The National Wildlife Refuge System, the world’s largest network of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife conservation, is facing a staffing crisis that threatens its ability to protect biodiversity and provide recreational opportunities. Despite being essential for protecting endangered species, conserving habitats, and connecting communities with nature, the Refuge System has lost over 800 positions since FY2011, resulting in a 25% loss in capacity.
The lack of staff has led to a reduction in essential services, with many national wildlife refuges closed to the public and completely unmanaged. An estimated $560 million is required to hire enough staff to operate the National Wildlife Refuge System at full capacity, with no national wildlife refuges currently fully staffed and more than half having zero staff on site.
In response to this dire situation, the National Wildlife Refuge Association is focusing its efforts in the 118th Congress to raise awareness of this issue and secure the necessary funds to sufficiently staff the Refuge System. We recently sent a letter to Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, outlining the work we will be doing with our partners and supporters to advocate for increased funding for the Refuge System to address these challenges. We urge our supporters to read our letter to Assistant Secretary Estenoz and Director Williams, which you can find here, and to join us in calling on Congress and the Administration to take action to address this crisis.
