LUMCON and BTNEP Face Mid-year Budget Cuts

January 21, 2010
As a higher education institution in Louisiana, LUMCON is facing a mid-year budget cut of 8%, which means a year cut of 16% on a budget that has been on the decline for the past few years.  The unique services and opportunities that LUMCON has provided for two decades will be maintained into the future, but measures had to be taken to meet the anticipated shortfall at the end of June 2010.
 
Two long-standing, unique services provided by LUMCON to higher education and research communities were cancelled awaiting a brighter funding future. The two cancelled programs were the University Summer Field Program, which provides students with immersive field courses and internship experiences, and the Port Fourchon Field Station, which provides housing facilities for research and educational experiences. In addition library acquisitions were cut for the remainder of the fiscal year, unfilled positions will remain empty, additional costs were passed on to vessel operations, and heavier demands will be borne by other, but limited, funds available to LUMCON .  Personnel were furloughed by 3% earlier in the fiscal year to make ends meet from last year’s budget cut.      

The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program, as part of LUMCON, receives state funds to provide as a matching contribution for the larger grant received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  The 8% cut to LUMCON also affected BTNEP’s state funding, making it more difficult to conduct their unique services to the ecosystems and people within their program boundaries.  Adequate state funds are critical for its existence.

LUMCON and BTNEP, within the higher education community of Louisiana, will survive these financial hard times and continue the great things that we do for the state, its people and its resources.  Exactly how is the real challenge.