Trump Budget Would Erase USGS's Entire $293M Biological Research Arm
March 3, 2026 · 2 min read
David Almeida
The Trump administration's FY2026 budget proposal calls for eliminating the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area — the agency's entire biological research arm — zeroing out its $293 million budget and threatening roughly 2,700 positions across the agency.
Sixteen Research Centers and a University Network at Stake
The Ecosystems Mission Area operates 16 research centers conducting work on wildfire risk assessment, bat disease monitoring, invasive species control, migratory bird research, Everglades ecosystem management, and Chesapeake Bay water quality.
The proposed cuts would also freeze grants to universities through the Cooperative Research Unit program — a network embedded at land-grant institutions across every state. Doctoral students working under USGS-funded advisors face the loss of both their mentors and their funding simultaneously.
The administration stated its intent to "eliminate programs that provide grants to universities" and those that "focus on social agendas (e.g., climate change)." Researchers inside the division have described it as "absolutely completely targeted."
Legal Uncertainty Compounds the Risk
A federal judge initially blocked mass layoffs across 17 agencies including USGS, but the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently lifted that injunction — clearing the path for terminations to proceed at any time. Agency-wide, USGS employment would fall from 7,870 full-time workers to 5,153 under the proposal.
Congress holds final authority over appropriations and has repeatedly rejected the most extreme proposed cuts this cycle. But Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), who chairs the relevant House appropriations subcommittee, declined to comment, and over 60 organizations have launched a lobbying campaign with uncertain momentum.
What Conservation Researchers Should Do Now
University researchers with active or pending USGS cooperative agreements should document current project status and begin identifying alternative funding streams. State wildlife agencies and conservation nonprofits that rely on USGS data for their own grant applications should prepare for gaps in baseline ecological data. Granted tracks federal and foundation opportunities across environmental science for researchers seeking backup funding.