on both sides of the border – from tracking toxic algal blooms to forecasting storms. One casualty, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich., runs wave, ice and wind prediction systems vital to navigation.Environmental comeback of Great Lakes at risk with Canada and U.S. in tariff turmoil“We haven’t lost a ship since this system was implemented,” said Deborah Lee, who retired as lab director in February after 40 years in the civil service, much of it with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The day after her retirement, she learned that 20 per cent of her lab’s staff had been laid off.She now worries about the fate of the lab, where staff routinely clocked long, uncomfortable hours aboard small vessels to perform vital fieldwork. “I’m really hoping the lab will be able to move forward and deliver its mission,” she said.While court orders have reinstated some positions there and elsewhere, many affected scientists remain on non-duty status – collecting paycheques but prohibited from returning to their research or fieldwork.Remaining staff face budget freezes and other restrictions. Ms. Lee said limits on some government-issued credit cards have been reduced to US$1 – at a time when the laboratory is gearing up for fieldwork season.“Normally, the laboratory does about a million dollars a year of procurement on credit cards,” she said. “They have to purchase supplies, to travel, to procure parts for the ships. They are working through it, but it’s really impeding being able to be ready for field season.”Many scientists have been instructed to avoid terms such as “diversity” and “climate change” to comply with executive orders, forcing some to use personal devices and non-government e-mails to communicate freely. “We’ve been advised not to use the word ‘biodiversity’ because it’s getting flagged,” said Donna Kashian, a Wayne State University biology professor. “The amount of time spent on this is ridiculous.”Scientists across federal agencies – including the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation – are confronting parallel challenges. The New York Times estimates that 130,000 federal employees have left their jobs or have been fired and foresees a further reduction of 170,000 jobs.One program that was nearly derailed is the binational fight against sea lampreys – invasive, parasitic fish that decimated native Great Lakes species in the 20th century. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission contracts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to cull lamprey larvae annually. But this February, FWS couldn’t carry out the work owing to layoffs of probationary employees, hiring freezes and travel bans, threatening hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to Great Lakes fisheries, said Greg McClinchey, the legislative affairs and policy director for the commission.After weeks of lobbying, much of the funding has been restored.“I can now report that the service has been given the authority to hire back that seasonal staff and bring back probationary employees,” Mr. McClinchey said.That reversal offers some hope for the Milwaukee conference organizers, who monitor registrations daily. In addition to the U.S. drama, they’ve heard from Canadians who are no longer comfortable travelling to the U.S.“It’s a very uncertain time,” Prof. Marty said. “For everyone.”
