Overview
- On October 1, 2025, the federal government shutdown began, halting many research projects tied to federal agencies, including those vital to the University of Michigan’s Great Lakes programs. The shutdown compounded earlier funding shortfalls that had already strained the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), directed by Gregory J. Dick in Ann Arbor. Working in partnership with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), CIGLR depends on federal collaboration for critical work on water quality, algal blooms, and regional climate impacts.
- The ongoing federal shutdown adds pressure to the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget, which seeks to eliminate NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and sharply cut funding for Ann Arbor’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) at the University of Michigan. Although Congress has not yet finalized the budget, eight GLERL staff were laid off in February 2025, and scientists warn that the proposed cuts would cripple Great Lakes monitoring, climate research, and water-quality protection for millions of residents.
- Earlier this year, Dick warned that these disruptions “have massive impacts on coastal communities,” leaving Great Lakes residents “more vulnerable to extreme weather, oil spills, and harmful algal blooms.” Because NOAA funding supports nearly all monitoring buoys and research vessels on the lakes, the shutdown has delayed field deployments, laboratory analyses, and data collection essential to Michigan’s environmental management. (Source: greatlakesnow.org)
- Mike Shriberg, Director of U-M’s Water Center, told Bridge Michigan and Planet Detroit that during the shutdown, “researchers trying to reach federal agencies get no one when they call.” His comments underscore how coordination and data sharing between university and federal scientists have stalled, leaving time-sensitive monitoring—such as testing for algae toxins and invasive species—without logistical support. (Source: planetdetroit.org)
- Before the shutdown, NOAA’s GLERL had already lost nearly 35 percent of its 52-member staff because of budget cuts, according to Great Lakes Now reporting in May 2025. Combined with the current work stoppage, Ann Arbor-based field programs and NOAA–U-M collaborations have nearly halted. Scientists say it will take months to recalibrate instruments and recover missing data once operations resume. (Source: greatlakesnow.org)
- CIGLR employs about 50 University of Michigan researchers who normally work within NOAA’s Ann Arbor laboratory. The shutdown has barred them from shared facilities and datasets, pausing several projects on Great Lakes climate resilience and water-quality management. Researchers warn that any extended interruption in continuous data collection could weaken Michigan’s long-term capacity to forecast environmental hazards and respond effectively to regional climate risks.
Transcription
David Fair: The federal government shutdown is the longest in history. Even if a temporary spending plan is put in place as expected, the impacts of the shutdown can't be immediately remedied. This is Issues of the Environment on 89.1 WEMU, and I'm David Fair. Even prior to the shutdown, the EPA had been hit hard with layoffs and firings, and cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have hit hard. That includes at the Great Lakes Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. Now, one of NOAA's other Ann Arbor partners is the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research. It's hosted by the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. We want to know what the environmental implications are. That's a question better answered by our guest today. Greg Dick is director of the Cooperative Institute. And thank you for making time for us today in such a difficult time for you and your colleagues.
Greg Dick: Good morning, David! Good to be with you!
David Fair: Well, what is the mood around the office these days?
Greg Dick: Well, as you would expect, there's a lot of anxiety and worry about the current situation. I mean, as you mentioned, I direct the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, where we have University of Michigan researchers that work really closely with NOAA colleagues. And our U of M staff is able to work, but they're not able to access their laboratories. And so, we're having to find office work and data analysis work to keep them busy. And our labs are sitting idle, and we're not able to work. We also, of course, are concerned for our federal collaborators that we work so closely with. So, there's a lot of apprehension and uncertainty, I would say.
David Fair: What is the prospect for the rest of the year? Even if the government reopens, I assume staffing will continue to be an issue.
Greg Dick: That's right. I mean, one important note is that this shutdown comes on the heels, of course, of other federal cuts and layoffs of federal employees. So, this has really compounded the effects those cuts that happened earlier this year. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is now down nearly 40% of the staff that it started the year with. And so, we were already struggling to complete our mission to understand and protect the Great Lakes. And the current shutdown has exacerbated that. And, of course, looming over the rest of this year is going to be the uncertainty regarding the federal budget going forward, right? Until we have a budget that's approved for fiscal year FY26, I think there's going to be a lot of concern about what next year looks like.
David Fair: Well, before we discuss real and potential impacts on the environment, perhaps we can paint a picture of exactly what the Cooperative Institute does in the realm of environmental protections and sustainability and research.
Greg Dick: Sure, yeah. We conduct scientific research that's really critical for the safety, prosperity, and well-being of people that live and work and play in the Great Lakes. Our tagline is "Great Lakes Science for Society," and that really reflects that the science that we do produces actionable information and products that are used by communities and businesses and resource managers and industries, like the Great Lakes shipping fleet. So, as some examples, our work helps to deal with threats that impact the daily lives of people in the Great Lakes region. Think about harmful algal blooms and coastal flooding and oil spills in extreme weather. So, the research that we do and the data that we collect ensures that we have water that is safe for drinking and swimming and paddling and fishing and navigation, and that communities and industries have the information that they need to protect and manage coastlines and to safely navigate the Great Lakes.
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and our Issues of the Environment conversation with Greg Dick continues. He serves as director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research in Ann Arbor, hosted by the U of M School for Environment and Sustainability. So, what does this mean to the health of the Great Lakes if funding remains static, that the policy and direction of environmental stewardship from the federal level continues to decline? What does that mean for the health of our Great Lakes states and region?
Greg Dick: Yeah, I think it's important to look back in history and see the state of the Great Lakes when we didn't invest in their protection and management and effective stewardship. I mean, in the 1960s, Lake Erie was declared dead. And it was only the the public outcry over that--over the degradation of Great Lakes water quality--that built the institutions that we have now--institutions like the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research. So, this research is really critical to understand the lakes, to understand the impacts of human activities on the lakes, and to put into place effective policies that make sure that we have water that's clean enough to drink and clean enough to swim in and clean enough to fish. So, without a fully operating federal government or federal funding of Great Lakes research, we risk a reversion to those days when we didn't have fishable, drinkable, and swimmable waters. It's what I really worry about.
David Fair: One of the pieces of legislation in the past that made a difference in the state of Michigan and for the Great Lakes was polluter pay laws holding entities responsible for the pollution and the issues that they create. How concerned are you about corporate responsibility, stewardship, and accountability in the midst of all these environmental rollbacks?
Greg Dick: Yeah, it is a concern, because the monitoring and the science that we do really shows us the progress that's being made and the threats that are out there, right? And so, if we can't get out there and effectively measure the conditions in the lake, the water quality of the lake, we can't effectively develop and enforce the policies that we have on the book.
David Fair: We're talking with the director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, Gregory Dick, on 89.1 WEMU's Issues of the Environment. Proponents of the direction of the federal administration contend it's really good fiscal policy to cut back on these environmental protections and sustainability initiatives and make it easier and more profitable to do business. And perhaps this is a loaded question, but isn't that really just kicking the can down the road?
Greg Dick: Yeah, I would say it's not just kicking the can down the road, but I would say, with these cuts, we would lose some of our most effective and actually cost-efficient tools for protecting safe drinking water, for providing information and forecasts that save lives and data that supports business industry in the economy. So, I think this view that these environmental investments and regulations get in the way of economic prosperity is outdated. We really now know that investing in restoration of the Great Lakes and investing in understanding the Great Lakes really actually supports economic activity. It supports the restoration and revitalization of communities. It supports economic activity, like the Great Lakes shipping industry, like safe drinking water for communities. So, I really think that these investments that we make in Great Lakes Science are cost-efficient and cost-saving.
David Fair: As director of the institute, I'm guessing you are charged with mapping out both a short and longer-term strategic plan. Can you actually do that under current circumstance?
Greg Dick: Yeah, that's a great question, David. We work really closely with our NOAA partners, and currently, most of those NOAA colleagues are not able to work with us. They're not able to communicate with us, except for certain accepted activities that protect life and property. And so, much of our research has ground to a halt. Also, much of our planning and coordination--short-term, medium-term and long-term--has also ground to a halt. For example, we had planned to hold our annual all-partners meeting in early November, November 7th. This is a meeting where scientists from across the Great Lakes, we have a consortium of 10 universities, three companies, and two nonprofit organizations. And every year, they come to Ann Arbor, and they meet with us and with our NOAA collaborators to plan what the next year is going to look like and to review our accomplishments from the previous year. And so, that type of planning and coordination is not taking place. Likewise, here at the end of the field season where we're pulling out our buoys and other instruments from the lakes and the vessels are coming in to ports, we almost immediately turn our attention to preparing for next year, right? We send our instruments off for repair and calibration and maintenance. And so, the offseason, so to speak for us, November through March or so, is really busy with making preparations for next year. And the shutdown has interfered with with those preparations, as well as the coordination of next year's research.
David Fair: Well, based on what you know today, are you concerned there might not be a future for the Cooperative Institute and its ability to positively impact the health and well-being of the Great Lakes region?
Greg Dick: It is something that I worry about, as you are probably aware. And the President's budget zeroed out the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for fiscal year 2026, which just started. And if that were to happen, I think it's likely that the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab and the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research could be eliminated. So, it is certainly a concern of ours. Fortunately, there is strong bipartisan support for Great Lakes research and protection, both by the public and by Congress. And so, I'm hopeful that that strong bipartisan support is going to help protect these valuable institutions moving forward.
David Fair: Well, we will most certainly be following along, and I look forward to our next conversation, hopefully, with more positive news to report.
Greg Dick: Yes! We certainly hope so as well!
David Fair: That is Greg Dick, he is the director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research in Ann Arbor, hosted by the U of M School for Environment and Sustainability. And if you'd like more information on what is happening, stop by our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resource Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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