DC Download: June 2025

In the last week of May, the Trump Administration—through its Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—submitted the NOAA FY 2025 Spend Plans to Congress. These funds include those Reserves need to operate at the start of the next fiscal year, which begins in July or October, depending on the budget cycle of each Reserve’s state or university partner. While details were not provided, we do know that NOAA has received support and guidance to begin developing FY 2025 spending agreements with each Reserve to fund the federal portion of their operations. However, NOAA has cautioned that final approvals from the Department of Commerce and OMB for funding each Reserve’s operations award at FY 2024 levels have not been completed.

For FY 2026, the Trump Administration has proposed a $1.7 billion (25%) cut to NOAA’s budget, which stood at $6.7 billion in FY 2024. At this time, we have no details about how this cut will impact FY 2026 funding for the NERRS, other than that the National Ocean Service—the line office where NERRS funding is located—is slated for a $200 million reduction.

Last week the House and the Senate Appropriations committees held a hearing on the Department of Commerce and NOAA budgets. Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified before both subcommittees. A number of NERRA board members and NERRA submitted questions to their Senator to ask Secretary Ludnick. Such questions are typically submitted in writing after the hearing, and board members’ requests to Senate offices continue to raise the visibility of the NERRS.

The most important things anyone who loves Reserves can do this month are:

• Contact with your congressional members by writing, emailing, and or calling to simply tell them that your Reserve matters to you.
• Check in with your Reserve’s Friends Group or Foundation to see how you can help their efforts to educate congress on behalf of the NERRS.
• If you work at a Reserve and are able to, participate in your sector’s community mobilization effort to get your program participants to contact Congress on behalf of Reserves. For more information, contact Rebecca Roth or your sector representative on the NERRA Board: Coastal Training and Engagement is Anita Grove; Education is Sarah Nuss; Stewardship is Kirsten Rhude; Research is Jason Goldstein, and Friends and Foundations is Mike Koutnik.
• Share this request on the NERRA website with everyone you know—and ask them to share it, too! In particular we are trying to get as many people around the country to show they care about Reserves by signing on to the national letter of support for the NERRS.

A thousand thank yous for all you do every day!