Testimony in strong support of An Act Concerning the Staffing and Resources of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

At the DEEP, “the Wildlife Division is suffering from the loss of positions from recent retirements.”

Testimony of the Connecticut Audubon Society to the Environment Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly in strong support of SB 924, An Act Concerning the Staffing and Resources of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

March 17, 2021

The Connecticut Audubon Society thanks the Committee and the sponsors of SB 924, An Act Concerning the Staffing and Resources of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for proposing this important resolution and for the opportunity to express our strong conditional support and to offer some additional suggestions.

This proposal will require the preparation of a report by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) that provides an accounting of agency staffing positions paid for from the revenues of the Passport to the Parks account and that assesses the effect of impending agency staff retirements on the viability and efficacy of current and planned agency programs and responsibilities.

We feel that the issue of recent and pending retirement of DEEP employees is a serious problem. Already the Wildlife Division is suffering from the loss of positions from recent retirements for which the positions were not re-filled. The loss of knowledge of the wildlife and habitats of Connecticut from the retirement of experienced staff is also a serious issue.

All of this in a time when there is more demand than ever for questions about wildlife, for human and wildlife interactions and for wildlife associated recreation and education opportunities. There are similar concerns in other divisions of DEEP including fisheries, parks, forestry and others.

Analysis of the Passport to the Parks program will likely however provide little insight into the problem of recent and pending retirements. This program is essential for many aspects of the proper management of public lands in Connecticut, but many of the positions it funds are seasonal or temporary in nature.

We strongly recommend a more in-depth look at the effect of impending (and recent) agency staff retirements on the viability and efficacy of current and planned agency programs and responsibilities.

It is critical that there be a look-back in this analysis to measure the impact that retirements in the past decade have already had. Further, it is important that this is not an unfunded mandate. If the agency must conduct this analysis, adequate funding and resources must be provided to accomplish it.

Healthy habitats and functional wild spaces are good for the quality of life we have come to enjoy in Connecticut and it is a great investment to ensure thoughtful stewardship of our environmental resources. More and more Connecticut residents are coming to appreciate the nature of Connecticut, creating more and more pressure on an agency with reduced capacity to properly manage and steward the environment, land and species for which they are responsible.

In addition to the importance of natural resources to our quality of life, they directly benefit the economy through sustainable industries including the outdoor recreation industry, which provides billions of dollars of economic benefit to the state each year, nearly $1B of which is from non-consumptive wildlife associated recreation alone. Investment in the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection makes sense for so many reasons.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on this important matter.

Patrick M. Comins, Executive Director