U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) director Brian Nesvik recently ordered the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Fish Hatchery System to complete a “comprehensive review” in order to find refuges or hatcheries “established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission.”
Nesvik, the former Wyoming Fish & Game Director, also ordered both refuges and hatcheries to review their current funding and workforce resources. These moves have sparked concern in the conservation and outdoors community that wildlife refuge lands, and even fish hatcheries, may be on the chopping block in the coming months.
Maggie Hudlow reports that the timing of this order “speaks volumes about its intentions.” She goes on to detail that a complete summary of organizational changes for the refuge and hatchery systems were due January 5, but the order wasn’t issued until the week before Christmas. Hudlow says that “the quick timeline may suggest that the administration has refuges picked out for closure or overhaul.”
Nesvik was asked point-blank whether this was a move to dispose of public lands, to which he replied, “The intention for this order is in no way trying to find lands to sell off. In any way.”
However, that still has some in the fishing and hunting community concerned after a recent initiative published by Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior. Burgum has directed all departments within the Interior to expand hunting and fishing access, which may mean changing existing laws and regulations on national wildlife refuges.
The Center for Biological Diversity responded, telling Politico that the review is “insidious.”
But Ashley Nunes, public lands policy specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity, called the review “insidious.”
Nunes told Politico “The Fish and Wildlife Service has already fired scientific experts and undermined the agency’s ability to protect our country’s wildlife — and now Mr. Nesvik is looking for more pretext to shutter Refuge and Hatchery operations.”