Once considered a conservation success, the eastern North Pacific gray whale population has fallen in the past decade. It peaked at an estimated 27,000 whales in 2016, but fell to roughly 13,000 by 2025, the lowest estimate since the 1970s.

Scientists from around the world met last week at a symposium in Newport to discuss the future of the whale, tying the decline at least in part to warming temperatures in the Bering Sea which have reduced the food supply for the migrating whale.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife went from nearly 10,000 staffers in 2024 to just over 6,300 today, according to federal data obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The number of Fish and Wildlife employees in Oregon is down 40% since 2024, from 434 full, part-time and seasonal staff in 2024 to 257 as of this year.

Read the full story from the Oregon Capitol Chronicle…