PEAX Equipment

Pause on Federal Grants - MD25-13

I know you guys are just waiting to see the Epstein files released. Thank god these guys are moving fast it won't be long until our conservation projects are fully funded.
 
I support funding science research. No argument there. But not all of the paused grants are necessarily the purview of the USG. But more importantly, all grants should be 100% auditable so that the taxpayer, through the elected officials, can be sure those monies are being spent as intended and not siphoned off to fund pet projects or fund friends and political donors. I see no issues looking under the hood on this matter. And if there are no issues, then the work can continue. Pausing current efforts while the audit is performed is oftentimes necessary albeit painful. I have been on both sides of that coin.

H1B's are a bandaid. Not a solution. But sometimes you need a bandaid until a better fix can be arranged.

Jesus, what do you think is happening with this money? I am a postdoc at one of three No. 1 (tied) ranked institutions for chemistry. In our lab we are using ancient equipment, some of it barely functional, handed down to us in order to save money for salaries and consumables (chemicals, test tubes, etc.). The printer paper and ink for our lab is coming out of the personal pocket of my boss. All of our purchases go through a centralized system that can be easily audited. What you are fantasizing about is simply not happening. Furthermore, some of the rise in indirect costs is due to increased regulations and oversight imposed by the federal government.

What the current administration is doing with federal grants is going to have a negative impact on research of all flavors, ranging from biomedical to technology to wildlife ecology. It is also also going to negatively impact wildlife conservation projects. How much of a negative impact it will have, and the degree to which it effects the economy and the environment, is yet to be seen. I hope the impact can be minimized, but I don't know what is going to happen.
 
@BuzzH, what are we looking at as a product people here can relate too? Trails and Roads not being clear? Spraying? Doesn't look like firefighting is affected but that seems more wishful than reality.

 
The first glimmer of hope I’ve seen that they might possibly leave money in the budget for conservation.

We could do a lot of things...this article is 5 yrs old.

 
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@BuzzH, what are we looking at as a product people here can relate too? Trails and Roads not being clear? Spraying? Doesn't look like firefighting is affected but that seems more wishful than reality.

Pretty much across the board and most all probationary employees. There is going to be a lot of work that doesn't get done. No way around it.
 
@BuzzH, what are we looking at as a product people here can relate too? Trails and Roads not being clear? Spraying? Doesn't look like firefighting is affected but that seems more wishful than reality.


My experience in working with the forest service and BLM through various conservation-related efforts is that they are understaffed. Depending on our fire season, I think it could very much affect initial attack as well as rehab, such as weed control, the opening of roads destroyed by erosion etc - all things that are issues within 15 miles of me.

Think of some of the very effective working groups in Montana: the Devil’s kitchen, the Elkhorn working group, the Beaverhead Deer lodge working group. Think of landscape level success stories we all value. All of those things require federal agency buy-in. They also require agency support in terms of staff-hour investment. I have a feeling just keeping the lights on will have primacy over bettering the landscape, and those types of groups and efforts will struggle more than they already are. So many efforts are in the works and have taken years, and many of those will likely not come to fruition. Both that, and the wasted goodwill of everyone involved will be sacrificed.

I know of someone who recently left the private sector after a couple decades to get a job with a federal agency in the world of fire. They did so because one of their children needs an organ transplant and the feds were the right decision for that. That person will be losing their job it appears.

For an administration tied to a cultural movement that holds merit in high regard, these types of cuts are antithetical to the stated value of merit. They seem capricious and without sound logic, really.

I think it is sad when anyone has the rug pulled out from under them -loses their job, has a very real danger of uncertainty for the future of their families. Doesn’t matter whether they are private or public sector because they are human beings and fellow Americans. I find the celebration of this by some a bit shameful, and in good time we will all feel the consequences of a reduction in government workforce lacking any sort of actual planning or strategy, good and hard.
 
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The first glimmer of hope I’ve seen that they might possibly leave money in the budget for conservation.

This was misreported. Or misinterpreted. Whatever, it lacks context. He was "weaving" with random thoughts about how he was going to talk to Russia and China and work out a deal on getting rid of nuclear weapons and then cut the budget. Just more crazy bullshit. The reporters must have to wear boots.
 
@BuzzH, what are we looking at as a product people here can relate too? Trails and Roads not being clear? Spraying? Doesn't look like firefighting is affected but that seems more wishful than reality.


This is more up to date. Specifically lists roads and trails.


It might take a minute or two for folks to feel this, but those with their heads in the sand are exactly that, stuck with their head in the sand.

It’s laughable for people who claim to stand up for and hunt public land are cheering President Musk. The federal land exchange is silently hooked to this.

Defund and decry. It’s coming to a corner near you.
 
My experience in working with the forest service and BLM through various conservation-related efforts is that they are understaffed. Depending on our fire season, I think it could very much affect initial attack as well as rehab, such as weed control, the opening of roads destroyed by erosion etc - all things that are issues within 15 miles of me.

Think of some of the very effective working groups in Montana: the Devil’s kitchen, the Elkhorn working group, the Beaverhead Deer lodge working group. Think of landscape level success stories we all value. All of those things require federal agency buy-in. They also require agency support in terms of staff-hour investment. I have a feeling just keeping the lights on will have primacy over bettering the landscape, and those types of groups and efforts will struggle more than they already are. So many efforts are in the works and have taken years, and many of those will likely not come to fruition. Both that, and the wasted goodwill of everyone involved will be sacrificed.

I know of someone who recently left the private sector after a couple decades to get a job with a federal agency in the world of fire. They did so because one of their children needs an organ transplant and the feds were the right decision for that. That person will be losing their job it appears.

For an administration tied to a cultural movement that holds merit in high regard, these types of cuts are antithetical to the stated value of merit. They seem capricious and without sound logic, really.

I think it is sad when anyone has the rug pulled out from under them -loses their job, has a very real danger of uncertainty for the future of their families. Doesn’t matter whether they are private or public sector because they are human beings and fellow Americans. I find the celebration of this by some a bit shameful, and in good time we will all feel the consequences of a reduction in government workforce lacking any sort of actual planning or strategy, good and hard.
The FS has been understaffed for just about my entire career, doing more with less has been the one constant. The demands by the public for services has increased substantially and there isn't staffing to provide it all. Every single time you get the ability to hire, which is a long process, time consuming, and expensive...things like this happen. One step forward, two steps back.

I also agree that the human side is lost by many and the callousness is disappointing, but as predictable as it is expected.
 
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