U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service loses 36% of workforce since 2024

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) --- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lost 36% of its workforce between 2024 and 2026 under the Trump administration, according to federal staffing records obtained by a conservation advocacy group. Total agency personnel decreased from 9,957 to 6,333 employees over the two-year period.

The staffing figures were obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation nonprofit. The organization reported that the 36% reduction is double the loss recorded in the previous year. Center officials noted the increase likely reflects agency staff who accepted early retirement offers in the spring of 2025 and remained on the payroll through late September of that year.

Among those leaving the agency were more than 1,900 scientists, including fish and wildlife biologists, foresters and fire managers. The Center for Biological Diversity reported that national wildlife refuges are experiencing increased operational strain due to staffing deficits.

The loss of personnel comes as more than 400 species wait for federal protection decisions, including hellbenders and monarch butterflies. Over nearly two years, the second Trump administration has granted protection to three species.

Noah Greenwald serves as the endangered species codirector at the Center for Biological Diversity. He criticized the administration's handling of agency resources and wildlife protections.

“These staff cuts are a cruel disaster for America's endangered species and wildlife refuges,” Greenwald said. “The spite and incompetence of DOGE and the Trump administration may cost us amazing and beloved wildlife like hellbenders and monarch butterflies.”

Greenwald added that losing biological and environmental expertise creates long-term challenges for national conservation programs.

“This brain drain will be hard to undo now that the Fish and Wildlife Service has lost so many expert scientists who helped save endangered animals and plants,” Greenwald said. “Americans overwhelmingly want to see our wildlife healthy and flourishing, but the Trump administration has made it clear that its goal is the exact opposite.”