Where's a Warden When You Need One?

Or a fisheries biologist, or a forester, for that matter?

Maybe wishing he would have saved himself a lot of hassles and majored in supply chain management like his buddies back in college.

(AP):Wildlife agencies across the country are struggling with a combination of rising retirements and declining interest in their jobs among young people seemingly disconnected from hunting, fishing and rural life.

According to the latest statistics available from the federal Government Accountability Office, by 2007 the Interior Department will lose 61 percent of its program managers, the Environmental Protection Agency will lose 45 percent of its toxicologists, and the Forest Service will lose 49 percent of its foresters and 61 percent of its entomologists at a time when Western forests are being ravaged by bark beetles.

The declines come as natural resource managers are juggling more and frequently conflicting demands, including more wilderness vs. more trails for off-road vehicles and a push for greater gas and oil development vs. the preservation of wildlife habitat.

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Seriously--given a choice between sitting in an office analyzing data on a screen, and writing tickets to drunken, beligerent salmon snaggers or deer poachers, how many would choose the latter? How many people would want a daily piece of this action? Sure, we all crave adventure, but most of us prefer it in non-threatening forms. While teaching English can be a pain, my students are seldom armed and intoxicated, or at least not both at the same time. Busted plagiarists don't throw much at you besides looks of shame and panic.

It's just as troubling to see declining numbers of environmental scientists in public agencies. I suppose changing lifestyles play a role in that, but it's hard to believe the popular antagonism to all-things-government doesn't contribute to the problem too. Jobs that may vanish in the next round of budget cuts aren't that appealing. Nor is having know-nothing legislators scrutinizing and critiquing your work.

My hat is always off to those who care for the outdoors, in any capacity. When I was in high school, I sometimes thought about becoming a fisheries biologist, but it seemed impractical because the placement rate in the field was fairly low. I could work hard for a degree and have no job. So I decided to become a musician.

With that kind of rationality, it's probably just as well I steered clear of the sciences.

Tags: Outdoors; Society