Impact of Federal Actions
Share How Recent Federal and State Actions
are Impacting Maritime Heritage
Recent federal and state actions—such as canceled grants, program restrictions, and directives limiting access to educational or historical content—are creating a difficult and uncertain environment for maritime organizations across the country.
The National Maritime Historical Society is collecting information on how these developments are affecting maritime history programs, museums, and institutions.
Whether your organization has experienced funding disruptions, policy directives, or other challenges, we want to hear from you.
Your input will help us document the scope of these impacts and better understand the challenges facing the maritime field. All responses are kept strictly confidential and will not be shared without your permission. You may submit anonymously, and contact information is optional—used only if you'd like NMHS staff to follow up with you directly.
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Responses shared as of 16 May 2025
The Duluth News Tribune reports that the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center will be open for fewer hours during the summer (its peak tourist season) as a result of the federal freeze on new civilian hires. Beginning in late May, the facility will be open only 30 hours per week, (10:30–4:30 Th–Mon), reduced from the spring operating schedule of 32.5 hours. The current contract of one of the three full-time rangers working at the center ends in Mid-May and it can't be renewed under the terms of the hiring freeze. The nonprofit supporting the center, the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, reportedly has plans to fund a part-time position to help shore up visitor services.
The US Navy has cancelled its biennial International Seapower Symposium due to “unavailable funding.” The symposium, hosting representatives from 100+ navies, has been conducted every other year since 1969, “to provide a forum for senior international naval leaders to discuss common maritime challenges and opportunities to enhance international maritime security cooperation.”
The US Naval Academy has pulled 381 books from its academic library based on orders from the office of the secretary of defense, based on their subject matter in relation to the topics of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The National Endowment for the Humanities grant to the University of Virginia’s Center for Digital Editing supporting the digitizing and online publication of the Naval Documents of the American Revolution has been revoked. The project mission is to collect, edit, and post historic correspondence, reports, directives, and other papers dealing with the founding of the United States Navy.