Sudden and Surreal
Wildlife Protectors Fired on Kauaʻi (and everywhere else)
By Safina Center Conservationist-in-Residence Hob Osterlund
Mōlī (Laysan albatross) near unhatched egg. ©Hob Osterlund
In the first week of February we celebrated news that the worldʻs oldest known wild bird had successfully hatched another chick on Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll). “Wisdom” is a Laysan albatross, or mōlī in Hawaiian.
It hardly seemed possible that a bird who was already breeding when John F, Kennedy was inaugurated could still be raising chicks.
Then came the second week of February, which totally knocked the wind out of the first week.
Suddenly federal employees by the thousands all over the country were being terminated without cause. They were fired via email, accused of being substandard, and barely had enough time to print proof of their employment.
That week the U.S. Forest Service lost more than 3,000 people and the Environmental Protection Agency lost 400. The Interior Department lost 2,300, including workers at national parks. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lost 420.
Stacy Ramsey, US Park Ranger. “I lost my dream job today.” ©Stacy Ramsey
Although these numbers were just the beginning, they were already too much to swallow. Too much to believe, too many lives devastated in an email. Too many imperiled species put at additional risk.
If we look more closely at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) employees in Hawaiʻi—just a tiny percentage of the total number fired—it gets even more personal. As Sheldon Plentovich described on social media, they “just laid off 16 of my colleagues working in species protection, restoration, and conservation—people on the frontlines of keeping our lands, waters, and wildlife thriving. These aren’t desk jobs; these are the folks ensuring our beloved wildlife don't go extinct, that our fisheries remain healthy, and invasive species don’t destroy our food and ecosystems.”
“We are literally watching our democracy slip away from us.”
Springer Fyrberg at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) said “It didn’t matter that they are among the lowest paid and the hardest working people in the federal service, that they give their heart and soul, blood and sweat daily to protect Hawaii’s endangered species, protect vast expanses of forest, cultural resources, to be part of a place that hosts hundreds of bird watchers and volunteers annually. That they live apart from their families week after week, go out into freezing rain and blazing sun, lugging rolls of hogwire or chainsaws or fence posts through the forest. That they were 5 or 6 weeks away from their one-year mark, if you don’t count the year or two of low-paid internships, and years of college they invested in first.”
Katie van Dyk, former bird biologist, Haleakalā National Park. ©Katie van Dyk
Here on Kauaʻi the firings hit even closer to home for residents, including those who typically live well outside the conservation community.
Bryn Webber, a biologist for all three refuges of the Kauaʻi NWR complex, suddenly lost her job on Valentine’s Day. “We are literally watching our democracy slip away from us,” Webber wrote in a Facebook post. “Now is not the time to sit back and ‘wait and see.’ I gave an oath of office on my first day that I would defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. How is this not a domestic enemy?! These billionaires have so much money they have everything they could ever want and more. There Is going to be nothing left of this country by the end of the week. It’s time we stand up, before it’s too late.” Her story soon went national, as did countless others.
Bryn Webber, fired from Kauaʻi USFWS Biologist. ©Bryn Webber
Bryn posted further sentiments. “Words cannot describe the loss we are feeling right now, as a team, as a community, as stewards of this sacred land. Everyone has been asking me what they can do to help; people have been saying I should start a GoFundMe but it's much bigger than that and not about me. Besides calling your representatives in DC, the number one thing you can do is donate to the Friends of Kauai Wildlife Refuges, the incredible non-profit that supports these 3 refuges when we need it the most. Right now, they are working towards putting a fund together that could allow them to hire us as contractors part time so that we can continue our work to protect these habitats and save critically endangered waterbird and seabird species from extinction. They also support the thriving volunteer program and the refuge with funds for necessary equipment and supplies during times with tight budgets.”
“I am particularly concerned about the koloa maoli, or Hawaiian duck, that relies on the team in the field to conduct botulism surveys to prevent and stop outbreaks from getting out of hand,” Bryn said. “We also need a field crew to maintain our predator exclusion fence at Kilauea Point to protect native seabird species such as the mōlī.”
Koloa maoli (Hawaiian duck), population approximately 700. ©Hob Osterlund
“The National Wildlife Refuge System was already grossly underfunded, lacking the staff and operational support needed to preserve our protected lands and provide safe places for our native Hawaiian wildlife to nest, rest, feed and thrive,” said Thomas Daubert, Executive Director of the aforementioned Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges organization, which supported Bryn and her colleagues. “Without this work, their future is in peril. At our Refuge Complex, the action impacted four incredibly dedicated, passionate, hardworking, talented employees who had so much to contribute. And, in fact, these cuts eliminated our entire USFWS Biology team. Imagine a National Wildlife Refuge serving its mission without biologists. That is what we are waking up to today.”
Thomas Daubert, Executive Director, Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges, and Hob Osterlund. ©Margaret Goode
How can you help?
Call or email your federal representatives and make your opinion known. Find any “Friends of ______” group by filling in the name of your favorite national wildlife refuge and then give them your support. They may be among a precious few who have legal access to federal refuges and have means by which some of the gaps can be filled.
There is so much to lose.
Speak up.
Keep speaking up.