Proposed NOAA budget would close 4 Boulder labs, CU’s CIRES center

By Boulder Weekly Staff - Jul. 2, 2025
bldg
NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder. Credit: Chuck Rasco

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could close all four of its Boulder laboratories and CU Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences (CIRES) under a proposed 2026 budget. The plan comes after the agency cut hundreds of jobs earlier this year. 

The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), which operates at Colorado State University, will also be eliminated. 

The proposed budget is $4.5 billion, some 30% smaller than 2025’s spending plan, and comes with a 17% reduction in total jobs. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research has been eliminated in its entirety from NOAA under the plan; some of its operations will be transferred to other offices, according to the budget document released by NOAA on Monday.

Four Boulder labs operate under that office at the David Skaggs Research Center: the Chemical Sciences Laboratory, the Global Monitoring Laboratory, the Global Systems Laboratory and the Physical Sciences Laboratory.

NOAA hosts the National Weather Service and is central to research on climate change, making it a target of the Trump administration. Project 2025, the policy roadmap written by conservative D.C. think-tank The Heritage Foundation, called for the “break up” of the agency and for its climate research arms to be “disbanded" as part "of the climate change alarm industry." 

It’s unclear how many jobs will be impacted in Boulder. CIRES employs more than 900 people in Boulder, according to the organization’s website.

Concerts: July 3-9

Duh. It’s Phish. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know the iconic jam band is taking over…

Jul. 2, 2025
Previous article

Lafayette moves property tax increase forward

Lafayette City Council On July 1, council: Instructed staff to craft ballot language asking voters to approve a 20-year property…

Jul. 2, 2025
Next article

Must-Reads

Adolescent cannabis use has decreased for…

So-called “dark money” has entered the…

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The term…

Welcome to our 2024 Primary Vote…

Picture in your mind’s eye the…

ON THE BILL: Following last week’s…

Movement Workshop6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13,…