A logo the National Wildlife Refuge Association showed off that it plans to put on T-shirts and other merchandise.
By Richard Moss
President
Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge
In case you’ve been avoiding the news, the U.S. Senate late yesterday passed a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, so Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge can continue normal operations.
Whether or not you agree with the political strategy behind passing the continuing resolution, the good news is that visitors will have no interruption in refuge services.
The next concern for the refuge, according to a nationwide webinar held Friday afternoon by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, is that all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees — the people who manage the refuge system — have been warned that there could be reductions in force (RIFs) if the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can’t hit their cost reduction goals in other ways. RIFs could take the form of furloughs or more firings.
The refuge system has some serious obstacles to perfection on its 122 anniversary. The system was created March 14, 1903, by President Theodore Roosevelt, and has become the world’s largest wildlife conservation system, with 850 million acres of land and maritime refuges.
A mere 2,100 Fish and Wildlife employees manage these acres, by far the least funded and smallest staffed of any division of government dealing with public lands. And 16 percent of those 2,100 employees were eligible for retirement.
Moreover, visits to national refuges have increased 53 percent since 2010. Clearly citizens are using and finding value in the refuges, whether they are using them to fish, hike, hunt, bird watch, or any of the multiple activities refuges provide. Over the same time frame, the number of refuge employees nationwide dropped by 30 percent. So the refuge system was suffering from funding and staffing erosion long before DOGE showed up.
A slide by the National Wildlife Refuge Association showing workforce and visitors levels since 2010.
The association said it expects a massive reorganization of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the national refuge system to come soon. What impact that and other changes to the system might have on the Iroquois refuge is presently unclear.
National Wildlife Refuge Association’s assessment of the current state of the upheaval going on in the refuge system. While Phase 1 of the reorganization was due March 13, there has been no word yet on what that might entail.
Association officers characterized refuge staff nationwide as anxious and afraid. The buyouts, pressure to retire and a general feeling of not being valued by the American people are seriously weighing on employees.
I, as president of the Friends of Iroquois NWR, must say I have never met a better, more dedicated team of federal employees than the small staff at the Iroquois refuge. They don’t deserve this kind of baseless pressure. They deserve our thanks for all they do to make the refuge a better place to visit. If you see one of them, please reach out and thank them for what they do.
A slide prepared by the National Wildlife refuge Association for Friday’s webinar.
Another concern the association expressed is the likely opening of all federal lands to oil, gas and mineral extraction. There already was some gas and oil drilling on refuge lands, especially in Louisiana and other states with rich deposits. Part of the reason this is allowable is because often in the past when refuge lands were acquired, the government didn’t have the foresight to buy the mineral rights as well.
The association is also very concerned that selling public lands outright will be put on the table, especially if DOGE can’t get to its bottom line in other ways. Such sales would need to go through Congress, but Congress has shown little interest in standing in the way of DOGE so far.
There is also concern about the future of the urban refuge programs, but nothing specific has come down about those yet.
The association suggested that the best ways you can help are by being a voice for those who cannot speak, wildlife and government employees. In many cases, they have been warned not to talk publicly about the reductions in force in any manner. So write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, stating why the refuge is important to you and your local community, and why it and its staff must be protected.
It also suggested being a voice with your congressional delegation. Reach out and let them know that your refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System are important to you as an American.
You can also share posts on social media about why public lands are important to you.
And the association showed off a Refuge Strong logo that it is working on putting on T-shirts and other merchandise that will come at a later date.
Public lands are a core value of who we are as Americans and are used by millions each year — 80,000 people visited the Iroquois refuge last year.
It’s an important resource we can’t let the government squander.
