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According to a federal database, President Trump’s so-called government efficiency office is expected to terminate leases in about 20 California offices related to science, agriculture and the environment.
Planned closures include facilities occupying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, the Forest Service and geological surveys. The end follows a massive layoff at NOAA, which will significantly cut scientific research funding across federal agencies in recent weeks.
The Trump administration said the lease termination would provide Americans with significant cost savings. The Doge website lists nearly 800 lease locations scheduled to close nationwide, totaling over 10 million square feet and saving about $500 million. The database does not provide any specific addresses or information about what the building is using.
As of Monday, 65 locations on the list are in California, of which 22 (about 35%) are home to agencies that help manage, protect and preserve the environment in Golden State.
Among them is Eileka’s NOAA office and the front post base of the agency’s National Marine Fisheries Services, directed at marine and marine life management.
“NOAA provides important information on extreme weather and coastal hazards, manages fisheries, conserves coastal and marine resources, and protects American fishermen and consumers,” wrote a group of Democrats in a recent letter to Howard Luttonick, Secretary of Commerce, who oversees Noa.
“Closing field facilities will undermine NOAA’s ability to provide these services and will damage the communities and economies that rely on them,” wrote a group that includes California officials Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) and Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose).
California’s reductions exceed NOAA. The list is named for the 536-square-foot U.S. Forest Service office on Mount Shasta. Office of the National Park Service in Ventura. and the offices of the Fish and Wildlife Department in Alcata and Palm Springs.
Meanwhile, two US geological survey locations are listed, including a field office that appears to belong to the California Water Science Center in Santa Maria.
One of the major closures on the list is the Los Angeles Environmental Protection Agency office, which occupies 13,541 square feet with a $572,000 lease per year. Last week’s agency was the subject of a drastic announcement from EPA administrator Lee Zeldin surrounding cost reductions and deregulation.
The Doge Lease end list also names the UKIAH’s Office of Land Management. Farm Services Agency, Madera and Bakersfield. and the Water Management Bureau of Weaverville and Temecula. The civil corps overseeing several dams, reservoirs and waterways face the closure of Davis and Apple Valley.
Resource Conservation Services, a subset of the USDA that helps farmers, landowners and farmers save soil, water and other natural resources, face the closure of Oxnard, forests, Salina and Blythe, the database shows.
The development coincides with a massive termination of government employees across the country, including about 5% of NOAA employees being fired at the end of February.
The move is also in line with Project 2025, a conservative platform document calling for the dismantling of NOAA, the National Weather Service and other federal environmental agencies called for the dismantling of the “major drivers of the climate change warning industry.” The president is publicly distanced from the plan, but many of his policies line up with that recommendation.
Additional institutions for the non-environmental chopping block include the offices of the Internal Revenue Agency, Indian Health Services, Social Security Agency and Ministry of Education.
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