BOULDER, Colo. — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's first major attempt to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, offering supporters of the iconic lab a moment of relief.
NCAR, framed by the Flatirons and considered a crown jewel of climate research, employs more than 800 people.
Monday's ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson keeps the lab intact for now, by blocking the transfer of the lab's Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne, Wyo. to new management with the University of Wyoming.
NCAR uses the supercomputing center for computing capacity and data storage.
In the ruling, the judge noted the push for a transfer of management by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) may have been retaliatory, writing it may "have been motivated by the Trump Administration's dispute with the State of Colorado."
According to the ruling, that dispute began in December 2025, when President Trump called Governor Polis "weak and pathetic" for refusing to release Tina Peters. Coincidentally, Peters was released on the same day of the ruling.
On Tuesday, our sister station Denver7 spoke with Carlos Martinez, a former NCAR employee who now is a senior climate scientist the Union of Concerned Scientists — an advocacy organization representing 20,000 scientists across the country. He celebrated the decision, but said more work needs to be done.
"The ruling from the judge was very welcome news," Martinez said.
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Martinez said the stakes for NCAR extend well beyond Boulder.
"Now more than ever, funding staffing, and the data that NCAR has is so critical for our preparedness and understanding of our changing climate," Martinez said.
The Boulder Chamber has fought to protect the lab since the dispute between the Trump administration and Colorado began. Jonathan Singer, senior director of policy programs for the chamber, described what losing NCAR would mean.
"I hope we never go there, but it was foundational in defining who Boulder is today, and so it would be a massive blotch on Boulder, but also the nation as well," Singer said.
Scientists are celebrating the ruling but say more work needs to be done to protect the lab — whether through community support or efforts at the national level.
"Congress has a really critical role here, and not just providing funds to NCAR, but writing iron-clad language that keeps all of NCAR intact," Martinez said.
Governor Polis released a statement in response to the ruling which said in part, "I am pleased the court recognized the serious harm this transfer would cause and I, alongside Colorado’s federal delegation, remain committed to protecting Colorado’s research ecosystem from the Trump Administration's unjust attacks."
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