Fish and Wildlife Service Hobbled by Staff Cuts, Lawmakers Told

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has lost so many staff members under the Trump administration that it struggles to execute its mission, a former agency official told a Senate panel Wednesday.

Paradoxically, those reductions in force are also hurting FWS’ ability to execute President Donald Trump’s demands that it help speed up the environmental permitting process, said Jake Li, former assistant director of the agency’s ecological services program.

The program has lost nearly 25% of its staff, Li, now the vice president of conservation policy at Defenders of ...