Squeaky Wheels

doi:10.1126/science.294.5545.1259c

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The newly signed interior appropriations bill (see above) also contained mixed news for researchers upset with plans to ax two science centers at the Smithsonian Institution. Last spring, Smithsonian director Lawrence Small announced plans to eliminate the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia, and the Center for Materials Research and Education in Suitland, Maryland (Science, 13 April, p. 183). The proposed closures were part of a plan to reorganize Smithsonian science and free up funds for other projects.

After protests from researchers and local lawmakers, Small backpedaled, but warned that Congress would have to come up with more money to keep the units open. It did, giving the Smithsonian $497 million in 2002, $3 million more than the president's request. That's barely enough to cover all the costs of those units, says the Smithsonian's Paula DePriest. And the other science units will take a $1.9 million hit. "It's actually very grim," she adds.