Funding cuts....

Trump funding cuts worry researchers at most active West Coast volcano

By Sam Hill

When Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted nearly 45 years ago, it killed 57 people, destroyed hundreds of homes, spread ash to at least 10 other states and blasted a wide, horseshoe-shaped crater out of the volcano’s north side. Widely considered the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history, the event drastically altered the surrounding landscape.

As the region slowly recovered, Mount St. Helens became a tourist destination. But the volcano is still active.

“St. Helens is by far the most active volcano in the Cascades and presents the highest likelihood of the next future eruption in our region,” Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Director Harold Tobin told SFGATE.

The network, a collaborative research partnership among the University of Washington, University of Oregon and U.S. Geological Survey, operates around 20 seismometers in the area and records around a dozen small earthquakes in the vicinity of the volcano each week. Unfortunately, efforts to monitor that seismic activity have been hindered by a spending freeze across the Department of the Interior. 

Similar to what’s happened with the National Parks Service, spending limits on government credit cards held by USGS employees have dropped to $1. This has eliminated overnight research trips and plans for larger-scale research projects, including the maintenance and upgrade of seismic stations on the mountain.

“It’s only been a short time, and our network is still functioning fully, but over time, that will interfere with maintenance and improvements, and we will see things start to degrade,” Tobin said. “I’m concerned that, over some time, our ability to monitor for earthquake hazards that may lead to an eruption will just not be as good as it should be.”

Network partners at the universities can pick up the slack for a time, he said, but not indefinitely.

The network receives funding from many sources, but most of it comes from annual contracts with the USGS through its Volcano Hazards Program. The current federal funding contract for the University of Washington expires at the end of March, and Tobin isn’t confident that a renewal will be in place immediately. This would force the network to deprioritize repairing seismometers and other research endeavors near the volcanoes in the Cascades.

Along with a potential backslide in volcano monitoring, the monument is also facing problems when it comes to recreation and tourism.

The popular Johnston Ridge Observatory that looks over Mount St. Helens’ gaping crater has been closed since 2023 after a landslide took out a bridge on the windy road leading there. State officials have reported that it won’t be repaired until 2027.

While there are other ways to enter the monument, those areas will be less maintained and sparsely staffed this summer after cuts to the U.S. Forest Service, according to the Mount St. Helens Institute, a nonprofit organization that works with the monument. At least 15 forest service employees from the surrounding Gifford Pinchot National Forest were fired by executive order, according to reports.

“With the decreased number of staff, the forest service just can’t meet the demand that will be put on it by public visitation,” Mount St. Helens Institute Co-Executive Director Alyssa Hoyt told SFGATE.

The institute published a blog post last week alerting visitors to the impacts they may see with cuts to federal agencies. Visitors will have less access to expert information, it states, and trails in the area will be maintained less than in years prior. Wildfire prevention efforts may be slowed.

Hoyt couldn’t identify the exact number of forest service employees active at monument facilities, because it is in flux right now, she said. But she confirmed that significantly fewer people than usual are on staff.

Officials at Gifford Pinchot National Forest did not respond to inquiries from SFGATE about fired employees.

Beyond the current wave of funding cuts, Hoyt is fearful of what an understaffed season could mean for the future of monument funding. “There’s likely to be an effect of ‘well, the forest service is ineffective at carrying out its mission because of these cuts,’ and there may be less funding going forward because they are not getting the job done,” she said.

The earthquake activity around Mount St. Helens has been at a normal, safe level since a four-year period of minor eruptions ended in 2008. Volcanoes usually have a period of increased earthquake activity for weeks leading up to an eruption event.

“We’re pretty confident that we would see signs of developing unrest before eruption. Unlike earthquakes, volcanoes tend to give you some warning that they’re doing something,” Harold said. “We’ll continue to prioritize public safety, of course. Even in the face of fiscal challenges, we’re going to do everything we can to monitor these volcanoes. But if the current [federal funding] trend continues, that will all begin to degrade.”

The Mount St. Helens Institute is reevaluating its programming, looking at what programs or events may need to be removed from the 2025 docket in preparation for its own funding gap. About 10% of funding for the institute comes from federal agreements.

The institute is finding ways to work around budget and staffing woes, though, and during these difficult times, Hoyt says she’s looking to the recovering landscape for inspiration.

“When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it created one of the most devastated landscapes that we’ve seen. This smoking moonscape … it was lifeless,” Hoyt said. “But this story of resilience, how life has returned and nature has overcome over the last 45 years is a story of hope for me that I love to share with everyone who visits the mountain.”