The planned lease termination of the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage has reportedly been reversed amid threats of a volcanic eruption.
The observatory had appeared on lists of federal building leases set to be terminated by Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency as part of efforts to shrink the size of the federal government.
However, the office of Representative Nick Begich, a Republican from Alaska, told Must Read Alaska that he had intervened to block it. The congressman said in a statement that the lease was “critical for mission objectives, particularly in the midst of a growing volcanic threat.”
Newsweek has contacted Begich’s office and the Alaska Volcano Observatory for further comment via email. The General Services Administration, which manages federal real estate, has also been contacted for comment via email.
Wyatt Mayo/Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey via AP
Why It Matters
The General Services Administration, working with DOGE, has notified landlords that federal agencies will be terminating hundreds of leases for offices and buildings in the coming months.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory, run by the United States Geological Survey, has long monitored dozens of volcanoes in Alaska for risks of eruption, providing crucial information that leads to early warnings that allow evacuations or changes to air travel.
In recent weeks, employees worked with uncertainty amid signs that the likelihood of Mount Spurr, a volcano near Anchorage, erupting in the next few weeks or months had increased.
What To Know
On March 6, NOTUS, a nonprofit news organization, reported that the Trump administration was in the process of terminating the leases for the building that houses the observatory in Anchorage and another building used to monitor volcanoes in Hawaii.
The building that houses the Alaska Volcano Observatory, one of a number used by USGS on the Alaska Pacific University campus, had a lease termination date set for August, NOTUS said, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Relocating the equipment in the observatory building could cost more than $1 million and would risk damage to sensitive devices and computers, the sources said.
Begich’s office said the lease was officially restored on March 18.
On Wednesday, the observatory said unrest was continuing at Mount Spurr, with “numerous small, shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day.”
What People Are Saying
Representative Nick Begich said in a statement to Must Read Alaska: “The Alaska Volcano Observatory federal office lease is critical for mission objectives, particularly in the midst of a growing volcanic threat. This observatory is important to Alaska’s safety and aviation industry. My staff and I worked with the Department of Interior and the GSA to address this issue as a high priority.”
The Alaska Volcano Observatory said in a statement on Wednesday: “AVO continues monitoring activity at Mount Spurr for signals indicating that the volcano is moving closer to an eruption. Based on previous eruptions, changes from current activity in the earthquakes, ground deformation, summit lake conditions, and fumarolic activity would be expected if magma began to move closer to the surface. Therefore, if an eruption occurred, it would be preceded by additional signals allowing warning.”
What Happens Next
The observatory reported on March 11 that an eruption of Mount Spurr was “likely, but not certain, to occur within the next few weeks or months.”