{"id":2187013,"date":"2025-06-03T06:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2187013"},"modified":"2025-05-31T10:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T09:01:13","slug":"trump-officials-plan-to-destroy-a-critical-government-program-they-probably-know-nothing-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/trump-officials-plan-to-destroy-a-critical-government-program-they-probably-know-nothing-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials plan to destroy a critical government program they probably know nothing about"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly two decades ago, scientists made an alarming discovery in upstate New York: Bats, the world\u2019s only flying mammal, were becoming infected with a new, deadly fungal disease that, in some cases, could wipe out an entire colony in a matter of months.<\/p>\n

Since then, the disease \u2014 later called white-nose syndrome \u2014 has spread across much of the country, utterly decimating North American bats that hibernate in caves and killing over 90 percent of three bat species. According to some scientists, WNS has caused \u201cthe most precipitous wildlife decline in the past century in North America.\u201d<\/p>\n

These declines have clear consequences for human populations \u2014 for you, even if you don\u2019t like bats or visit caves.<\/p>\n

Bats eat insect pests, such as moths and beetles. And as they decline, farmers need to spray more pesticides. Scientists have linked the loss of bats in the US to an increase in insecticide use on farmland and, remarkably, to a rise in infant deaths. Insecticide chemicals are known to harm the health of newborns.<\/p>\n

The only reason we know any of this is because of a somewhat obscure government program in the US Geological Survey (USGS), an agency nested within the Interior Department. That program, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area, is the biological research division of Interior. Among other functions, it monitors environmental contaminants, the spread of invasive species, and the health of the nation\u2019s wildlife, including bees, birds, and bats.<\/p>\n

The Ecosystems Mission Area, which has around 1,200 employees, produces the premier science revealing how animals and ecosystems that Americans rely on are changing and what we can do to keep them intact \u2014 or risk our own health and economy.<\/p>\n

This program is now at an imminent risk of disappearing.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has asked Congress to slash USGS funding by $564 million in its preliminary 2026 budget request. And while the proposal doesn\u2019t specify cuts to Ecosystems Mission Area, an email obtained by Vox indicates that his administration had proposed eliminating funding for the program. (The email was originally reported by Science.) Such cuts are also in line with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation\u2019s conservative policy roadmap, which calls for the government to \u201cabolish\u201d Interior\u2019s Biological Resources Division, an outdated name for the Ecosystems Mission Area.<\/p>\n

USGS has requested that the White House maintain at least some funding for the program, according to a current senior Interior Department employee with knowledge of the Ecosystems Mission Area. Whether or not Trump officials heed that request will be made clear when the White House releases a more detailed budget proposal in the coming days. The employee spoke to Vox on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk with the press.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is also reportedly trying to fire government employees in the Ecosystems Mission Area, though a federal judge has so far blocked those efforts.<\/p>\n

Eliminating biological research is not good. In fact, it\u2019s very bad.<\/p>\n

For a decade now, EMA\u2019s North American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat, has been gathering and analyzing data on bats and the threats they face. NABat produces research using data from hundreds of partner organizations showing not only how white-nose syndrome is spreading \u2014 which scientists are using to develop and deploy vaccines \u2014 but also how bats are affected by wind turbines, another known threat.<\/p>\n

Energy companies can and do use this research to develop safer technologies and avoid delays caused by wildlife regulations, such as the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n

The irony, another Interior Department employee told me, is that NABat makes wildlife management more efficient. It also helps reveal where declines are occurring before they become severe, potentially helping avoid the need to grant certain species federal protection \u2014 something the Trump administration would seem to want. The employee, who\u2019s familiar with Interior\u2019s bat-monitoring efforts, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\"A
A northern long-eared bat with white-nose syndrome. Steve Taylor\/University of Illinois<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A dead bat infected with white-nose syndrome under UV light. USGS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf they want to create efficiencies in the government, they should ask us,\u201d yet another Interior employee told Vox. \u201cThe damage that can be done by one administration takes decades to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to a request for comment, an Interior Department spokesperson told Vox that \u201cUSGS remains committed to its congressional mandate as the science arm of the Department of the Interior.\u201d The White House did not respond to a request for comment. In a Senate appropriations hearing last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum refused to commit to maintaining funding for EMA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question that they don\u2019t know what EMA does,\u201d said the senior Interior employee.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s not clear why the administration has targeted Interior\u2019s biological research. EMA does, however, do climate science, such as studying how plants and animals are responding to rising temperatures. That\u2019s apparently a no-go for the Trump administration. It also gathers information that sometimes indicates that certain species need federal protections, which come with regulations (also a no-go for President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s especially frustrating for environmental advocates is that NABat, now 10 years old, is starting to hit its stride.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of this very successful program that started from scratch and built this robust, vibrant community of people all collecting data,\u201d said Winifred Frick, the chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, an environmental group. \u201cWe have 10 years of momentum, and so to cut it off now sort of wastes all that investment. That feels like a tremendous loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the cost of maintaining the program is less than 1 percent of Interior\u2019s overall budget.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s wildlife monitoring programs are \u201cjewels of the country,\u201d said Hollis Woodard, an associate professor of entomology at University of California Riverside who works with USGS on bee monitoring. \u201cThese birds and bats perform services for us that are important for our day-to-day lives. Literally everything I value, including food, comes down to keeping an eye on these populations. The idea that we\u2019re just going to wipe them out is just terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> by Benji Jones was first published by Vox on 29 May 2025. Lead Image: White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease, has caused massive declines in a handful of bat species, including the tricolored bat, shown here in flight. J. Scott Altenbach\/Bat Conservation International.
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Wildlife in catastrophic decline<\/h2>\n

The 73% decline in vertebrate wildlife populations during the last 50 years (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish), is primarily driven by human activities that threaten biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Habitat Loss and Degradation<\/em> – human activities like deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture have led to the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, reducing the space and resources available for wildlife.<\/p>\n

Pollution<\/em> – air, water, and soil pollution from industrial activities, agriculture, and other sources can harm wildlife directly or indirectly by affecting their habitats and food sources.<\/p>\n

Climate Change<\/em> – changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and sea levels are disrupting ecosystems and impacting species’ ability to adapt and survive.<\/p>\n

Overexploitation of Resources<\/em> – unsustainable hunting, fishing, and logging practices can lead to the depletion of populations and the loss of biodiversity.<\/p>\n

Invasive Species<\/em> – the introduction of non-native species can disrupt ecosystems, compete with native species, and threaten their survival.<\/p>\n