March 4, 2025 — Maine appears to be the only state whose federal grant boosting research and economic development for coastal communities was terminated.
The University of Maine said it was notified late Friday that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was immediately discontinuing funding for the $4.5 million Maine Sea Grant, said university spokesperson Samantha Warren.
The grant has helped finance statewide research, strengthened coastal communities, and supported thousands of jobs over more than five decades. However, the letter from NOAA said the grant’s work is “no longer relevant to the focus of the Administration’s priorities and program objectives.”
Maine’s Sea Grant program is one of 34 across coastal and Great Lakes states throughout the country. As of mid-Monday, the New Hampshire Sea Grant had not received a similar notice, said Director Erik Chapman. Similarly, Fiscal Officer Caroline Johnston was not aware of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant receiving a notification about funding cuts.
Both Chapman and Warren said they were unaware of any program’s termination beyond Maine.
Pointing out that there is little information about the reasoning behind the cut, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree argued in a statement that the decision shows President Donald Trump has a “personal vendetta against our state.” The funding cut came about a week after Trump threatened Gov. Janet Mills after a heated exchange over the state not complying with an executive order barring transgender students from competing in women’s athletics.