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One of the best parts of serving on the Board of National Wildlife Refuge Association is that it allows me to keep a close check on what is happening with the refuge system. But there are times when that isn’t a pleasant experience. Just two weeks before our February NWRA Board meeting in Washington DC, over 100 Fish and Wildlife Service Staff at National Wildlife Refuges all over the country were told that they were no longer needed. It was a shock to them and to the system.
The refuge system had already lost 30% of its workforce since 2010. Before February 14, 2025, 2,348 employees protected and conserved 95 million acres of land and marine sanctuaries hosting over 67 million visitors a year. And now there are even fewer employees. We aren’t sure how many additional employees took advantage of the “fork in the road” retirement offer but it is quite clear that more cuts will be coming and more FWS Staff will decide to leave.
NWRA Board members, including me, took advantage of our time in Washington DC to go to the Hill to talk to members of Congress about our concerns for National Wildlife Refuges. Unfortunately, many key Congressionals were unwilling to schedule appointments with us but among those who did was Oregon’s Senator Merkley. The Senator was in hearings and couldn’t meet with us, but two key members of his staff did.
I’ve been to the Hill many times, but this time was eerily different. Usually, staffers are anxious to answer questions and provide information but this time, they acknowledged that they didn’t have anything to share with us because no one would talk to them about what was happening in the refuge system (and other government agencies). Employees were afraid of repercussions if they talked to them. We spent our visit telling the Aides the stories we were hearing from refuges across the country, of how the sudden firings were affecting the work of Service Staff and the ability of volunteers to do the work we love.
Thankfully our refuge staff was not reduced by the firings, but we were already shorthanded with no biologist, no Administrative Officer, and a Visitor Services Manager position that has been vacant for 10 years.
This shortage of staff will impact every aspect of the refuge as the remaining staff adjust their work to ensure that the most critical projects are completed while others will just have to wait. Volunteers are being told that they can’t take part in many of the activities that they love because there is just no Service Staff to supervise those activities. While volunteers are critical and appreciated by refuge staff, without sufficient Service Staff, volunteer activities must be curtailed too.
If you care about our refuges, as I know you do, please let your elected officials know how concerned you are about the threats to these places we love. Thank you! Cheryl
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