Surveying the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientist Voices under President Biden

A 2022 survey of 225 US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) scientists indicates a positive shift in scientific integrity and leadership support compared to previous administrations, though concerns remain regarding workforce diversity and high workloads.

• A majority of surveyed FWS scientists reported feeling supported by their supervisors and the agency, particularly during the pandemic and when presenting politically contentious positions. Specifically, 166 out of 219 scientists felt supervisor support for contentious positions, and 176 out of 210 felt supported by the agency during the pandemic.
• There has been a significant decrease in the diversion of resources away from politically contentious offices compared to the Trump administration; only 21 out of 205 scientists reported this occurring in 2022, whereas 190 out of 358 reported it during the previous administration.
• FWS scientists expressed a perceived lack of diversity within the agency's scientific workforce, with 111 out of 210 respondents stating the workforce did not reflect the country's diversity.
• While scientific integrity and evidence-based decisionmaking are viewed more positively than in the two prior administrations, some scientists report that high statutory and regulatory workloads hinder proactive, science-driven conservation work.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2023). Surveying the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientist Voices under President Biden. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_FWS_final.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Surveying the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientist Voices under President Biden. 2023. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_FWS_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Surveying the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientist Voices under President Biden |date=February 2023 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_FWS_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2023surveying, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Surveying the US Fish and Wildlife Service Scientist Voices under President Biden}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/fed%20sci%20survey%202023_FWS_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }