Government Cuts Put $36 Billion Great Lakes Shipping Industry in Michigan on Alert, At Risk

Depending on where you live in Michigan, you may nor may not recognize the vital importance of the Great Lakes shipping industry on the state.

Passing through the Straits of Mackinac, the Soo Locks and ports up and down the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron coasts, the freighters and lakers that ply these waters contribute an estimated $36 billion dollars to the economy.

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How do cuts at the National Weather Service at National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pose a concern for the shipping industry?

Beyond the uncertainty of accurate forecasting with a workforce reportedly reduced by 1000 staffers, it's the cutbacks to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

The GLERL is Michigan based being headquartered in Ann Arbor with a satellite office in Muskegon. They have been forced to cut back on their public communication due to the staffing reduction.

READ MORE: These Are the National Weather Service Offices That Forecast All of Michigan's Weather

Kaj O'Mara, one of dozens of meteorologists speaking out and sounding the alarm, shared this about the GLERL in a lengthily social media post about the severity of the cuts:

I bet you didn't know that the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab even existed. They provide real-time water levels, temperatures, ice cover and provide information for management decisions that lead to safe and sustainable ecosystems, ecosystem services, and cities along the lakes. In this way, NOAA helps drive the $36 billion dollar shipping industry that happens to generate over $6 billion in tax revenue. The Great Lakes fleet can move more than 90 million tons of cargo, annually, including iron ore, stone, coal, cement, grain, salt and sand.

The Muskegon outpost of the NOAA research lab you may recognize. Officially the Lake Michigan Field Office, it sits along Beach Street part of the US Coast Guard complex at the inlet to Muskegon Lake.