WASHINGTON (March 8, 2007) - Staffing at New Mexico’s national wildlife refuges, which already has been reduced over the past two years, will be cut by another 20 percent, under a plan released today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Bosque del Apache, Bitter Lake, and Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuges are among our state’s greatest natural treasures,” said Neri Holguin, who represents The Wilderness Society in New Mexico. “Bosque del Apache, for example, is the winter home for two-thirds of the world’s greater sandhill cranes. Cutting back on biologists, rangers, and others at our refuges is going to exact a toll.”
The New Mexico cutbacks were announced along with others for Region 2, which also includes Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma. The plan is the fourth in a series being issued by the federal agency, as it moves, region by region, to pare its staff across the country. Reductions for the final three regions will be detailed in the coming weeks.
The government conceded that the losses are serious. “The projected loss of these permanent field positions is a significant reduction in the size and capacity of the Regional refuge workforce,” today’s report acknowledged. “Given the current workload on field stations that are already managed by a relatively lean workforce, this loss in staffing capacity will result in an overall decrease in habitat management and restoration projects, fewer acres managed to control invasive species, a reduction in public use opportunities, and a generals decline of infrastructure at field stations.” The Southwest Region is home to 45 refuges and hosts nearly 5 million visitors annually.
The 96-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System includes 547 refuges. “This magnificent system of lands is buckling under the weight of persistent under-funding and a crippling $3 billion budget backlog,” said Maribeth Oakes, director of the National Wildlife Refuge Program for The Wilderness Society. “The only way to reverse this trend is for the administration and Congress to increase funding for the system’s operations and maintenance budgets.”
The new plan, which will be fully implemented by October 1, 2009, would combine Las Vegas and Maxwell National Wildlife Refuges, creating what the agency calls a “refuge complex.” Said Oakes, “Those two sanctuaries are 80 miles apart, so employees are going to be spending large chunks of time driving around instead of doing the work they were hired to perform.” Other refuges in New Mexico are San Andres, Grulla, and Sevilleta. Today’s plan contained few details on how the agency will adjust to the elimination of ten more positions, but those specifics are expected to become public within a few days.
William Reffalt of Albuquerque, who was director of the National Wildlife Refuge System in the early 1980s, lamented the impact on fish and wildlife. “Every day more and more species slip a little bit closer to the edge of survival,” he observed. “Our nation had the foresight to establish these sanctuaries to conserve fish and wildlife, but we are failing to provide the ongoing stewardship that is required. We need leadership in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt.”
It was Roosevelt who established Pelican Island in Florida as our nation's first wildlife refuge in 1903. With more than 40 million visitors annually, refuges help to return $1.4 billion dollars to the national economy each year and create over 24,000 jobs.
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society has more than 300,000 members and supporters and is dedicated to protecting America's wilderness and wildlife for future generations through public education, scientific analysis, and advocacy.
