 WEST
NILE WATCH — Ward Stone, PEF member and state
wildlife pathologist, checks to see whether West Nile
Virus caused the death of a Great Blue Heron found near
the Albany International Airport in October as part of
the state's ongoing West Nile Virus surveillance. —
Photo by Deborah A. Miles
Low
staffing hinders research, services
State wildlife pathologist battles for funding
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Concerned about protecting the environment and the public
during a time when diseases and pollutants are on the
upswing, state wildlife pathologist and PEF member Ward
Stone is facing a financial roadblock, one that is
shrinking his staff and stalling research.
Without enough money to retain his crew, the paperwork
isn’t the only thing piling up at the Wildlife
Resources Center. There are also dozens of plastic bags
containing dead animals and birds inside and outside the
necropsy lab, all tagged and waiting to be examined.
Stone works with one secretary and two biologists. Three
of the five technicians — all seasonal employees
— faced layoff at the end of November.
“We have many things to do, and it’s
frustrating because without a full staff everything
won’t get done,” he said.
Staffing
problems everywhere
PEF Secretary-Treasurer Jane Hallum said along with the
state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC),
short-staffing at other agencies such as the Division of
Parole and Office of Mental Health creates a dangerous
situation.
“The PEF membership knows this is unacceptable and
the union has a solution,” Hallum wrote in a letter
to The Times Union in November. “PEF has identified
hundreds of millions of dollars that could be saved. If
the state would stop wasting money on overpriced
consultants, there would be more funds to enable Ward
Stone and PEF members across the state to do the
important work of protecting and caring for New
Yorkers.”
Mike Keenan, PEF’s DEC Executive Board
representative, is also concerned about short-staffing, a
problem affecting dozens of divisions in his agency.
“Over the last year, we’ve lost more than 400
positions,” Keenan said. “Since Pataki became
governor, we’ve lost 1,000, and every program in the
department is short-staffed.”
CHECKING FOR
CRIME CLUES — Kevin Hynes, PEF member and one of
only two biologists at the Wildlife Resources Center in
Delmar, collects evidence from a dead bear to help solve
a forensics case. There are hundreds of cases on hold due
to a lack of staff. — Photo by Deborah A. Miles
No funds, no research
Stone said there was no funding this fiscal year for
toxicology studies, leaving him with more than 1,500
backlogged cases involving pesticides and metals as the
potential cause of death in wildlife.
“It puts me in a terrible spot because people are
calling to get results and I can’t run them down
definitively when there’s no money to order the
tests you need,” he said.
And the lack of funds has put a crimp into his studies on
type E botulism stemming from the Great Lakes and the
West Nile Virus.
Stone, who’s seen thousands of cases of West Nile,
said it needs further research. His staff examined more
than 1,400 dead birds that tested positive this year, an
increase of almost 200 from last year. “It’s
killing people in New York and across the country,”
he said.
The lab, devoted to forensics and some pollution issues,
has also become a watchdog for public health. The mass
movement of people, goods and animals from around the
world, such as exotic birds and aquarium life, heightens
the potential for new viruses and bioterrorism threats.
Services for
society
Stone also said Americans are adding more wildlife into
food products and medicines, so it is vital to continue
and expand studies.
Forensics is another area affected by the financial
crunch. According to Stone, hundreds of legal cases are
on hold due to the lack of staff. Some of these cases
involve thorough investigation of dead animals when
criminal behavior is apparent.
“Wildlife pathology is a highly specialized field,
and you need to provide society with these
services,” Stone said. “The Division of Fish,
Wildlife and Marine Resources needs an overhaul in
leadership, funding and dealing with the public. This is
critical because the problems range from whitetail deer
and bear all the way down to butterflies.”
Grateful for
support
Stone, known for his outspoken concern for the greater
environment, said PEF has always helped him in his
crusades as the state wildlife pathologist.
“I haven’t had an upgrade in 30 years and was
told I’ll never get any higher. I don’t care
about that,” he said. “I would have been
knocked off a long time ago if it weren’t for
PEF.”
Stone also praised DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty for her
ongoing support and a new $180,000 necropsy lab, unveiled
in July.
“The commissioner does not plan to see this place go
down the tubes,” he said. “She has tremendous
limitations with the budget, and it’s difficult to
meet the needs for wildlife when there is a budget
crises.”
Getting the word
out
“I’m trying to establish that there is a need
for what this unit does and that it should be better
funded,” he said.
Stone is hoping media exposure and giving lectures to
pro-environment groups such as the Audubon Society will
help spotlight the need for increased staff and get some
funding earmarked for his unit.
To function at an optimal level, Stone recommends five
permanent technicians, two more secretaries to whittle
down the paperwork, and another wildlife pathologist. The
price tag for those additions would be around $235,000.
“That figure is the minimum in order to maintain the
unit in an adequate operating style,” Stone said.
“If we don’t have that, we won’t be able
to monitor and diagnose rabies, West Nile, chronic
wasting disease, lyme disease and others.
“We first discovered West Nile in crows in
1999,” he said. “What’s most important is
our unit may be the first to see a new disease that takes
hold on wildlife and spreads to people. We need funding
to do that.”
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