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A CALL FOR ACTION FOR THE GEOLOGIC COMMUNITY
The New York State Museum and the New York State Geological Survey (NYSGS) have been neglected to the detriment of the State’s citizens, and the State's geological community. The time for action is upon us – there is legislation (https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?bn=A08851&term=2023) that if enacted would support the Museum’s mission, and by extension that of the Geological Survey. By contacting your Senator and Assembly Member (https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator and https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/), you can call for its passage. Below is the full story of how we got here, and our path forward…
There have been multiple articles written in the New York Times and the Albany Times Union over the last several months regarding the state of the Museum. I bring this to your attention in case you do not know that the NYSGS is an agency of the Museum. The last New York Times article regarding the decline of the Museum was published on October 19th (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/19/nyregion/state-museum-ny-albany.html) and specifically references claims made regarding the NYSGS. The article discusses ongoing state and federal investigations to evaluate whether the Museum received excessive federal funding from the United State Geological Survey (USGS). The article also mentions allegations that Museum administrative staff engaged in a timecard scheme to bilk federal funds. An investigation by the State Education Department’s Bureau of Labor Relations found the allegations were unsubstantiated.
While NYSCPG is not aware of any specific allegations, we are aware of the historical success of the NYSGS and particularly the geological mapping program that has had a long-standing and productive partnership with the USGS. Despite decades of declining staff and attrition of museum scientists trained in geology, the NYSGS appears to have been having a resurgence over the last several years. Numerous presentations have been made to various professional geological organizations, along with other public presentations, on the ongoing geologic research that shows an active and productive group of researchers that are producing high-quality scientific information despite funding issues within the Museum.
Increased federal funding in recent years has resulted in an increased number of published maps which NYSCPG has previously highlighted on our website and in articles. Many of the geologists in New York, professionals and academics alike, use the maps and data prepared by the NYSGS. Not only do these maps serve as important educational products, but these geologic publications serve society to help protect water resources, find aggregates to build and repair infrastructure and help identify locations of critical minerals needed to provide vital materials to support the state and national economy. The subsurface scientific coring and exploration drilling that has resulted from the cooperative federal-state partnership is having a profound impact to improve understanding of past climate, aquifers, and geothermal potential and will likely provide vital information for predicting future climate change.
The NYSCPG’s mission includes the strengthening and advancement of the geological sciences as a profession; promoting the protection of public health, the public welfare, and the environment; and promoting high standards of ethical conduct within the profession. NYSCPG views the federal resources awarded to the Museum to produce maps and collect high quality geologic data as a solid investment that is benefiting both the state and its citizens. The maps produced by the NYSGS help promote geology to the public and can be used to promote the protection of the public and the environment. We also believe that the NYSGS staff operate with an appropriate standard of care and high ethical standards and any investigation will show that allegations made against NYSGS staff to be unfounded and that they will be allowed to continue their critical work moving forward.
Where does that leave us, the professional geologists of New York, and what can we do to ensure that additional geological data continues to be collected and managed by qualified, competent geoscientists? Professional geologists have been aware of the financial struggles and lack of staffing of the Survey and Museum since the State Geologist role was vacated in 2010. Almost every state in the union has a Chief Scientist and State Geologist, except New York. New York is the 4th most populous State and has a diverse landscape and highly variable geologic settings constructed from ancient tectonic events that occurred more than a billion years ago to glacial deposits as recent as 13,000 years old. The roles of the State Geologist are to manage the NYSGS; provide unbiased scientific information to state agencies; prepare and manage federal grants; oversee staff that conducts field work, curate the current mineral collections, and maintain the subsurface core collection; maintain the Empire State Organized Geologic Information System (ESOGIS); provide educational opportunities for the public; and serves as a technical resource to the State in response from catastrophic flooding, landslides, droughts and other emergency-related events.
As professional geologists we must request that a State as large and geologically complex as New York should maintain this key position within the Museum, which was founded by the original scientific efforts of the NYSGS in 1836. The Chief Scientist-State Geologist position typically directs and oversees the NYSGS technical staff, and the time to re-establish this key vacant role has come.
How do we accomplish this? It is election season, and candidates are canvasing neighborhoods and hosting town meetings. I call upon the geologic community to become as vocal as we did to ensure licensure passage a decade ago. The bill referenced at the beginning of this article (A08851) proposed to increase the county clerk fees from $15 to $25 with the revenue going to fund the Museum. Reach out to your elected officials and ask them to support that measure and in turn specifically fund the NYSGS and re-establish the State Geologist role. If you are unsure who your representatives are, please check out https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator and https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/.
There is an adage that the “squeaky wheel gets the grease,” and it is time for our profession to make some noise. Please contact me with any questions via email at jnadeau@nyscpg.com or by phone at 518-579-6580.
John M. Nadeau, P.G. NYSCPG Executive Director
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Contact email: jnadeau@nyscpg.com
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