Federal Cuts Endanger US Climate Adaptation Science Centers — What’s at Stake for Water, Wildlands and Communities

The U.S. Geological Survey’s nine Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) have spent 15 years delivering regionally focused science that helps communities, resource managers and scientists prepare for climate-driven changes. These centers partner with universities, state and local agencies, nonprofits and private managers to produce applied research that addresses water security, invasive species, wildfire risk, shoreline protection and other urgent challenges.

Funding disruption and the immediate impact

In spring 2025 the president’s budget proposal eliminated CASC funding, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also withheld — and at times blocked — funds that Congress had already appropriated. Three regional centers are now operating without federal support: the South Central, Pacific Islands and Northeast CASCs. Although both the House and Senate have proposed restoring full funding, interruptions have already delayed or halted work that managers rely on for practical decisions.

Why these centers matter

CASCs produce locally relevant, peer-reviewed science and deliver technical guidance directly to the people who manage water, wildlife, forests, shorelines and farms. Their strength lies in partnerships: university scientists translate climate projections and ecological research into tools and strategies public- and private-sector managers can use.

1. South Central: protecting groundwater and springs

In south-central Texas the Edwards Aquifer Authority manages water for roughly 2.5 million people in cities including San Antonio and Uvalde and protects spring-fed habitats for threatened and endangered species. Recent swings between extreme rainfall and prolonged drought have increased uncertainty about groundwater recharge and springflow.

Researchers associated with the South Central CASC and the University of Oklahoma partnered with the aquifer authority to develop high-resolution climate projections and groundwater scenarios tailored to local conditions. Those projections help managers evaluate whether current drought-mitigation measures will sustain springflows and groundwater levels for communities and ecosystems. Without CASC support, that locally calibrated guidance is no longer readily available — jeopardizing planning across arid and semi-arid regions that rely on aquifers.

2. Pacific Islands: restoring fallow lands and reducing fire risk on Oʻahu

On Oʻahu up to 40% of agricultural land is unmanaged, often invaded by non-native grasses that increase wildfire risk as droughts intensify. Pacific Islands CASC researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa worked with the nonprofit Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi to identify parcels likely to remain suitable for agroforestry under worsening drought. Their research demonstrates how agroforestry and Indigenous-informed practices can improve soil health and boost soil carbon storage.

Since 2019 these efforts have included hands-on training for hundreds of community volunteers and students, linking food production, forest conservation and climate resilience. Cutting CASC funding stalls both the science and the community programs that apply it.

3. Northeast: tracking invasive species as ranges shift

Invasive species cost the U.S. economy an estimated US$10 billion a year in damages to crops, forests and ecosystems, and climate change is expanding the ranges of many invaders. Beginning in 2016, researchers at the Northeast CASC (University of Massachusetts Amherst) helped form the Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Network. The network has become a primary clearinghouse for mapping invasive species movement and sharing regional research.

Projects from the Northeast CASC identified invasive plants spreading into northern and southern New England and the mid-Atlantic, informing Massachusetts’ invasive-plant risk assessment and prompting updated sale prohibitions in New York and Maine. States have asked the center to build a regional database of current and emerging invasive plants; stalled funding has delayed that work.

Broader consequences

When locally tailored science is delayed, communities and ecosystems lose critical tools for anticipating and responding to climate impacts. That makes water systems, agricultural lands, coastal communities and forests more vulnerable. The examples above illustrate how federal support translates directly into decisions that protect public health, livelihoods and biodiversity.

Authors: Bethany Bradley (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Adrienne Wootten (University of Oklahoma), Ryan Longman (University of Hawaiʻi). These authors led the projects described and collaborated with regional partners and resource managers.