Threats and actual assaults against federal employees involved in land management increased substantially last year, especially among those working in rangelands and national forests, according to figures compiled and released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
“Security is a rising concern for scientists and other specialists working in the remote Western outposts. Higher law enforcement costs are cannibalizing already thin refuge budgets; meaning that some refuges are effectively closed to better protect others,” the group said in a statement.
Threats and attacks against Forest Service employees rose from 97 to 155, while at the Bureau of Land Management the increase was from 15 to 28.
Agencies including the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the National Park Service reported small increases, although the U.S. Park Police, which primarily operates on federal lands in and around Washington, D.C. saw a drop from 120 to 49 incidents, while the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service experienced a decrease from 18 to 16.
The group collects the data through FOIA requests; the government no longer publishes an official compilation.
