The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the federal agency that manages Alaska's national wildlife refuges and enforces endangered species laws. It oversees refuges such as Kenai, Yukon Delta, Arctic and Izembek, and sets subsistence fishing and bird hunting rules statewide.
fws.gov ↗1011 E Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA
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Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · Public domain
Alaska refuges lost 38% of their field staff, the steepest drop of any region, review finds
Alaska's national wildlife refuges lost a bigger share of their field staff over the past 12 years than any other region, while the agency's Alaska regional office grew, according to a federal review released Friday.
Permanent full-time field employees on Alaska refuges fell from 195 in 2013 to 121 in 2025, a 38% drop, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report says. Over the same years, the Alaska regional office grew from 40 employees to 52. Nationally, refuge field staff fell 25% and headquarters staff grew 43%.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum released the review alongside an order he signed the same day. It tells the agency to plan how to cut administrative overhead and shift people and money to refuges. Alaska's 76 million acres of refuges are nearly 80% of the system's land.
Much of the report's Alaska section is about airplanes. Alaska accounts for about 65% of the agency's flying, for wildlife surveys, law enforcement patrols, subsistence monitoring, emergency response and supply runs where no road reaches. "Aircraft in Alaska are the pickup trucks of the Lower 48 states," the report says.
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About U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
fws.gov ↗1011 E Tudor Rd, Anchorage, AK 99503, USA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the federal agency, part of the Department of the Interior, that manages Alaska's national wildlife refuges and enforces federal wildlife laws. Its Alaska office is in Anchorage, and its refuges include Kenai, Yukon Delta, Arctic, Izembek, Tetlin and Kanuti.
The agency administers the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in Alaska, and it sets the rules for the subsistence harvest of migratory birds. It decides permits for the incidental disturbance of marine mammals under its care, such as sea otters, polar bears and walrus, when harbors, cruise docks or oil fields are built. Federal subsistence salmon management on rivers such as the Yukon, Tanana and Kuskokwim also involves the agency.
Changes to endangered species rules, the staffing of refuges and the agency's contracting are recurring questions. Its refuges sit beside state, Native and private land, so local zoning and fire decisions can reach it.
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