Latest From Washington, DC - DOI FWS Funding Lacking

[HydeLowRider]

No Budget Refuge for Fish and Wildlife Service Here's an example of how budget pressures are playing out on the front lines of federal agencies. Since fiscal 2004, the budget for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest Regional Refuge System has been stuck at $28.5 million. But personnel expenses have been going up at about 5 percent per year, and the costs of fuel, equipment and other supplies also have increased. To deal with the situation, FWS's Midwest regional office reports, managers already have left 35 positions vacant and will cut another 36 jobs over the next three years. That's a total reduction of 20 percent of the region's workforce. "The cuts the Fish and Wildlife Service is being forced to make are damaging our nation's protected refuge system," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of the conservation group Defenders of Wildlife.

 

[JeffK]

Same thing for NJ Fish and Game (and I'd bet for other states). As people retire new people are not being hired. The hatchery system staff is down significantly and the staff is doing herioc things to keep working. In a less public loss, there was a former fisheries guy on the environmental impact statement review team for road projects. He retired and was not replaced. Unfortunately, he quietly made sure road projects were as fish friendly as possible (and as a fisheries person knew what he was talking about).

In NJ less hunting and fishing license sales (less money and less voters), a powerful Governor who is not friendly to hunting and fishing, and increased numbers of urban, PETA types getting into DEP have not helped the situation.