Shutdown Delays and Disrupts Environmental Studies, Including on the Farallones

A baleen whale breaches in the Gulf of the Farallones, a rich sanctuary for wildlife. (Jeremy Winn/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel ordinarily would help with such problems. But they haven't been around since the partial federal government shutdown began a month ago, forcing researchers with the nonprofit Point Blue Conservation Science to rely on volunteers to haul bottled water and 5-gallon jugs of diesel to the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 miles from San Francisco.


"We've found some creative solutions, but things will get more strained the longer the shutdown is continued," said Pete Warzybok, a marine ecologist with Point Blue.






Scientists with a constant presence on the Farallones since 1968 might have to leave if their agreement with the government isn't renewed by the end of March. Besides opening a gap in decades of data collection, their absence would leave the islands and their wildlife defenseless to trespassers.

"It would mean that there would be no stewards present on the island, so the island would be completely empty, leaving it vulnerable to disturbance for people coming on the island illegally," said Warzybok.

Three Western Gull chicks, just days old, share their new nest in the Southeast Farallon Islands. (RJ Roush/Point Blue Conservation Science)



If the government doesn't reopen soon, "it could really mess us up," said Bootsma, of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.


The seven-week mission isn't dead yet, but prospects fade daily.

The loss of a season's worth of data would be "devastating," said Rolf Peterson of Michigan Technological University, the co-leader. "Continuity is what's at the core of a lot of observational science, especially long-term projects. At some point, the loss of continuity degrades the integrity and value of the work itself. And there are things that don't come around a second time."

The USFWS Kodiak seaplane arrives on Isle Royale in Lake Superior carrying the fourth relocated wolf on October 14, 2018. (Jim Peaco/National Park Service)

The timing is particularly bad because the park recently began a multiyear effort to replenish its wolf population, which had fallen to two. Four were flown to Isle Royale from the mainland last fall — one later died — and researchers planned to relocate several others this winter. Peterson's group also wants to dart 20 moose and fit them with radio collars to gauge their reaction to the arriving wolves.

The female wolf is shown looking at a remote camera shortly before leaving her crate upon relocation to Isle Royale. (Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service)

"Both of these projects, while partially supported by other funds, require National Park Service personnel and facilities to operate," agency spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet said. "Until there is an approved funding source to support those functions, both operations are suspended."

Also at risk are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's aerial surveys of endangered Mexican gray wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, which usually happen in late January and early February.

A California mission to gather data on fish and study how climate change is affecting oceans, which began 70 years ago, also is in limbo. A research ship was reserved for this winter's operation, carried out by a federal, state and university partnership. But because it's owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the San Diego-based vessel is off-limits until the shutdown ends. No suitable replacement is available, said program director Brice Semmens.

Data gaps from a lost mission would be harmful because "the ocean is changing so rapidly now," he said. "We need to understand how these changes are going to affect populations we care about, like shellfish or Dungeness crab."

A juvenile Dungeness crab scuttles in the waters of Monterey Harbor. (Steve Lonhart/NOAA MBNMS)

The shutdown is also taking a toll on the next generation of environmental researchers.

Federal scientists teach and monitor graduate students' projects at universities nationwide. Now, the schools may cancel some courses and students are worrying about graduating on time.

Three experts with the U.S. Geological Survey teach in the wildlife and fisheries program at the University of Georgia, where a statistical modeling class was scratched because the government instructor isn't allowed to work, biology professor John Maerz said.

"We depend on them being there; we build our curriculum and projects around them," Maerz said. "You can't replace that expertise."

Many students are struggling to do research with federal laboratories and other facilities shuttered. Professors are hesitating to accept another class of graduate students because they don't know whether they'll get federal grants to pay the newcomers and fund their work.

"I applied for a bunch of grants last year and am waiting to see if I'll get funding so I can determine whether to admit a grad student and if so, how many," said Andrew Dessler, an atmospheric scientist at Texas A&M. "The way things are going, I may not take any."
