A proposed $1.7 billion cut to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could weaken hurricane forecasting and storm surge warnings that Amelia Island residents depend on, a national conservation group warned.

Ocean Conservancy brought its statewide "Florida Needs NOAA" tour to Jacksonville on Friday, Sept. 25, warning about the Trump administration's fiscal year 2027 budget request. The proposed cut would amount to a 25% reduction in NOAA's budget, according to Action News Jax, which reported on the event.

J.P. Brooker, director of Florida conservation for Ocean Conservancy, told the Jacksonville gathering that the cuts would hit programs Amelia Island residents rely on every hurricane season.

"We need every resource that we could have at our disposal," Brooker said.

Ocean Conservancy identified several NOAA programs at risk, including National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasting and storm surge warnings, coastal flood forecasting and resilience planning, and real-time ocean observing systems that track storm surge and water levels across the Atlantic.

Those systems feed directly into local emergency planning. Nassau County maintains 11 hurricane evacuation zones labeled A through K, according to First Coast News. Zone A covers Amelia Island beaches and low-lying areas. Zone B includes downtown and south Fernandina Beach. Zone C covers central Fernandina Beach.

Evacuation zone mapping along the First Coast relies on coordination with NOAA and the National Weather Service, First Coast News reported. Without full funding, Ocean Conservancy warned, the accuracy of storm surge predictions could suffer.

The proposed cuts also threaten tourism economies that depend on healthy beaches and waterways, the group said.

The administration's proposed reductions stem from an effort to reduce the size and cost of the federal government and downscale climate change research, Fox News reported, according to Action News Jax's coverage.

Congress has pushed back. Both Senate and House budget subcommittees have expressed support for NOAA's funding, according to Fox 13 Tampa Bay reporting cited by Action News Jax. The House budget would limit cuts to $400 million, or about 6%, far less than the administration's proposed 25% reduction.

No floor vote date for the fiscal year 2027 NOAA budget has been announced. Residents can find hurricane preparedness information through Nassau County Emergency Management.