Surveying Articles

The Fight to Save NOAA: How Surveyors Can Advocate for Their Own Future

“The good news: We can save NOAA. The bad news: We actually have to do something about it.”

Surveyors, it’s time for a reality check. The days of quietly going about your work, trusting that the infrastructure supporting your profession will always be there, are over. If NOAA’s funding is slashed, surveying accuracy, professional credibility, and even public safety will take a direct hit.

And yet, many surveyors are still waiting for someone else to sound the alarm. No one else will. The hard truth? If surveyors don’t advocate for NOAA, it will disappear.

This isn’t just about saving an agency—it’s about defending the foundation of modern geospatial accuracy. Without NOAA, GPS corrections fail, boundary disputes skyrocket, floodplain data becomes unreliable, and private corporations swoop in to profit from the chaos.

Surveyors must take action now to educate lawmakers, the public, and even their own clients about why NOAA’s role is irreplaceable. Passivity isn’t an option—advocacy is a professional responsibility. (If you think NOAA’s loss won’t affect your work, see how privatized mapping is already reshaping the industry.)

If NOAA funding is cut, surveyors will be among the first to feel the impact. The question is: Will they act before it’s too late?

If you’re ready to push back against the threats to geospatial integrity, read about the growing movement to keep surveying data in professional hands.

Practical Advocacy: What Surveyors Can Do Immediately

Surveyors can’t afford to wait for someone else to defend NOAA. If you rely on GPS, floodplain maps, or accurate boundary data, this fight is your fight. The good news? Advocacy isn’t complicated—it just requires consistent, strategic action. Here’s how surveyors can make an immediate impact.

1. Engage with Professional Organizations

Collective advocacy is powerful. Organizations like the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) already have direct channels to lawmakers. If you’re not involved, now is the time.

• Join professional advocacy groups that actively lobby for NOAA’s funding.
• Participate in letter-writing campaigns to elected officials. A simple, well-written letter from a professional carries significant weight.
• Attend industry meetings, webinars, or town halls that discuss policy decisions affecting NOAA.

Surveyors don’t need to act alone—professional networks amplify individual voices into real influence. (See how surveyors have successfully pushed back against geospatial deregulation before.)

2. Direct Outreach to Lawmakers

Politicians respond to clear, concise, and locally relevant messaging. When engaging with legislators:

• Explain the real-world impact of losing NOAA – Frame it in terms of economic damage, infrastructure delays, and public safety risks.
• Use specific examples – “If NOAA is defunded, your district’s floodplain maps will be outdated, increasing disaster recovery costs.”
• Make it personal – Politicians listen when professionals from their own state or district speak up.

If lawmakers don’t hear from surveyors, they’ll assume NOAA is just another budget line with no real-world consequences. (See why understanding NOAA’s role is critical for policy decisions.)

3. Launch Public Awareness Campaigns

The biggest challenge in saving NOAA? Most Americans have no idea what it does.

• Social Media & Blogging – Surveyors should write short, clear posts explaining NOAA’s role in daily life.
• Local Media Engagement – Contact newspapers or news stations with op-eds about why NOAA matters.
• Client Education – Explain NOAA’s role in surveying reports, meetings, and project briefings so clients understand why they should care.

Public awareness is a force multiplier—when the public demands NOAA’s protection, lawmakers pay attention. (Learn how surveyors can shape public understanding of their work.)

4. Collaborate with Other Professions

Surveyors aren’t the only ones who rely on NOAA. Building alliances with engineers, urban planners, real estate professionals, and emergency responders strengthens advocacy efforts.

• Joint letters from multiple industries hold more weight than individual outreach.
• Collaborative campaigns (such as co-hosted webinars or industry panels) create broader public support.
• Emergency management agencies rely heavily on NOAA—aligning with them adds urgency to the cause.

Advocacy is Action, Not Just Awareness

Talking about NOAA’s importance isn’t enough—surveyors must actively engage in shaping policy.

• Waiting until budget cuts happen is too late. NOAA’s fate is decided in committee rooms long before the public hears about funding battles.
• Surveyors must be proactive, not reactive. Consistent pressure on lawmakers prevents NOAA from becoming an easy budget cut.

If you’re interested in how surveyors can stay ahead of threats to their profession, read about the battle for professional autonomy in geospatial data.

Legislative Threats: Understanding the Risk

Surveyors must recognize that NOAA’s funding is far from secure. The agency faces constant political and financial threats, and without sustained advocacy, it could be weakened or dismantled. The biggest dangers? Budget politics, corporate lobbying, and widespread misunderstandings about NOAA’s role.

1. Budget Politics: NOAA Is an Easy Target

• NOAA operates on a multi-billion-dollar budget, making it a tempting line item for cuts when politicians look for ways to reduce federal spending.
• Unlike high-profile agencies like NASA or the Department of Defense, NOAA’s critical work is often overlooked by lawmakers who don’t understand geospatial science.
• Surveyors can’t assume NOAA will be protected just because it’s important—if lawmakers don’t hear from professionals, they’ll assume no one will notice if funding is slashed.

2. Privatization Push: Who Stands to Profit from NOAA’s Weakness?

• Big Tech and private satellite companies are eager to take over NOAA’s functions, seeing an opportunity to sell previously free geospatial data at premium prices.
• Lobbying efforts by private firms push for the “efficiency” of privatization, ignoring the fact that publicly accessible geospatial data benefits the entire economy—not just corporations.
• If NOAA’s work is outsourced, surveyors will face rising costs, paywalls on critical datasets, and inconsistent geospatial accuracy. (See why geospatial privatization is a growing threat.)

3. Misunderstanding NOAA’s Role: Educating Lawmakers Before It’s Too Late

• Many lawmakers don’t understand how dependent modern infrastructure, disaster response, and surveying are on NOAA’s data.
• Politicians may see NOAA as just a weather forecasting agency, failing to recognize its impact on floodplain management, GPS accuracy, and land-use planning.
• If legislators aren’t educated now, they could vote for policies that dismantle NOAA’s geospatial infrastructure without realizing the long-term consequences.

What Happens If Surveyors Ignore the Political Battle?

• NOAA’s funding could be gutted, leading to long-term data degradation and loss of accuracy.
• Corporate control over geospatial data will expand, forcing surveyors to pay for access to previously free datasets.
• Surveyors will lose professional independence, becoming dependent on private firms that prioritize profit over accuracy.

The Time to Act Is Now

Surveyors can’t afford to be passive while NOAA’s funding hangs in the balance. Engagement must happen before budget decisions are finalized—not after the damage is done. (Learn how surveyors can shape policy to protect geospatial integrity.)

Success Stories: When Advocacy Saves the Day

Here’s the thing: Surveyors aren’t powerless. When they show up, organize, and make their voices heard, they win. NOAA has been under threat before, and every single time, surveyors and their allies have fought back and won.

2018: The CORS Network Almost Went Dark—Until Surveyors Fought Back

A proposed budget cut in 2018 nearly gutted NOAA’s CORS network. Had it passed, high-precision GPS positioning would have collapsed nationwide—not just for surveyors, but for engineers, emergency responders, and infrastructure planners.

Surveyors didn’t just sit back and hope for the best. They mobilized.

• NSPS led an industry-wide advocacy campaign, flooding congressional offices with letters, calls, and in-person meetings.
• Surveying firms provided real-world examples of how losing CORS would derail construction projects, slow disaster recovery, and create chaos in land development.
• The message was clear: NOAA isn’t expendable—it’s essential.

The result? Lawmakers backed off, funding was restored, and CORS remained intact. (Learn how surveyors are still fighting for professional autonomy.)

NOAA’s Flood Mapping Program: Saved by a United Front

After Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Harvey (2017), NOAA’s flood mapping program became a lifeline for rebuilding efforts. But as memory faded, politicians moved to slash its funding.

Surveyors joined forces with engineers, urban planners, and emergency response agencies to remind Congress why cutting NOAA’s flood mapping program was a disaster waiting to happen.

• They showed legislators how much money NOAA’s flood maps saved in disaster recovery costs.
• They highlighted the public safety risk of approving developments in poorly mapped flood zones.
• They built a coalition, proving that NOAA’s work didn’t just help surveyors—it protected entire communities.

The funding cuts? Blocked. The flood mapping program? Preserved.

The Lesson? Advocacy Works—But Only If Surveyors Actually Do It

These weren’t flukes. Surveyors have the power to shape policy—if they use it. Every time NOAA funding comes under threat, it’s surveyors who understand the stakes. It’s surveyors who have to sound the alarm.

The question isn’t whether surveyors can make a difference. They already have. The real question is: Will they keep showing up when it matters?

If you’re wondering how to take action right now, start here.

Mobilizing for Long-Term Protection

Surveyors can’t afford to play defense anymore. Fighting for NOAA can’t be a one-time event—it has to be an ongoing effort. The threats to NOAA’s funding and independence won’t magically disappear after one round of advocacy. Lawmakers forget. Lobbyists don’t. If surveyors aren’t constantly making noise, someone else is—and that someone else wants NOAA’s services privatized, monetized, and sold back to you at a premium.

The solution? Surveyors must build long-term advocacy strategies that outlast budget cycles, political shifts, and corporate takeovers. Here’s how.

1. Make Advocacy a Habit, Not a Crisis Reaction

Most surveyors only engage with lawmakers when a direct threat to NOAA is already on the table. That’s like waiting until your house is on fire to start looking for a fire extinguisher. Advocacy should be constant, not just reactive.

• Annual Advocacy Days: Surveyors should push for an official industry-wide event where professionals meet with lawmakers to reinforce NOAA’s importance—before budget cuts become a conversation.
• State-Level Representation: Most federal lawmakers rely on local government officials for policy guidance. If surveyors influence state and county leaders, those leaders become powerful advocates at the federal level.
• Surveying Education for Lawmakers: Don’t assume politicians understand NOAA’s role. Regularly send case studies, reports, and economic impact statements to legislators explaining why NOAA funding saves money and prevents disasters.

2. Educate Clients and the Public—Because They Vote

Legislators don’t just listen to professionals—they listen to their voters. If surveyors educate the public on NOAA’s importance, they turn everyday citizens into advocates.

• Every surveying firm should have a public-facing NOAA advocacy page—explaining why geospatial infrastructure matters, in plain language.
• Clients should hear about NOAA in every meeting, report, and email—the more people who understand its role, the harder it is for politicians to cut funding.
• Local news outlets love expert opinions on infrastructure, weather, and GPS. Get journalists covering NOAA’s impact by pitching stories about how surveyors use NOAA data to protect property rights and public safety. (Learn how surveyors can shift public perception.)

3. Strengthen Alliances Beyond Surveying

Surveyors aren’t the only ones who need NOAA—engineers, emergency responders, real estate developers, and even insurance companies rely on NOAA’s data. If surveyors coordinate with other industries, the advocacy effort becomes too big to ignore.

• Partner with floodplain managers to push for continued NOAA mapping programs.
• Work with construction firms to advocate for accurate NOAA geodetic data, which keeps major projects on track.
• Align with environmental groups that depend on NOAA’s climate monitoring.

A coalition of industries speaking with a unified voice is exponentially more powerful than surveyors fighting this battle alone. (See how similar efforts have worked before.)

4. Build Direct Relationships with Lawmakers

Most advocacy fails because it’s impersonal. A mass email blast? Ignored. A petition with thousands of signatures? Maybe a footnote in a legislative meeting.

But a surveyor sitting down with a lawmaker in their office? That’s powerful.

• Identify key decision-makers on committees that control NOAA’s funding.
• Make direct connections with their staffers—these are the people who actually write policy recommendations.
• Offer on-site visits—show them exactly how NOAA’s data is used in the real world.

If surveyors become a familiar, respected presence in legislative offices, NOAA funding becomes a priority issue—not just another budget line item.

5. Make NOAA Impossible to Ignore

If surveyors don’t fight for NOAA, no one else will. The profession can either become a loud, organized force for geospatial integrity, or it can sit quietly and watch as private interests take control of the data surveyors need to do their jobs.

The tools for long-term protection are clear: Persistent engagement, public education, coalition-building, and direct outreach.

Will surveyors commit to making NOAA an untouchable institution? Or will they let it become a forgotten casualty of budget cuts and corporate takeovers?

The choice is theirs.

If you’re ready to take action, learn how surveyors can push back against geospatial privatization.

A Clear Action Plan for Every Surveyor

Saving NOAA isn’t just the responsibility of professional organizations or lobbying groups—it’s on every single surveyor who wants to preserve their profession’s accuracy, credibility, and independence. If surveyors don’t actively defend NOAA, no one else will.

Here’s exactly what surveyors need to do starting today:

1. Join Advocacy Networks—Because Strength Comes in Numbers

The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), state surveying organizations, and geospatial coalitions already have advocacy channels in place. If you’re not connected to them, you’re fighting this battle alone—and that’s a losing strategy.

• Sign up for advocacy alerts so you know when NOAA funding is on the chopping block.
• Participate in lobbying days to meet directly with lawmakers.
• Encourage your colleagues to join professional organizations—more members mean more influence.

If surveyors stay fragmented, NOAA is an easy target. If they unite, they become a political force.

2. Educate Your Clients—So They Become Advocates, Too

Your clients don’t realize NOAA keeps their property boundaries accurate, their flood maps reliable, and their development projects legally compliant. Make it your mission to change that.

• Explain NOAA’s impact in layman’s terms in every project briefing.
• Add a “NOAA Matters” section to your company’s website, breaking down why losing NOAA would be catastrophic for property rights, construction, and disaster planning.
• Host webinars or lunch-and-learns for real estate agents, developers, and attorneys on NOAA’s role in geospatial accuracy.

The more people who understand what’s at stake, the harder it is for lawmakers to justify cutting NOAA’s funding.

3. Engage Politically—Because Lawmakers Won’t Act Unless You Do

If surveyors don’t regularly contact their representatives, lawmakers assume NOAA isn’t a priority. That has to change.

• Find your representatives’ contact info (it takes five minutes).
• Send a clear, concise message: NOAA isn’t just a weather agency—it’s the foundation of geospatial integrity.
• Use real-world examples: “If NOAA is defunded, your state’s flood maps will become outdated, leading to millions in unnecessary disaster recovery costs.”

One email won’t do it. Consistency is key. Legislators remember the voices they hear from regularly.

4. Make Noise—So NOAA Can’t Be Ignored

Surveyors are the experts on NOAA’s importance, yet their voices are barely heard in public discussions. That has to change.

• Write op-eds for local newspapers and industry magazines.
• Post on social media about how NOAA supports everyday life (GPS, real estate, infrastructure, flood prevention).
• Speak at local government meetings—city and state officials also rely on NOAA data, and they can become powerful allies in advocacy efforts.

Silence equals complicity. If surveyors don’t tell the world why NOAA matters, private companies will rewrite the story to serve their interests. (See how surveying data is already being taken out of professional hands.)

Conclusion: Your Voice Matters—Use It

Surveyors, understand this: Defending NOAA isn’t just about preserving a government agency—it’s about safeguarding your profession, your community, and your own livelihood.

You can stay silent and watch NOAA funding disappear, or you can mobilize, educate, and advocate to keep geospatial integrity in professional hands.

If you don’t fight for NOAA, who will?

The choice is clear: Take action now, before it's too late.

If you’re ready to step up, start here.