Agency Cuts or Bureaucratic Bloat? Why Conservation Needs a Reset

Last week, I joined Gabriella Hoffman on the District of Conservation podcast to break down the recent cuts to natural resource agencies and why landowners, hunters, and conservationists should take a deep breath before reacting. There’s a lot of misinformation floating around, and while the situation is serious, we encourage folks to let the dust settle before jumping to conclusions.

This week is a dovetail off of the previous WW. After last week’s newsletter, I lost eight subscribers in under an hour—a new personal record! Maybe I should start offering participation trophies to those who stick around.

The Full Picture on Agency Cuts

One of the most significant sources of confusion is the Biden administration’s attempt to transition 1039 seasonal employees into full-time seasonal positions—meaning year-round benefits and retirement—without congressional approval or allocated funding. This move created a funding gap, forcing cuts.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now focuses on cutting waste, fraud, and abuse—something long overdue. If conservation is indeed the goal, these agencies should be self-sustaining through a balanced multiple-use approach.

Instead of relying on unpredictable federal funding, agencies like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management should return to balancing sustainable resource extraction, grazing, and outdoor recreation for all Americans—not just preservationist interests. Even the National Park Service (NPS) could become self-sustaining if they adopted a more business-minded approach, such as charging foreign visitors higher entrance fees instead of continuing their "do-nothing" preservationist dogma.

Another key piece of the puzzle is outsourcing more work to private contractors instead of inflating the federal payroll. When capitalism is allowed to function, markets solve problems far more efficiently than bloated bureaucracies ever will. Instead of pushing for more federal employees, these agencies should contract labor for everything from habitat restoration to infrastructure maintenance, letting the private sector handle the work while reducing the taxpayer burden.

Park Service Employees Have Time to Protest, But Not to Work?

Perhaps the most telling incident was the protest at Yosemite, where National Park Service employees hiked to the top of El Capitan to hang an upside-down American flag in defiance of DOGE’s simple request for a weekly performance review email.

Think about that for a second—these employees found the time to stage a dramatic protest, hiking thousands of feet in elevation to make a statement, but they couldn’t take a few minutes to document what they did at work the prior week? If you’ve got the time to make a political spectacle, you have the time to justify your paycheck.

Listen to the Full Podcast

This discussion on the District of Conservation stemmed from last week’s Whetstone Weekly, which caught Gabby’s attention. I highly recommend checking out the full podcast episode here if you haven't already done so.

Stay informed, and as always, Give Your Property an Edge.

www.whetstonehabitat.com