AUGUSTA – Seventy-four state lawmakers signed a letter Friday urging the Trump administration to fully reinstate the Maine Sea Grant, which was abruptly terminated last month. While the administration has since agreed to “renegotiate” the program, its future remains in doubt.
“The Maine Sea Grant has served as a crucial investment in our coastal communities for more than a half century. Anything less than full reinstatement of the program will have devastating and potentially irreparable impacts on our fishing industry,” said Rep. Holly B. Stover, D-Boothbay, who penned the letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. “Make no mistake: If this senseless loss of funding is not reversed without delay, the effects will be felt across the entire state.”
The University of Maine received notice on Feb. 28 that the Maine Sea Grant would be terminated effective immediately. The Maine Sea Grant is one of 34 such programs in coastal and Great Lakes states administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. No other sea grant appears to have been terminated by the federal government.
Stover has also introduced emergency legislation to protect Maine’s fisheries and economy by providing funding to replace Maine Sea Grant if the federal government delays or fails to reinstate the program. Stover’s proposal would transfer up to $3 million from the so-called Rainy Day Fund to replace the lost federal funding over the next two years. If the grants are restored, the funding would be returned to the Rainy Day Fund.
According to the University of Maine, the Maine Sea Grant generates $15 in activity for every federal dollar invested. The total economic impact in Maine is $23.5 million annually. The federal and matching funds also directly support statewide research and salaries for 20 university employees both on the Orono campus and in Maine’s coastal communities.
Stover is serving her fourth term in the Maine House and represents Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb, South Bristol, Southport and Westport Island. She is a member of the Legislature’s budget-writing Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.
Contact:
Brian Lee (Stover) | 305-965-2744