Photo: Tetons National Park adjacent to Bureau of Land Management property in Wyoming. Copyright 2006 Delena Norris-Tull
Challenges of Coordination between Federal Agencies
Summary prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, June 2022.
Several Federal Agencies (e.g., USDA, DOI, DOD) deal extensively with land management (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers). They each manage and/or advise on some aspect of public and/or private lands. Any agency involved with management or reclamation of lands must tackle issues related to invasive plant species management. And yet there is no single Agency that ensures coordination and communication between these separate Agencies. This becomes apparent in some of the inconsistencies between policies and practices of those various Agencies.
To make things more challenging, each time that we elect a new US President, that individual has the opportunity to nominate his/her own cabinet-level individuals in charge of each Federal Agency. Thus, the heads of the Agencies exist at the whim of one individual, the President of the United States. And, depending on which political party is in the majority in the US Senate, US Senators can block or facilitate the confirmation of each Presidential appointee.
This capricious and often politically-charged process makes it difficult at times for Federal laws enacted by the US Congress to be carried out consistently, effectively, and efficiently, by the Federal Agencies.
Another issue that my interviews uncovered is the impact that Federal budget cuts periodically have on all Federal Agencies. John Samson, at the Wyoming Department of Transportation, explained how massive budget cuts in the 1980s, during President Clinton’s tenure, caused Federal Agencies to offer retirement incentives that resulted in many Agencies losing a number of long-time employees that carried with them an understanding of processes and laws, and that had long-term relationships with individuals in other Federal Agencies and within States. In particular, John believes that some important knowledge was lost related to the conditions and solutions surrounding the era known as the Dust Bowl.
The recession of 2008 resulted in another era of large Federal budget cuts, again resulting in a loss of knowledgeable employees. And changes in the US Government during the Trump Administration resulted in the loss of many long-time employees in a number of Federal Agencies. Most notably, many scientists in both the EPA and USDA resigned or retired. The likelihood is high that those vacancies will again result in a serious loss of knowledge of what has happened in the past, what research needs to be conducted, etc. In other words, the loss of so many scientists will likely result in a major loss of institutional memory from within those Agencies.
In addition to the Federal Agencies, there are many independent agencies that rely on Federal funding. For example, the US Postal Service (USPS) is an Independent Federal Agency that functions more like a corporate entity than a Federal Agency. And the USPS does have to deal with issues related to noxious weeds/invasive species, due to the many restrictions on shipping those species between States or into or out of the USA.
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Challenges of Coordination between Federal Agencies
Summary prepared by Dr. Delena Norris-Tull, Professor Emerita of Science Education, University of Montana Western, June 2022.
Several Federal Agencies (e.g., USDA, DOI, DOD) deal extensively with land management (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers). They each manage and/or advise on some aspect of public and/or private lands. Any agency involved with management or reclamation of lands must tackle issues related to invasive plant species management. And yet there is no single Agency that ensures coordination and communication between these separate Agencies. This becomes apparent in some of the inconsistencies between policies and practices of those various Agencies.
To make things more challenging, each time that we elect a new US President, that individual has the opportunity to nominate his/her own cabinet-level individuals in charge of each Federal Agency. Thus, the heads of the Agencies exist at the whim of one individual, the President of the United States. And, depending on which political party is in the majority in the US Senate, US Senators can block or facilitate the confirmation of each Presidential appointee.
This capricious and often politically-charged process makes it difficult at times for Federal laws enacted by the US Congress to be carried out consistently, effectively, and efficiently, by the Federal Agencies.
Another issue that my interviews uncovered is the impact that Federal budget cuts periodically have on all Federal Agencies. John Samson, at the Wyoming Department of Transportation, explained how massive budget cuts in the 1980s, during President Clinton’s tenure, caused Federal Agencies to offer retirement incentives that resulted in many Agencies losing a number of long-time employees that carried with them an understanding of processes and laws, and that had long-term relationships with individuals in other Federal Agencies and within States. In particular, John believes that some important knowledge was lost related to the conditions and solutions surrounding the era known as the Dust Bowl.
The recession of 2008 resulted in another era of large Federal budget cuts, again resulting in a loss of knowledgeable employees. And changes in the US Government during the Trump Administration resulted in the loss of many long-time employees in a number of Federal Agencies. Most notably, many scientists in both the EPA and USDA resigned or retired. The likelihood is high that those vacancies will again result in a serious loss of knowledge of what has happened in the past, what research needs to be conducted, etc. In other words, the loss of so many scientists will likely result in a major loss of institutional memory from within those Agencies.
In addition to the Federal Agencies, there are many independent agencies that rely on Federal funding. For example, the US Postal Service (USPS) is an Independent Federal Agency that functions more like a corporate entity than a Federal Agency. And the USPS does have to deal with issues related to noxious weeds/invasive species, due to the many restrictions on shipping those species between States or into or out of the USA.
Previous Sections on Federal Agencies:
Next Section on Federal Agencies:
Related Sections: