The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a vital agency for all Floridians. From storm tracking and harmful algal bloom monitoring to fisheries management and cutting-edge ocean research, NOAA provides direct benefits across multiple facets of our lives in Southwest Florida.

Providing the agency with robust funding to ensure it can seamlessly continue its mission should be a priority, and were that funding to be cut, it would damage our ability to monitor, study, and make decisions about our own ecosystems. Last year, Congress acknowledged the importance of this agency, and we hope that they will do so again.

Please read the letter that SCCF and partners signed below:

Dear Members of Congress:

On behalf of the undersigned community and environmental organizations and our millions of members, we write to express our strong support for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and respectfully urge you to support robust funding for the agency’s budget, which directly benefits Florida communities.

NOAA saves lives and supports livelihoods in Florida. When a storm forms, when tides surge, when harmful algal blooms spread — Floridians turn to NOAA’s data, forecasts, and science.

We are grateful that Congress passed funding for FY26 that overwhelmingly – and with strong bipartisan support – rejected many of the cuts to NOAA originally proposed in the President’s Budget for FY26. But the administration recently released its budget proposal for FY27, and it is once again proposing funding cuts on that order of 32% to NOAA’s topline. Cuts of this magnitude would cripple the agency and have already been rejected by Congress. Given the escalating threats Florida faces—from hurricanes to harmful algal blooms to marine wildlife die-offs — we urge robust funding for NOAA’s full spectrum of responsibilities.

NOAA isn’t a luxury. It’s a life-and-death defense for Florida — and a workhorse for our economy. Here are just a handful of Florida-focused NOAA programs whose funding is at risk, all of which provide vital services for our state, our economy, and our communities:

• Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML, Miami): Top-tier research laboratory that studies hurricanes, coastal ecosystems, oceans, and human health. Innovations from AOML are crucial for weather forecasts and understanding severe storms that threaten Florida.
  
• Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS): Technical backbone for AOML, the National Hurricane Center, and the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, hosting over 100 researchers in and around the University of Miami Rosenstiel School and nine other universities in support of hurricane predictions and forecasting ocean conditions, such as harmful algal blooms.
  
• Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS): Real-time ocean data across both the Gulf and Atlantic.
  
  • GCOOS (Gulf): ~2,000 sensors; the Gulf’s only certified on-demand coastal/ocean data hub—serving ~15.8M residents and supporting a ~$234B regional economy.
    
  • SECOORA (Southeast Atlantic): Water-level stations, storm-surge and extreme-rainfall alerts, water-quality apps, and buoy data used by ports and mariners.
    

• National Estuarine Research Reserves (Apalachicola, Guana Tolomato Matanzas, Rookery Bay): Living labs that support fisheries, tourism, bird habitat, and on-the-ground stewardship.
  
• Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP): Conserves and restores reefs that safeguard coasts and support food, recreation, medicine, and habitat. Provides major support and funding for restoration and protection of the Florida Reef Tract.
  
• John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program: Provides critical funding for Florida’s marine mammal stranding network, supporting rapid response and care for marine mammals while advancing science and public education to address vessel strikes, entanglements, harmful algal blooms, and other threats.
  
• Florida Sea Grant: University research and extension services serving over 16 million coastal residents and ~140M annual visitors along Florida’s 8,436 miles of coastline.
  
• State–federal–academic partnerships that supercharge NOAA’s impact, such as:
  
  • Florida Flood Hub & Ocean Circulation Lab (University of South Florida): Advances flood forecasting and resilience planning using data collected by IOOS to study physical oceanographic interactions and improve understanding of ocean circulation and the atmosphere. Supported through SECOORA, these tools are a critical resource when preparing for storm surges and flooding.
    
  • Gulf Telemetry Network (iTAG): Tracks species like cobia and mackerel across the Gulf and Atlantic to support smarter fisheries management. A collaborative initiative with IOOS, it leverages acoustic telemetry to study the movements and spatial ecology of fish and aquatic animals.
    

• Hurricane Forecasts and the National Hurricane Center: NOAA’s satellite systems, modeling, and atmospheric research programs are vital tools that predict and track storm developments, while NOAA’s National Hurricane Center directly issues watches, warnings, forecasts and analyses of potentially deadly tropical storms and hurricanes.
  
• Florida Coastal Management Program (FCMP): NOAA Coastal Zone Management Act funding flows to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, supporting Florida’s statewide coastal management program that helps Florida communities better manage coastal growth, strengthen resilience, protect public access and working waterfronts, and safeguard the coastal resources that underpin tourism, fisheries, and quality of life.

• Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: This Marine Sanctuary is the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States and home to the largest documented contiguous seagrass community in the Northern Hemisphere. According to NOAA, more than 6,000 animal species are found here, along with an array of submerged historical and cultural resources. This Marine Sanctuary is a beloved location for diving, fishing, boating, and wildlife viewing.

Together, NOAA’s science and services help power Florida’s economy, protect our gorgeous waterways and environment, and keep our communities safe. We urge you to support robust funding for NOAA’s FY 2027 budget. Our organizations stand ready to provide any information, testimonials, and on-the-ground examples of NOAA’s impact throughout Florida, if helpful. We look to your leadership to secure the future of NOAA’s effectiveness in protecting Florida’s communities, ecosystems, and economy.

View all organizations that signed on.