AST Facilities - Environmental Reviews - Sacramento Observatory

Sacramento Peak Observatory: Statement on NSF Record of Decision

On February 25, 2019, the National Science Foundation (NSF) signed its Record of Decision for the Sacramento Peak Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico. This important step concludes the agency's decision-making process with respect to the general path forward for facility operations in a budget-constrained environment, and provides the basis for a future decision regarding a new collaborator.

NSF issued its Record of Decision following authorization from the National Science Board on November 28, 2018. That followed an extensive environmental impact analysis and broad input from the public and the scientific community, including the National Academies 6th Decadal Survey released in 2010, and the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences Portfolio Review Committee Report released in 2012.

The decision formalizes the selection of NSF's preferred alternative: transition to partial operations by interest parties with reduced NSF funding.

Record of Decision: English