The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has lost 500 positions over roughly two decades, leading to slower permitting times and loss of capacity for habitat management. The head of the agency’s board called the decline a “slow, insidious loss of resources.”

According to Chairman Bill Smith, steady loss of positions combined with inflation means less work being done to protect natural resources and the environment.

“The department is nothing more than a steward that takes care of your resources, your access to the outdoors, your health and welfare,” Smith said. “It’s being affected by this gradual and slow, insidious loss of resources. In very simple terms, every biennial budget, you are losing production (and) you’re losing work.” 

Under the current state budget, the DNR is down 500 positions since the beginning of the 2003-05 biennium when it had nearly 2,975 positions, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

The DNR is authorized to spend more than $1.25 billion under its budget. At the end of the current biennium in 2027, the agency will have nearly 2,474 full-time equivalent employees. That’s the lowest number of authorized positions at the agency since 1981.