The staff of Seney National Wildlife Refuge is down in numbers.

SENEY -- A new report released to Congress finds our nation's 548 National Wildlife Refuges are vastly underfunded.  This is leading to understaffed facilities, closings, and hundreds of layoffs; and the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the Eastern U.P is feeling the pinch.

Over the last five years, refuges across the country have had to tighten their budgets due to governmental underfunding.  The National Wildlife Refuge System usually requires a minimum of $765 million to operate annually.  However, the system is currently receiving only $434 million.

"What the refuge system has had to do," said Seney Refuge Manager Tracy Casselman, "since the costs have gone up and funding has stayed the same or gone down is we've had to reduce positions in this region.  Region 3 has decided to reduce positions based on attrition.  So when someone retires, they don't refill the position.  That's how they save the money."

Casselman says staffing at Seney is down 20 percent--meaning cuts have to be made.  A water control structure has been up for repairs since 2003, but non-essential maintenance at the facility is backlogged.  Another area being cut is public education.  Casselman says in the last three years, all environmental classroom programs offered by the refuge have been cut.

Despite these limitations, officials say maintaining wildlife habitat is still their top priority.

"National Wildlife Refuges," Casselman said, "are managed for wildlife first, and that's always our priority.  That's the last thing we'd ever cut back; at least here in Seney, we haven't been cut bare bones enough to where it's had much of an impact on wildlife."

A national non-profit organization is currently lobbying Congress for an increase in wildlife funding.