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President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency plans to terminate lease contracts at nearly two dozen California offices relating to science, agriculture and the environment, according to its federal database.
The planned closures include facilities occupied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Park Service, Forest Service and Geological Survey. The terminations follow massive layoffs at NOAA and significant cuts to scientific research funding across federal agencies — including the potential elimination of the EPA’s key scientific research arm.
The Trump administration has said the lease terminations will provide considerable cost savings for the American people. Elon Musk’s DOGE website lists nearly 800 lease locations set for closure across the country totaling more than 10 million square feet, which it says would result in about $500 million in savings. The database does not provide specific addresses or information about what the buildings are used for.
As of Monday, 65 locations on the list were in California, and 22 of them — or about 35% — are home to agencies that help manage, protect and preserve the Golden State’s environment.
Among them is a NOAA office in Eureka that is home to an outpost of the agency’s National Marine Fisheries Service, which is geared toward the stewardship of oceans and marine life.
“NOAA provides critical information about extreme weather and coastal hazards, manages fisheries, conserves coastal and marine resources, and protects American fishermen and consumers,” wrote a group of Democratic lawmakers in a recent letter to Howard Lutnick, secretary of the Department of Commerce, which oversees NOAA.
“Closing field facilities will compromise NOAA’s ability to provide these services and damage the local communities and economies that rely on them,” wrote the group, which included California’s Reps. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Zoe Lofgren (D-San José).
Scientists worry there will be immediate harm from the Trump administration’s latest federal workforce cuts, which hit NOAA and the National Weather Service.
The cuts in California extend beyond NOAA. The list names a 536-square-foot office of the U.S. Forest Service in Mount Shasta; an office of the National Park Service in Ventura and offices of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Arcata and Palm Springs.
Meanwhile, two U.S. Geological Survey locations are on the list, including a field office that appears to belong to the California Water Science Center in Santa Maria.
One of the larger closures on the list is the Los Angeles office of the Environmental Protection Agency, which occupies 13,541 square feet with a $572,000 annual lease. The agency last week was the subject of a sweeping announcement surrounding cost-cutting and deregulation from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who said taking aim at the “climate change religion” was among his top priorities.
The EPA’s restructuring may also include the shutdown of its Office of Research and Development — which employs thousands of scientists across the country who study air and water quality, chemical safety, human health and other relevant policy matters. The closure could see as many as 1,155 scientists fired, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and first reported by the New York Times.
Agency officials said Tuesday that nothing has been finalized regarding a potential shutdown.
“While no decisions have been made yet, we are actively listening to employees at all levels to gather ideas on how to better fulfill agency statutory obligations, increase efficiency, and ensure the EPA is as up-to-date and effective as ever,” EPA spokesperson Molly Vaseliou said in an email.
The loss, however, would take a considerable toll on public health and act as a boon to polluting industries, according to Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“It would be extremely difficult to set protective health standards without the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and I think that’s exactly what this administration is aiming for,” Kumar said in a statement. “I am not sure how the EPA could fulfill its legal mandate of public health protection if this plan goes forward.”
The agency’s plan to repeal or weaken more than two dozen environmental regulations could deliver a direct blow to causes close to the heart of Californians — including air and water quality standards, electric vehicle initiatives and efforts to curb planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions.
Other agency offices on the lease termination list in California include the Bureau of Land Management in Ukiah, the Farm Service Agency in Madera and Bakersfield, and the water-managing Bureau of Reclamation in Weaverville and Temecula. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees some dams, reservoirs and waterways, faces closures in Davis and Apple Valley.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service — a subset of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that helps farmers, landowners and agricultural producers conserve soil, water and other natural resources — is facing closures in Oxnard, Woodland, Salinas and Blythe, the database shows.
The developments coincide with mass terminations of government employees across the country, including about 5% of NOAA employees laid off at the end of February.
The move also aligns with Project 2025, a conservative platform document that calls for the dismantling of NOAA, the National Weather Service and other federal environmental agencies described as “main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” Although the president has publicly distanced himself from the plan, many of his policies have lined up with its recommendations.
Additional agencies on the chopping block that are not related to the environment include offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the Indian Health Service, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education.
The call to dismantle the United States’ vital weather department has raised the hackles of experts who say NOAA provides not only important free data but also life-saving information.
