Professional societies issue joint statement on federal workforce

Amidst the continued termination of the nations’ federal workforce, The Wildlife Society joined forces with the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the Society of American Foresters (SAF) and the Society for Range Management (SRM) to issue a statement in support of federal employees and their critical work for conservation. The Societies expressed deep concerns regarding cuts to the federal workforce and how this will impact science, habitat management and restoration, public education and many other aspects of natural resource conservation in America.

“These professionals serve as stewards of public trust resources across the nation,” said SAF CEO Terry Baker. “The impacts of federal downsizing of employees and budgets on forestry, fish and wildlife, rangelands and people dependent on our ecosystems are only beginning to manifest but undoubtedly will have long-lasting impacts on conservation.”

The statement highlights the importance of continued federal investment in natural resource conservation. These investments return enormous health dividends for the country and the world and are an economic engine for our national, state and local economies.

“We can all appreciate the health benefits of being outdoors and enjoying the natural world,” said AFS Executive Director Jeff Kopaska. “But it’s critical for people to understand that conservation delivery in the U.S., including the work of federal employees, pays back more than double every taxpayer dollar spent into both the local and national economies.”

The four professional societies support auditing federal agencies, budgets and work, but only if they follow a more transparent and credible process. “An audit of government agencies with metrics designed to assess economic and other factors of performance is undoubtedly a good exercise and could yield redundancies, poor return on investments and other issues,” said TWS CEO Ed Arnett. “However, it’s unclear how the federal agencies and their workforce are currently being assessed relative to the consequences of terminations we’re witnessing. The leveraging capability and economic return on conservation investments of federal dollars should be part of the process, as well as engaging legislative representatives responsible for appropriating taxpayer dollars.”

Federal agencies responsible for sound natural resource management have experienced declining staff capacity and funding to do their critical work for decades. Jess Peterson, Executive Vice President of SRM, worries about the future ability to fully support managing our system of public lands and waters and delivering private lands conservation. “When layoffs target probationary employees—often early-career professionals—it damages the pipeline of expertise and professional workforce. Current staffing levels already are significantly less than what is needed to manage both public and private lands,” said Peterson. “Continued layoffs and budget cuts to federal agencies will only make it harder to deliver conservation on our private and public lands and waters that benefit all Americans.”