UGA scientists fighting funding cuts against agricultural center

WATKINSVILLE - University of Georgia scientists are fighting to prevent a 71-year-old agriculture research station from being shut down because of budget cuts.<br /> <br /> The J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center would be closed as part of President Bush's 2009 budget proposal, which calls for an $84 million drop in agricultural research dollars.<br /> <br /> The center has been on the chopping block before and survived, but faculty are worried that the latest round of budget cuts could jeopardize the center's study of soil erosion, the threat of carbon emissions and other conservation problems.<br /> <br /> "They're doing extremely important research, and we're in full support of maintaining that station," said Robert Stewart, head of the school's animal sciences department.<br /> <br /> The center would be among 11 locations around the country that would be shut down, and the station's dozens of employees could lose their jobs or be forced to relocate. An Agriculture Department spokeswoman said the center is on the list because other government centers have similar programs.<br /> <br /> The school's professors and researchers plan to lobby against the cuts.<br /> <br /> "Certainly there are more budget pressures than there have been in the past," said Scott Angle, dean of the agricultural school. "I think the president was serious about his proposal, and we'll just have to wait to see how it plays out."<br /> <br /> Local residents fear closing the center could rob fast-growing Oconee County of some of its rural image. County Commission Chair Melvin Davis said if the center is shut down, he hopes the federal government could transfer the land to the county or the university.<br /> <br /> "I'm hoping it could remain in its current state for a long, long time," Davis said.

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