Government Budget Cuts Might Bring the End of Bird Banding—Here's Why That's Important

In a divisive bill passed by President Donald Trump on July 4, “The Big, Beautiful Bill” introduced a multitude of things like no tax on overtime up to $12,500, a more secure border, lowering energy costs and a myriad of other legislative items.

Among those items passed are more budget cuts and layoffs approved by the President on July 8. One such cut that affects waterfowl hunters are more slashes among government funding. One such cut is to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.

The Bird Banding Lab (BBL) has banded over 79 million birds since the early 1900s, and uses that data to track migration routes, bird harvest numbers, sex and age of birds, as well as weight and monitors the overall health of not only ducks and geese, but other birds like eagles, owls, shorebirds, and many other species of fowl.

“For 105 years, a small team of biologists near Washington, D.C., has honed and supported the single most foundational tool of avian science: crimping metal ID bands around birds’ legs to track where they turn up. Simple as it sounds, banding and the data collection that comes with it have revealed vital insights into how birds behave, which habitats they most depend on, and how their populations are faring. ‘Banding is the essential key to all the research I do, and that a lot of ornithologists do across North America,’ says José Ramírez-Garofalo, a New York City-based ecologist and vice chair of the Ornithological Council representing bird researchers.

But the Bird Banding Lab, a program of the U.S. Geological Survey’s biological research arm, may not survive to reach 106. The Trump administration has ordered massive “reduction in force” layoffs that could fire all or most of its staff, and has asked Congress to approve sweeping cuts that would erase the lab’s budget. If implemented, either move could soon close the lab outright.” (Source: audubon.org)

While many waterfowlers seem not to be worried about this cut in funding, others, like Rusty Creasy and Ramsey Russell, have begun speaking out about the damage that this could do to the future of waterfowl hunting. One avid duck hunter and lobbyist close to the situation who works in D.C. on matters like this says, “Waterfowlers need to realize banding is still a valuable source of information that allows the USFWS to gain information needed to know how to set bag limits, how to monitor bird numbers, and how to know when certain species of ducks and geese are being threatened by over-harvest or any other number of possible threats. Bands are vital to knowing how to properly allow hunters to chase ducks.”

In a New York Times article that featured quotes from Rusty Creasy and Ramsey Russell, it was highlighted that the loss of bird banding would be a detriment to ducks and duck hunters.

“At a moment when bird populations are declining globally, banding is essential for conserving species and tracking population changes over time. It is also integral in setting regulations and limits for waterfowl hunting. Indeed, no group reports more bird bands—or prizes them more—than hunters” writes author Alexa Robles-Gil.

Robles-Gil goes on to later state:

“Mark Lindberg, a wildlife biologist who worked for the University of Alaska Fairbanks for 20 years, said that the cuts would have a lasting effect. ‘We’re going to go from being the most refined waterfowl harvest management system in the world—no comparison—to one of the least informed,’ he said. Dr. Lindberg is also a hunter.” (Source: New York Times.)

This isn’t the first hit that has affected the USGS or the BBL. In May, following an executive order from President Trump, the USGS planned to start firing up to 80 percent of staff, which included team members of the banding lab.

Though many waterfowlers might not see the immediate impacts of the loss of banding, it should be noted that the long-term loss of data and information that bird banding provides could prove to have an extremely negative impact on the sport of duck and goose hunting.

In our Conservation Corner column published in WILDFOWL Magazine, many of the USFWS biologists that are interviewed refer to bird banding data as a crucial element in how bag limits and season dates are set. The loss of this information could have a negative impact on both hunter and bird alike.

This is an ongoing situation, and WILDFOWL will keep readers up to date as more information becomes available.

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