AP: Budget cuts mean job losses for wildlife refuges

Budget cuts mean job losses for wildlife refuges

Pacific region to lose 49 jobs in cutbacks

Associated Press

March 16, 2007

WASHINGTON — Faced with a $2.5 billion budget shortfall, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is eliminating hundreds of jobs, cutting back programs and even closing some national wildlife refuges.

In the Pacific region — which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Hawaii — a total of 49 jobs will be eliminated, including a quarter of the region’s biologists. In the Southwest region — which includes Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma — 38 jobs will be eliminated. In all, the agency is planning to cut 565 jobs from wildlife refuges by 2009, a 20-percent reduction.

The national refuge system encompasses 547 refuges and more than 96 million acres in all 50 states.

15 refuges in Oregon

Oregon has 15 wildlife refuges that host more than 2 million visitors a year.

Washington has 22 refuges with more than 2 million annual visitors. Environmentalists say the staffing cuts — which follow two years of reductions — will leave an already lean work force depleted and result in a decrease in habitat management, restoration projects and education projects. More than 200 wildlife refuges across the country will be unstaffed.

Agency officials acknowledged that the budget cuts will affect services, but said that with a $2.5 billion backlog in operations and maintenance, the reductions were unavoidable. Few, if any, layoffs will be needed, they said, with most job losses occurring though attrition.

‘‘If the Service does not act decisively now, it will become unable to effectively operate most national wildlife refuges within a few years, even if budgets remain level,’’ said David Eisenhauer, an agency spokesman.

Klamath refuge official upbeat

Ron Cole, manager of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, said Thursday he is studying the proposed cuts but has no specific information.

“We have heard we’re not going to look too bad,” Cole said. “Our region began positioning itself a little better about three years ago in anticipation of leaner times.”

His office manages the Upper Klamath, Tule Lake, Bear Valley, Klamath Marsh and Upper Klamath National Wildlife refuges.