The National Wildlife Refuge System encompasses more than 850 million acres of lands and waters across America’s 568 National Wildlife Refuges, including 5 Marine National Monuments. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for managing these lands and is expected to fulfill its obligation to the Refuge System’s 59 million annual visitors and diverse wildlife on a budget of a mere 59¢ per acre, a fraction of what other land agencies receive per acre. For comparison, the National Park Service receives $31 per acre for land management.
A monarch on native common milkweed captured after a prescribed burn to control invasive species by Courtney Celley / USFWS
Refuge management requires investments in staff and tools to manage wildlife populations, recover endangered species, control harmful invasive species, adapt management strategies to address climate change, and provide opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation. The Refuge System is grappling with an 16.5% cut to its overall budget in the past ten years when factoring in inflation--a $100 million loss.
This strain on resources has affected all aspects of the Refuge System. To reduce costs, refuges have had to cut numerous staff positions and sacrifice vital habitat management, visitor services, and maintenance activities. Even critical volunteer programs, which provide additional free labor equaling 20% to the Refuge System workforce, have been cut back or completely eliminated for lack of supervision from professional full-time staff, although Congress has recently included a small but meaningful increase for volunteer programs.
Despite this severely constrained budget, the Refuge System generates approximately 35,000 jobs and provides $2.4 billion in economic output each year. For every $1 appropriated to the Refuge System, an average of nearly $5 is returned to local economies. The Refuge System requires adequate funding to sustain these economic, social, and biological benefits for all Americans.