Is it Time for a New Addition to the Endanger Species List?
This mornings N&O had a front page story about the staffing cuts at the National Wildlife Refuges including the ones here in North Carolina.
North Carolina has 10 refuges to protect animals, birds and fish. Most are in Eastern North Carolina along the flyways of migratory waterfowl. Since 2003, the state’s refuges have lost 10 permanent positions — a 12 percent reduction. Nine more positions at five refuges are slated to go by 2009 through retirements and attrition.
The personnel losses mean scaled-back services, less upkeep on roads and other amenities and fewer wildlife surveys to gauge the health and diversity of animal populations.
“When you talk about cutting nearly a quarter of the staff out of North Carolina refuges, that is devastating,” said Noah Matson, refuge programs manager for Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental advocacy group. “The entire system is in crisis right now.”
So the agency that works to protect the species and the habitat they need to survive is itself becoming endangered. The programs they present to educate the public as well as the general upkeep on the property have been scaled way back.
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which occupies 110,000 acres in Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties, has closed about 50 miles of dirt roads to cars because the staff can’t maintain them to public safety standards. Since 2003, it has lost three staff positions, including a park ranger who organized environmental education programs to schools and civic groups. That position was transferred to Massachusetts.
I certainly don’t fully understand the complete budget picture but one thing is for sure the current National Wildlife Refuge system is collapsing. President Bush has announced additional funding for the National Parks but the Wildlife Refuges appears to be the ugly step child. Additional user fees is one option, and Volunteers are methods that are being explored and utilized but I’m afraid that can only go so far. It will be a sad day in America if the Refuge system fails and countless species and habitat is lost. Maybe US Fish & Wildlife should add themselves to the Endangered Species List.
Cool story brotha. Wish you could have got one, after all the head ache. T.
That sounds very familiar. Here in British Columbia our provincial government has thinned out and stripped down the wildlife agency of staff and money. The reason “We have no money” so we where told. So how come that in the same year the Premier gave himself and the provincial cabinet a hefty double raise of their salary? Of course today that same government wonders why poaching has rocketed sky high.
-Othmar Vohringer-
Comment by Othmar Vohringer — February 9, 2007 @ 1:36 am