U.S. Fish and Wildlife sees nearly 20% drop in staff since Trump took office

Nearly 1,800 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees have left the agency under pressure from President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies meant to cut the federal workforce, conservationists find. 

That’s a loss of almost 20% of the service’s staff, according to data obtained through a public records request by the nonprofit conservation group Center for Biological Diversity. In April of 2025, the agency had 8,180 employees, the records show, compared to 9,960 a year prior.

Oregon and Washington lost a combined 50 senior level scientists and staff year over, followed by California which lost 40, Florida which lost 20 and Hawaii which lost 10 senior staff. 

The result of these staff losses, especially the loss of senior experts, could mean the extinction of species across the country such as monarch butterflies and hellbender salamanders, according to Noah Greenwald, a director for the center.

“This is an agency that needs more resources to help endangered species and the places they live, not fewer,” he said in a statement. “By pushing biologists and other wildlife experts out of public service, Trump is inflicting enormous harm on some of America’s most beloved creatures.”

Many of the losses include senior level staff, indicating many took buyouts or early retirement offers from the administration that were meant to cut down the federal workforce, Greenwald said. Hiring freezes that have been challenged in court, but left agencies in limbo, have also played a role, according to Greenwald. 

Biologists made up a large portion of the staff losses. There are 530 fewer biologists at the agency after the Trump cuts and efforts to push people to resign or retire, Greenwald said — a decline sparking concern among conservation groups that the agency has less capacity to track endangered plants and animals and restore habitats. 

Trump officials plan to eliminate another 143 positions at the fish and wildlife service, according to court documents from a legal challenge against the federal government brought by government employee unions and others. But the administration is blocked from issuing more cuts until Jan. 30 under an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to negotiate health care subsidies before voting on government spending.

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