76 Employees Of Fish And Wildlife Department Laid Off

A $21 million reduction in state and other funding over the next two years will require the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to lay off 76 employees and cut some public services, said Joe Stohr of WDFW.

The layoffs, along with elimination of dozens of vacant positions, will be effective at the close of the current fiscal year June 30, Stohr said.

Reductions in staff we done to preserve core department missions of conserving fish and wildlife, providing sustainable fishing, hunting and wildlife-viewing opportunities and maintaining field operations, Stohr said.

Despite those efforts, there will be reductions in basic services, he said.

Hatchery fish production, wildlife species recovery activities, technical assistance for habitat protection, wildlife area maintenance, fish and wildlife population monitoring, customer service and outreach and education are among the activities that will be reduced under the new budget.

Several new bills are expected to generate new revenues for the department.

More information about impending budget reductions at WDFW is available on the department’s Web site at http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/budget/