Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

Federal funding and staffing cuts are threatening to have devastating effects on the work of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), the nation’s oldest scientific agency and one responsible for accurately mapping and measuring the world.

Although little known, the agency’s work is crucial “As the world turns more and more toward operations that need precise coordinate systems like the ones NGS provides,” explains Molly Taft in Wired.

Founded in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson, NGS has expanded its original mapping mission to include “calculating the shape of the Earth, its orientation in space, and its gravitational field.” It is responsible for maintaining the National Spatial Reference System, which informs calculations for crucial infrastructure but has become outdated since its creation in the 1980s. “Ensuring hyper-accurate location is also becoming increasingly important as more and more industries are building up around automation that relies on precise spatial measurements.” The agency was planning to roll out an update of the system to ensure better accuracy. 

Now, the agency has lost over a quarter of its staff. “A NOAA budget proposal from the White House Office of Management and Budget sent to the agency in April cuts the budget for the National Ocean Service, which houses NGS, by more than half.”