Dozens of environmental and health organizations have signed a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to maintain robust funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) amid a looming government shutdown showdown.

“NOAA saves lives and supports livelihoods in Florida. When a storm forms, when tides surge, when harmful algal blooms spread — Floridians turn to NOAA’s data, forecasts, and science,” the group wrote in a letter sent late Tuesday afternoon as budget negotiations continue, just hours before the deadline to pass a funding deal to avert a government shutdown.

“We are encouraged that the House and Senate CJS appropriations bills rejected many of the NOAA cuts originally proposed in the President’s budget. But some damaging cuts remain in the Appropriations Committees’ draft bills, particularly massive cuts to NOAA Fisheries in the House CJS bill. And given the escalating threats Florida faces — from hurricanes to harmful algal blooms to marine wildlife die-offs — we urge robust funding for NOAA’s full spectrum of responsibilities.”

The letter comes as Florida braces for the most active period of hurricane season, when storms form in the Gulf and threaten the entire state, particularly the Gulf Coast. The Donald Trump administration has proposed cutting NOAA’s budget by $1.7 billion, a quarter of the agency’s previous fiscal year budget. Funding impacts the National Weather Service, which is responsible for forecasting hurricanes, among other things.

Other Florida-based services NOAA provides or oversees include the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory in Miami; the Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies; the Integrated Ocean Observing System; the National Estuarine Research Reserves; the Coral Reef Conservation Program; the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, the Florida Sea Grant; the National Hurricane Center; and state and federal academic partnerships such as the Florida Flood Hub and Ocean Circulation Lab at the University of South Florida and the Gulf Telemetry Network.

“Together, NOAA’s science and services help power Florida’s economy, protect our gorgeous waterways and environment, and keep communities safe,” the group wrote.

Group’s signing onto the letter include: 

— Ocean Conservancy.

— Guy Harvey Foundation.

— GreenPlanet Waterways Restorations Inc.

— Tropical Audubon Society.

— Clean Miami Beach.

— Florida Ocean Alliance.

— Florida Green Schools PTSA.

— A Zero Waste Culture.

— Doran Jason Group of Florida, Inc.

— Florida Institute of Oceanography.

— Gradible.

— Ascendance Sustainability Group.

— Michael Bracken.

— Business Performance Improvement.

— VolunteerCleanup.Org.

— Miami Dade County Public Schools.

— The Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove.

— Big Blue & You, Inc.

— Rescue a Reef program.

— Bayside Residents Association.

— Surfrider Foundation.

— Society of the flora, fauna & friend.

— Save the Manatee Club.

— Upton Environmental Inc. DBA ROFFS.

— Surfrider Foundation Miami Chapter.

— Sea Turtle Conservancy.

— Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.

— Debris Free Oceans.

— 15th St Farm.

— Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

— The Art of Science, LLC.

— Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots-Tampa Bay.

— Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Inc.

— Sea Grant Association.

— Byrne Ocean Conservation DBA: Water Warrior Alliance.

— Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

— People’s Economic and Environmental Resiliency Group.

— Tampa Bay Watch, Inc.

— Healthy Gulf.

— IDEAS For Us.

— Miami Waterkeeper.

— Trash Caulin LLC.

— Tampa Bay Waterkeeper.

— The University of Tampa Department of Environmental Studies 15th St Farm.

— Oceana.

— Dream in Green.

— SEACURE.

— Organized Fishermen of Florida.

— Environmental Defense Fund.