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Dear Seagull Community,

Today we send you something we do not want to send and fear something that we do not want to happen. We do not want you to open Seagull this summer and see this icon.    We especially don’t want to tell you that the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a nonprofit organization that provides many public services, is at risk of being shut down. But we want to let our community know about some concerning news regarding NOAA, the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and the possible serious effect on GLOS and our partners. Several reports, including the articles below, describe major cuts in the President’s proposed budget for 2026, and the proposed NOAA funding levels  were reported . These cuts would slash NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) budget, and eliminate the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) entirely. If IOOS is eliminated, GLOS would also shut down.  Science  -  CNN  -  New York Times  -  NPR
-  San Francisco Chronicle  -   Why should this matter to you?   GLOS & Seagull provide:

• Water quality data and real-time hazard alerts to help keep drinking water safe.
• Coastal and beach conditions to help people boat/surf/fish/swim safely and prevent drownings. 
• Wind, water, and wave conditions to keep lake freighters informed and safe. 

 Because this information is essential and should be available to everyone, we provide this service for free! We believe everyone deserves to have accessible and reliable weather and lake information. In full transparency, our operating budget is approximately $4 million a year. We keep a lean team of ten people and work with a wide range of partners across the entire Great Lakes region. Together, we maintain the observing system that provides real-time and model data for the good of the entire region. 

This is not a profitable business model - it’s a public service model. It’s one that hundreds of thousands of people around the Great Lakes use every summer to help keep their kids safe, safeguard drinking water, support maritime goods and services, and sustain lake life as we know it.  But without government support, all that goes away. If GLOS loses its funding, Seagull goes away.   This is what we need from you:1. Contact   your congressional representative  and let them know how important this public service is to you and your family, and without it, lives could be lost. 

• Here is a letter template  for guidance
• You can copy and paste the letter into  this form , for easy contact

   Thank you for your continued support, we do this for you and we couldn’t do it without you.



Sincerely,
Tim, Shelby, Katie, Josephine, Sam, Joe, Mike, Sneha, Sondra, and Jennifer
 

I would hate to imagine a lake Michigan fishing trip with out checking the lake for weather and water temperature. I know how much I rely on these services to make a day of fishing work for me and my crew. Looking for that 60 degree water for summer perch fishing etc. Looking at all the other lake buoys to see how a recent storm has adjusted the water is another way I use this service. I hope that others will take the time to contact your people in the political arena. I'm sure that many of you rely on this service when boating. Please take the time to at least consider what your days of summer may look like with out.