Another round of layoffs stemming from DOGE budget cuts could jeopardize the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Program, which is critical for setting hunting seasons for ducks and geese. With approximately 1,000 USGS employees, largely from the Ecosystems Mission Area, facing termination, wildlife biologists warn that the absence of banding data could lead to chaos in managing migratory bird hunting across North America.
The Bird Banding Program has a storied history since its inception in 1920 and underpins essential data for wildlife conservation and hunting regulation. According to conservation experts, the potential shutdown of this program not only threatens the management of game birds but also undermines decades of research supporting the conservation of various migratory species. “There’s no plan to replace that if it goes away,” cautions Ed Arnett, CEO of the Wildlife Society.
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