Buoys off coastal North Carolina that provide real-time weather, ocean and climate data won’t be going dark for at least another year.
But the roughly year-long financial lifeline for the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program run out of the University of North Carolina Wilmington doesn’t mean the program is completely safe from the wholesale cuts and funding claw backs to federal programs and grants implemented by the Trump administration in recent months.
Still, program officials and supporters see the decision as a positive and one that gives them at least another 12 months to explain to Congress and the Trump administration as to why the roughly $420,000 in federal support CORMP receives is money well spent.
“The support we received for the work we do and the program itself was amazing,” said Jennifer Dorton, the program’s deputy director.
She said major marine businesses including the N.C. State Ports and the Cape Fear Pilots all reached out to the state’s congressional delegation to explain the importance of the program.
“Having those large economic engines reach out is great,” Dorton said. “But we also had a lot of small, local businesses like fishing charter captains and dive shops reach out and send letters saying hey, this isn’t appropriate.
“We need to be safe when we’re out there on the water, and that’s what this data helps us do.”
Still facing choppy waters ahead
The UNCW-run program operates nine near-shore buoys off Southeastern North Carolina, running roughly from Camp Lejeune south to the state line, and two shore-based stations on Masonboro Island. Additional assets are deployed off South Carolina and off the east coast of Florida.
Besides private businesses, public users of the program’s data − which is freely available − include the National Weather Service for its surf and rip current forecasts, National Hurricane Center for tracking tropical weather systems, and the Coast Guard when it has to conduct rescue operations.
The program’s future grew cloudy when the Trump administration proposed severe budget cuts at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration as part of Trump’s push to cull the federal workforce, led by the then-Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
Proposed budget cuts to NOAA could see a program operated by UNCW that manages buoys off the coasts of NC, SC and Florida forced to shut down.
“Passback eliminates functions of the department that are misaligned with the President’s agenda and the expressed will of the American people,” states a budget passback memo laying out the proposed cuts to NOAA’s budget. “This includes eliminating (the U.S. Economic Development Administration) and (the Minority Business Development Agency) as bureaus within the department and significant reductions to education, grants, research, and climate-related programs within NOAA.”
Those cuts have largely been included in Trump’s “one big beautiful bill,” the massive piece of legislation that includes lots of spending cuts and tax breaks, that the GOP-dominated Congress passed in July.
The American Meteorological Society warned in a statement that moving forward with the heavy cuts to NOAA’s budget would have “unknown − yet almost certainly disastrous − consequences for public safety and economic health.”
But legislators have included funding for a number of programs, including many of those funded by or through NOAA, that are slated to be cut in the bill for this federal fiscal year.
That could mean problems down the road if Congress tries that again when they get around to working on next year’s federal budget, since it will run against the recently passed bill.
The CORMP program operates nine buoys off Southeastern North Carolina and two shore-based stations, both on Masonboro Island.
‘A good bang for the buck’
Still, the continued funding and support shown in Washington for the program has given the buoy program’s backers hope.
“We still have to keep going out and asking our congressional delegation to support what we’re doing,” Dorton said, adding that the federal funding means the program should be safe through at least the end of summer 2026.
She said from supporting the saltwater fishing industry to keeping mariners safe and trade flowing, the buoy program has tangible economic benefits for the state that go beyond purely research and academic pursuits.
For example, according to an analysis by the American Sportfishing Association on the economic impact of recreational fishing in U.S. Rep. David Rouzer’s district, which includes most of Southeastern N.C., nearly 110,000 resident and non-resident anglers in 2020 spent $402 million on fishing-related purchases in 2022. That spending supported more than 3,600 jobs and generated $27 million in state and local taxes in the Republican’s district. Statewide, saltwater recreational fishing had an overall economic impact of nearly $1.6 billion and supported nearly 14,000 jobs.
“In the big picture, we provide a good bang for the buck, and that’s what we’re going to keep reminding folks,” Dorton said.
Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: UNCW buoy program retains federal funding for at least another year