U.S. Fish and Wildlife Office in Hadley Faces Closure

Last month, a government whistleblower revealed that the Department of Interior planned on closing 164 federal offices nationwide, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Regional Headquarters in Hadley. The office is set to close on Aug. 31. Thirty-six probationary employees at the office have already been let go from the department.

The office’s proposed closure has drawn the ire of politicians whose districts include Hadley, including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D), who called the proposed closure a “dumb move by the Trump Administration.”

McGovern, who said he was not consulted about the decision, characterized the proposed closure as poorly thought out.

“I think this is part of their plan to basically try to eliminate government. This was not done in a thoughtful way. There were no hearings, there were no consultations. There’s really no rationale provided for why they’re doing this. This is just thoughtless cutting for the sake of cutting,” he said in an interview with The Student.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, a government agency within the Department of the Interior, works to “conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people,” according to its mission statement.

The estimated 200 federal workers at the office in Hadley are responsible for overseeing wildlife refuges and protecting endangered species in 13 states ranging from Maine to Virginia.

McGovern emphasized the importance of the work done in the Hadley office. “These are incredibly dedicated employees who have given their lives to protecting our environment,” he said. “The wildlife service protects things like the New England trail, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Appalachian Trail, and the Conte Watershed and Refuge — these are all things in our area that this office and the incredible team focus on,” he added.

Spokespeople for the Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond to a request for comment.

Senator Jo Comerford (D), a Massachusetts state senator whose district also includes Hadley, shared a similar sentiment as McGovern in an email to The Student. “The havoc at the federal level is causing real pain and upheaval, as essential work and services are eliminated abruptly with no due consideration. I worry for my constituents who are affected. My team and I will work with state and federal colleagues to support our constituents in every way we can," she wrote.

McGovern tied the office’s proposed closure to the other federal cuts announced over the past few months, namely at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Social Security Administration.

“This attack is just not [sic] on Fish and Wildlife — it's on everything government-related,” McGovern said. “They should be forced to justify these closures, and they should be forced to tell us what the impact will be on our states and on our country, but right now, they've offered nothing,” he added.

In addition to calling for “reports to Congress” about the cuts, McGovern claimed he is currently attempting to block the government cuts. In addition to his fight against the closure of the Fish and Wildlife office, he highlighted the Honor Farmer Contracts Act of 2025, a bill he recently introduced with Senator Cory Booker aimed at stopping the USDA office closures.

McGovern added that he is attempting to craft similar legislation with other congressional colleagues, including a bill with US Rep. Jared Huffman “on basically protecting our federal employees.”

While he remains committed to slowing down the federal budget cuts, McGovern emphasized the challenges of the process. “Time is not necessarily on our side, because this administration is moving to dismantle things rapidly. When you don't renew a lease and when you shut down a building, it’s just hard to bring people back, right? ” he said.

McGovern added that dealing with a Republican-controlled Congress is another hurdle. “We're not in charge of Congress, so we can't schedule things,” he said.

Resistance to the cuts has also been seen at the local level. Last week, a protest was held in Hadley in response to the firing of the office’s probationary employees. According to coverage of the event by local NBC affiliate WWLP, the event drew dozens of protestors who expressed concern over the future of the Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as the effects of the cuts on federal employees.

Additionally, according to McGovern, unions for the employees are suing the federal government over the closures. “Their unions are suing and I support that,” he said. “We hope that they’ll win.”

McGovern admitted that if the proposed closure of the Hadley office is not blocked, he is unsure how the estimated 200 employees in the office will be affected.

“It really is quite sad that good, decent, patriotic citizens are being treated like shit,” he said. “This is not the way we should be treating our public servants. These people work hard, they do good work, and they deserve a hell of a lot better than what they’re getting from [President Donald] Trump.”