By Sarah Poon and Reggie Paros, Environmental Defense Fund
Last week, the Trump administration arbitrarily fired at least 800 public servants — including many in Florida — from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These cuts don’t simply impact those losing their jobs. They make Floridians less safe.
While making up less than 1% of the federal budget, NOAA provides a range of life- (and wallet-) saving services to families from Key West to Pensacola, supports industries that contribute trillions of dollars to the economy and protects a healthy ocean for all to enjoy. If you’ve ever checked the weather forecast, prepared to evacuate from a recent hurricane like Helene or Milton, eaten a red snapper or looked to see if red tide was in bloom, you’ve benefited directly from NOAA’s services.
Instead of investing in these benefits that provide a significant return for taxpayers, the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are recklessly reducing or planning to privatize key services. They are attacking hardworking public servants who selflessly serve their country with these mass firings and freezes on federal funding.
NOAA staff — like those at the National Hurricane Center in Miami or the Southeast Fisheries Regional Office in St. Petersburg — include world-class experts in their fields that have made Florida their home. They work hard to make lasting changes that directly improve the quality of our lives.
Take U.S. fisheries, for example. Fishermen and NOAA have worked for decades to restore U.S. fisheries to sustainability. Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic fisheries — many of them were once near collapse — now provide healthy, nutritious food to people across the globe, support millions of livelihoods and provide world-renowned recreational fishing.
Red snapper is a great example. In the 1990s, seasons were long, but the health of this popular commercial and recreational fishery was at an all-time low. Through NOAA’s work with local fishermen and their cadre of fisheries experts, the fishery has made great strides toward recovery and now provides regular opportunities for some of the best fishing in the Gulf and some of the best-tasting fish you’ll ever have on your plate.
Carelessly removing the experts that work directly with fishermen to help fisheries improve needlessly puts the small fishing communities along Florida’s coast in economic danger, harms Florida’s reputation as a global tourist and sportfishing destination, and threatens every American’s ability to eat sustainable, delicious Florida seafood.
Another notable example is the National Weather Service, which many may not realize is operated by NOAA and provides the foundation for not only weather forecasts, but also emergency alerts and severe weather warnings for flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes and more.
Instead of allowing Americans free access to this data, the Trump administration wants to make the weather service like any streaming service you subscribe to. Want to see what bad weather is headed your way? That’ll be $15 a month, please.
This would be nothing short of disastrous. Imagine communities like those in Cedar Key who have faced three hurricanes in 13 months having to pay for life-saving information — or risk losing it — when they need it most.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Extreme weather events are increasingly frequent, and we are seeing rapid intensification of storms like Hurricane Milton that quickly put lives in danger. In 2024 alone, climate-related natural disasters and extreme weather events cost Americans over $182 billion. How much more will it cost us when we can’t properly prepare?
The Trump administration’s reckless agenda for NOAA and the indiscriminate mass firings that have taken place are appalling and harmful, plus they reduce our competitiveness on the global stage. Firing these public servants is a disastrous decision, and the consequences will be felt by millions. We must stand up for them and our neighbors. Florida needs NOAA.
Sarah Poon is associate vice president of resilient fishery solutions at Environment Defense Fund. She leads a team that works with partners in the U.S. and internationally to advance sustainable fishery management solutions that support thriving communities and healthy ecosystems. Reggie Paros is a native Floridian and served as an aide to former Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and former Congressman David Jolly (R-FL). He currently runs advocacy campaigns to protect people’s health and access to clean air, water and energy at Environmental Defense Fund.
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