Since January 2025, the Trump administration has drastically slashed the size of the federal workforce through layoffs, cuts and buyout offers initially led by the Department of Government Efficiency. The scope of staff losses recently came into focus at one agency — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Center for Biological Diversity found that the agency lost 36% of its staff between 2024 and 2026. CBD obtained USFWS staff rosters in response to a Freedom of Information Act records request the advocacy organization had filed. As first reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, the data shows a loss of 40% USFWS staff in Oregon alone, including wildlife biologists, wildland firefighters and equipment operators.

Noah Greenwald is the endangered species co-director at the CBD. He says that the loss of experienced USFWS employees with specialized expertise in vulnerable plants and animals jeopardizes the agency’s ability to carry out its obligations under the Endangered Species Act. That includes listing species as endangered or threatened, like the monarch butterfly and Chinook salmon. Earlier this month, CBD and two other organizations sued the USFWS to spur ESA protections for northwestern and southwestern pond turtles.

Greenwald joins us to share more details about the agency’s reduced workforce and its impact in Oregon.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/18/think-out-loud-federal-workforce-fish-wildlife/