How federal job loss can affect species in the West

Crucial research projects on species in the western U.S., like elk, mule deer, sage-grouse and wild horses, could potentially be compromised under the Trump Administration’s federal workforce cuts. The Department of the Interior told the U.S. Geological Survey and Cooperative Research Units (CRU) to develop plans to cut their budgets from 10% to 40%, according to TWS CEO Ed Arnett, who was interviewed in an article for High Country News. CRUs, a collaboration between universities and state and federal natural resource agencies, conduct important work on species of concern from mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus canadensis) to endangered Mojave desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). “My concern is really high. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has over $4 million worth of projects, either ongoing right now, getting close to wrapping up, or new projects,” the commission’s director, Tim McCoy, told High Country News, adding that some of those projects include declines in wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) numbers and how to manage invasive carp. “Our co-op unit is pretty integral to our ability to do and answer the real applied science questions, like declining populations.”

Read the article in High Country News.