The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a plan on Thursday to slash 71 positions across Midwestern national wildlife refuges, about 20 percent of its work force in the region.
The plan, to be phased in over the next three years, is the result of critical budget shortfalls in the National Wildlife Refuge System, agency officials said.
The Midwest Region National Wildlife Refuge System covers eight states and includes 54 national wildlife refuges, 12 wetland management districts and more than 1 million acres of public land and water.
Minnesota will take the largest hit with 27 full-time positions cut while Wisconsin will lose 10. Across the region, six biologist positions and six park ranger positions will be lost. Two refuges in Minnesota -- Hamden Slough and Crane Meadows -- will no longer have staff members.
At Rice Lake Refuge near McGregor the cuts will mean fewer hours at the visitors' center and could mean less access for bird watchers and others who visit the refuge, said Nina Fuller, regional refuge chief for the agency.
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In Wisconsin, the cuts could mean the end of partnerships to protect the Whittlesey Creek watershed near Ashland. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge in 1999 to protect and restore habitat in Whittlesey, Little Whittlesey and Terwilliger creeks for trout and salmon from Lake Superior.
It is the only national wildlife refuge in northern Wisconsin.
Chuck Traxler, agency spokesman in Minneapolis, said there will be no layoffs under the plan. The reductions are expected to be achieved with retirements and people leaving the agency or moving to other agency positions, Traxler said. As a last resort, some people may be forced to move to keep their positions, he told the News Tribune.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Regional Director Robyn Thorson said the agency was short-staffed before the cut. Agency officials will try to focus remaining staff members on wildlife preservation and visitor needs. "But make no mistake, some hard decisions will have to be made and some important work will not get done,'' Thorson said in a statement.
Agency officials said their budget has been stagnant since 2004, while personnel costs have increased an average of 5 percent per year, along with increased prices for fuel and equipment.
It's unclear what the agency's budget will be for the next fiscal year, and it's possible Congress could prevent future cuts by adding money to the agency's budget.
In Minnesota, the agency manages almost 540,000 acres of land at 21 sites, including 13 refuges, in addition to offices in Minneapolis. The refuges attract about 4.4 million people each year. In Wisconsin, the agency oversees 177,000 acres of land.
Staff cuts are being considered across all regions of the United States. The agency administers 96 million acres of land across 632 sites nationally.
