Shutdown impacts Maine science and technology programs
In addition to the widely reported impact the federal shutdown is having on fall tourism at the closed Acadia National Park, the National Marine Fisheries Service has closed its Orono office, putting 12 employees there on furlough until further notice.
The Bangor Daily News reported the employees were given four hours notice on Tuesday that their office would be closed due to the federal shutdown.
Other research and technology initiatives statewide have been affected by the shutdown, the newspaper reported.
Jake Ward, vice president of Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Maine, told the BDN that while previously issued federal grants are not affected, the federal government is not accepting new grant applications or finalizing any recently awarded contracts. That delay already has impacted a grant proposal by the university’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center to modify the scope of work for a wind tunnel wave tank, he said, noting it was scheduled to be reviewed by the U.S. Economic Development Administration in the next two weeks.
Websites for the Small Business Administration, Department of Agriculture and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been shut down as well.
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