North Dakota wildlife research center facing job cuts

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — A federally funded wildlife research center in North Dakota has been targeted for layoffs, putting its survival in question.

The Interior Department plans to cut 28 of the 40 positions at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, a court document indicates.

John Bradley, executive director of the North Dakota Wildlife Federation, and Gary Krapu, a retired researcher who still has an office at the research center, said only 29 positions are currently filled.

“Twenty-eight of those are on the chopping block,” Bradley said.

The cuts would be part of more than 2,000 Interior Department layoffs nationwide, though a court ruling has stalled the plan. The department announced Monday it will pause the layoffs after a federal judge expanded a temporary restraining order.

The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center first opened in 1965, focusing on migratory waterfowl. It has expanded into areas such as managing grasslands, wolf recovery and saving pollinators.

David Steele serves on the City Council in Jamestown, where he also taught science and has gotten to know the researchers whose work has had international reach.

“The collaboration that has taken place over all these years, and then just throw it all out the window — that’s a huge loss, not only to our community, but to our country,” Steele said Tuesday.

The center is based in Jamestown but conducts research across the northern Great Plains with outposts in St. Paul and Ely, Minnesota; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Steele said he hopes the center can stay open, but the job cuts will be hard on Jamestown, with spouses and families likely leaving along with researchers.

“That kind of economic impact for our community would be a jolt,” he said. “Apparently, science isn’t important anymore.”

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center at Jamestown, North Dakota. (Photo by U.S. Geological Survey)

The Jamestown City Council passed a resolution of support for the research center this summer after a budget cut was recommended in May by the Trump administration.

An email response from Robert Gleason, director of the wildlife research center, said he is prohibited from working during the federal government shutdown, including returning phone calls and emails.

The center is part of the U.S. Geological Survey, which falls under the Department of the Interior.

Krapu has been working voluntarily since his retirement in 2012. His hope is that a core group of scientists could keep the center going.

“It would be a huge loss for anyone with an interest in birds or hunting or farm conservation,” Krapu said.

Duck hunting season is open in North Dakota, with research from the center helping contribute to regulations and preserving habitat.

“For the hunter that is chasing ducks right now, the research center has helped them, whether they know it or not,” Bradley said.

Reach Deputy Editor Jeff Beach at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com.