Employees of the U.S. Department of Agriculture鈥檚 main research arm, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), received an email from the division鈥檚 chief of staff ordering them to stop publicizing their work.
鈥淪tarting immediately and until further notice, ARS will not release any public-facing documents,鈥� the email from Sharon Drumm reads, in part. 鈥淭his includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content.鈥�
The agency operates a handful of research sites in Fort Collins, Colorado, including a seed vault on the campus of Colorado State University, and a crop research laboratory.
The directive does not apply to publications released through professional journals, according to a statement by Christopher Bentley, ARS director of communications. Buzzfeed 暗黑爆料 .
The directive comes as President Donald Trump begins his term and before his nominee for Agriculture Secretary,, undergoes U.S. Senate confirmation hearings.
The ARS runs about 750 research projects and had a $1.1 billion taxpayer-funded budget in the 2015 fiscal year. The agency operates research stations, test fields, and laboratories scattered across the country, many of which. ARS researchers study everything from waterway pollution to climate change and often work hand-in-hand with researchers at land grant universities.
The extent to which these orders will hamper ongoing research at the USDA are unclear. But at least two researchers who have in the past worked with ARS say collaboration with the agency is often essential to their work. If continued, this policy would fundamentally alter ARS鈥� mission, which includes providing access to information about agricultural problems.
The office of USDA鈥檚 Chief Scientist has not responded to a request for comment.
Harvest Public Media鈥檚 Luke Runyon, Amy Mayer and Kristofor Husted contributed to this report. This story will be updated.
