WASHINGTON (March 2, 2026)—The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) delivered a letter today to the National Science Foundation (NSF) expressing concern over its plans to restructure the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a world-leading research institution that the Trump administration has said it intends to dismantle. The letter requests public release of the research center’s management agreement.
“To date, no rational justification for dismantling the Center has been offered,” UCS President and CEO Dr. Gretchen Goldman wrote in the letter.
The research center is funded by the NSF and managed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a nonprofit consortium of 129 universities. The NSF issued a "Dear Colleague Letter" in January soliciting proposals from agency partners and the research community on how to restructure NCAR’s critical weather science infrastructure.
The UCS letter asks that a cooperative agreement governing the relationship between NCAR, UCAR, and the NSF be made public so the scientific community and people across the country can assess the proposed reorganization of the research center. UCS has also filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for access to the agreement.
“Somewhat surprisingly, the cooperative agreement does not appear to be publicly available, despite the use of public resources to fund both NSF and NCAR,” wrote Dr. Goldman.
NCAR, created in 1960, conducts sophisticated, life-saving scientific research that supports aviation safety, provides weather forecasting relied on by farmers, emergency managers, and military personnel, and promotes understanding of the risks associated with severe weather events.
The Trump administration disclosed in December that it plans to dissolve the research center and close its headquarters in Boulder, Colo. Last month, the NSF announced that it will transfer management and operations of the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center to an unnamed third party.
Dr. Goldman said in her letter that UCS joins former directors of NCAR and UCAR, and scientists and scientific organizations across the country, in raising significant concerns with the restructuring plan. She notes that UCS partners with hundreds of other organizations to put rigorous, independent science into action for a healthy, safe, and just future.
“The work done at NCAR, as well as that done by scientists and experts who receive training there, is vital to that future,” Dr. Goldman wrote in today’s letter.
Additional Resources:
Op-ed in Earth and Space Science News (EOS) by Dr. Carlos Martinez, UCS senior scientist: “What Americans Lose If Their National Center for Atmospheric Research Is Dismantled”
Press statement: “Trump Administration Threatens to Dismantle Leading Climate and Weather Research Center”