150+ conservation groups urge Congress to raise endangered-species funding to $870 million, rebuild FWS workforce

Washington — More than 150 conservation organizations today urged Congress to sharply increase funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species work, proposing a jump from $299 million to $870 million to address what they describe as dire staffing and resource shortfalls.

In a letter led by the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife, the groups said unprecedented mass firings and buyouts during the second Trump administration have caused historic losses at the agency. The letter states the Service has lost at least 18% of its nationwide staff, including more than 500 biologists who work on species protection and recovery.

It also asks lawmakers to require a minimum number of full-time employees to lock in a needed workforce, protect it from politically driven cuts and ensure the agency can carry out its statutory duties. “Every lost biologist is a lost lifeline for an endangered animal or plant,” said Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity.

“You can’t run an agency on pink slips and a shoestring budget.

If Congress is serious about stopping the extinction crisis, it must rebuild and fully fund the Fish and Wildlife Service before more species disappear on its watch.” The letter adds that after just one year in office, the Trump administration has “gutted the federal workforce so severely that it will take decades for agencies to recover.” The groups also point to a 36% reduction this fiscal year in the Service’s listing budget — the program that determines which plants and animals qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act — saying the cut has severely hamstrung those decisions.

“No price can be put on extinction,” said Mary Beth Beetham, director of legislative affairs at Defenders of Wildlife. She urged Congress to move quickly to provide resources, arguing the funding needed to implement the Endangered Species Act “pales in comparison to the loss of even one single species.” According to the groups, the Fish and Wildlife Service receives about one-third of the funding it needs to fulfill its mission.

As a result, they say, hundreds of endangered species receive less than $1,000 a year for recovery, and many receive no funding from the Service at all. The coalition is pressing lawmakers to pair a budget increase with staffing guarantees to stabilize the agency and accelerate protection and recovery efforts.