This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at coloradosun.com.
The Trump administration says it will break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the six-decade-old climate and environmental research center that employs nearly 1,000 people in Boulder.
Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s budget chief, confirmed the move on social media, calling NCAR “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”
Vought said the National Science Foundation, a quasi-governmental organization, will break up NCAR.
“A comprehensive review is underway and any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location,” Vought said.
The decision comes after the Trump administration announced Tuesday it will cancel $109 million in transportation grants awarded to Colorado for projects with an environmental focus.
It also comes amid a growing feud between Colorado’s Democratic leaders and the Trump administration over Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk serving a nine-year prison sentence for orchestrating a breach of her county’s election system in search of evidence of electoral fraud.
Trump has promised to retaliate against Colorado unless Peters is released. Peters, a Republican, uncovered no evidence of election wrongdoing.
Democrats slammed the administration’s NCAR decision.
“The National Center for Atmospheric Research and its 830 employees are leading the nation’s climate science research, delivering life-saving breakthroughs that provide early warnings for natural disasters and deepen our understanding of Earth’s systems,” U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, said in a written statement. “They are a core component of our state’s economy and an integral part of the fabric of Colorado. Efforts to dismantle this institution and its essential programs are deeply dangerous and blatantly retaliatory.”
Neguse’s district includes NCAR. The site, which houses a number of laboratories, was founded in 1960 and is funded through the National Science Foundation. In addition to its climate and environmental research, it also studies the atmosphere and space.
“This reckless directive would have devastating consequences for families in Colorado and communities across the nation,” he said. “We intend to fight back against attempts to gut this cutting-edge research institution with every tool we have.”
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said his office hasn’t received information about the Trump administration’s intentions regarding NCAR.
“The work of NCAR goes far beyond climate science,” he said in a written statement. “NCAR delivers data around severe weather events like fires and floods that help our country save lives and property, and prevent devastation for families. If these cuts move forward we will lose our competitive advantage against foreign powers and adversaries in the pursuit of scientific discovery.”
Details on how and when NCAR will be dismantled have not been released.
