While untold billions are being pissed away in the quagmire that is the Iraqi war, many domestic programs are suffering from cuts in funding. Notable amongst these (and the subject of a previous post) is the National Wildlife Refuge System, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Interestingly enough, the Service indicates on its website that the Refuge System is home to more than 289 of the nation’s 1311 endangered species.
As usual, PEER has the details.
Washington, DC — Sharp cuts in funding and staffing for the National Wildlife Refuge System are precluding needed conservation work while compromising wildlife law enforcement and visitor safety, according to a new survey of refuge managers released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The Bush administration is already implementing double-digit refuge budget cuts in several regions, with further reductions expected to be unveiled next week.
The National Wildlife Refuge System is comprised of more than 100 million acres comprising 545 individual refuges. Some 40 million people visit each year.
PEER conducted a survey of refuge managers and received responses from 52% of the 337 total. (Some managers oversee multiple refuges.) The results are as follows:
94% of those responding indicate a that conditions are deteriorating.
62% of those responding indicate that the System is not accomplishing its mission with 72% stating that staffing is more than 25% below core requirements.
66% of those responding indicate that consolidation has left some refuges unstaffed.
Could it be that some managers failed to respond to the survey because of fear of agency reprisal?
In any event, the current state of affairs has left parts of the system to a benign neglect.
“The National Wildlife Refuge System has been put on a starvation diet,” stated Grady Hocutt, a former long-time refuge manager who directs the PEER refuge program, pointing to recent staff cuts that will leave up to 30% of the refuges in some regions without any personnel, a condition called “Preservation Status.” “It is becoming flat out impossible for refuge managers to do their job.” …
“According to every refuge manager with whom I have spoken, the situation on their refuges is getting much worse,” concluded Hocutt, pointing to the results of a similar PEER survey six years ago. “It will be up to the new Congress to reverse this disastrous course.”
The full survey results are here (pdf).
Manager proposals for improvement are here (pdf).
I urge you to call your congresscritters, 888 355 3588 or 888 818 6641. Operators are standing by.
Thank you for posting this, Boran.
Last summer, I had the pleasure of seeing one of the lovely Tennessee National wildlife Refuge again, after many years. The waterfowl there are so plentiful, so varied, it pains me to think of what’s in store. I’m waiting for the sell-off, like the National Forest lands.
Over my lifetime, I’ve seen bald eagles return after being decimated by insecticides that nearly ended their ability to breed. Thousands of wood ducks are banded there annually. It’s also one of the few places in the middle of the country that has not been overbuilt with resorts, golf courses with their runoffs of fertilizer and weedkiller, and rampant motorboats.
The Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge not far away is like another world. Created by the great New Madrid earthquake, the land literally falls away – you can see the large folds going down as you fly over from Memphis to St. Louis. The water plants are there in abundance, as are fish and wildlife, lots of natural food for birds. I remember the summer when I was 13, paddling up quite close to a small islet of bare cypress trees filled with nesting herons, just as the sun peaked over the horizon. The birds turned gold, and I could see that many nests held young birds. I had not seen so many large birds nesting so close together, and above the ground. They must have felt safe there, being so visible. Sadly, there were also shotgun shells on the ground, in a place where hunting is stricyly illegal. I can imagine that as staff are reduced,
huntingpoaching will increase.These wildlife refuges are not so well known. Not parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite or Mt. Deseret or the Great Smokies. But they are beautiful, mostly unspoiled, and private enough for the birds, accessible enough for quiet watchers, a true gift of nature.
I hope you will call, or write, or send an e-mail.
What percent have known or suspected oil reserves?
Do I detect snark from RHL? 😉
No snark intended. It was simply, to me, a question we should be asking! 😉