Undated photo of hunters surveying their decoy setup from a blind at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state.
Brent Lawrence / USFWS
The top manager of four national wildlife refuges along the lower Columbia River in Southwest Washington had his last day on the job Friday.
Eric Anderson was the acting project leader for the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge Complex, managing the Steigerwald Lake, Franz Lake, Pierce and Ridgefield national wildlife refuges. He took a buyout this week.
His departure comes as the Trump administration continues to downsize the federal government. While federal layoffs at national parks have received widespread attention amid cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, reductions at national wildlife refuges have gotten less attention.
America’s refuge system protects 850 million acres of federal lands, “the world’s largest network of lands and waters set aside for wildlife conservation,” according to the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
Anderson did not respond to a phone or email interview request, but his departure was confirmed by Jim Maul, the president of the Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
The citizen-led nonprofit provides support for the refuge including grant writing, volunteer coordination and educational curriculum design, according to Maul.
Going forward, he said, it will be difficult for the remaining U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to operate the four conservation sites without a manager.
“Clearly, you remove the experienced leadership from any organization with no plan for transition, that threatens the function of those entities,” Maul said.
The four refuges provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, sites for environmental education, and areas for migratory bird hunting. The 5,300-acre Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1965 to protect habitat for the dusky Canada goose. It also provides habitat for white-tailed deer, Sandhill cranes, and a variety of migratory bird species.
Longer term, Maul said he worries about what staffing reductions could mean for the future of federal lands.
“It does seem like this could be a first step in some kind of a surplusing and reduction and sell-off of federal lands,” he said.