Those Rio Grande runoff forecasts we use to make critical water management decisions on New Mexico’s Rio Grande? NRCS….

From the Western States Water Council:

The mass layoff of federal workers, including U.S. Department of Agriculture layoffs, has led to the loss of seven positions at the National Water and Climate Center (NWCC), cutting nearly 40% of the federal workforce responsible for the Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (SSWSF) program under USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The layoffs leave the program in critical condition even as the data and analysis NWCC provides is increasingly important in the face of drought, water supply shortages and increasing water demands across the West. The result will be substantially greater uncertainty for federal, state and local water agencies that depend on reliable snow pack data and information for critical agricultural, environmental, industrial and municipal water management short and long-term decisions.