National Museum of Natural HistoryWIKIMEDIA, AMANDA
Following the budget deal made in the US government earlier this month, lawmakers are preparing to approve new agency funding priorities—for the first time since President Donald Trump took office—next month. Once formal appropriations bills are passed, the US Geological Survey (USGS) will be able to move forward with plans to shutter its Biological Survey Unit (BSU), The Washington Post reports.
The BSU, which is located at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, was established in 1885 to document and study plant and animal populations in the U.S. According to The Post, the office has an annual budget of about $1.6 million and six researchers who care for a collection of around a million bird, reptile, and mammal specimens.
“They’ve made a decision ...
