From USBR Albuquerque office chief Jennifer Faler’s report to the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board yesterday (Monday, July 14, 2025).
The USBR Albuquerque office has, on paper, a full staffing contingent of 200 FTEs. That’s on paper. Operationally, the actual levels in the past generally hovered around 175.
Current staffing level sits at 117 “and counting,” by which Faler seemed to mean “counting down,” thanks to a hiring freeze – the Bureau’s not able to replace people as they leave. We should expect this to settle around 100 in the next few years.
Staffing holes mean some projects simply can’t move forward.
Work on the Lower San Acacia Reach Project has slowed, but NEPA analysis for that project (critical to getting water through the desiccated mess at the upstream end of Elephant Butte) is basically wrapped up, and Faler said construction will start in the next year or so.
Sadly it seems that the Administration support for BOR is trending to lower staff levels agency wide. The loss of critical managers and decision-makers will result in delays in process. The loss of institutional knowledge is considerable especially in the area offices and in the Denver Technical Service Center. My hope is that one the nominated Commissioner gets confirmed he can get the support necessary to stabilize the loss of staff and develop a workable strategy to fill the technical and administrative gaps in leadership and technical support.
Staffing issues within BoR was covered in an earlier thread you had several months ago as I recall. Nothing has changed since then. Prior to this present administration, recruitment and retention within the BoR was an issue. Part of the issue was when people retired, the HR department would either abolish the position or reduce the pay grade level for the replacement employee. The catch phrase used by the managers was ‘Right Sizing’ when abolishing a FTE position. Of course recruitment becomes an issue.
The other mindset was to consolidate redundant services. What was once done by a field office employee is now handled by someone at the Regional Office or by Denver’s TSC. Honestly I think that this wasn’t a Reclamation only thing but was instituted within the Federal workforce as policy.
As bad as this affects the core mission, it’s the way things are.
I’m hoping that there won’t be any further involuntary separations, but with a mysterious and looming reduction in force, that is always possible. The continued extension of the hiring freeze is also making things more challenging, as BOR isn’t able to fulfil the Musk standard of “one new hire for every four that left.” It also largely prevents internal maneuvering to shift people around to fill the more essential roles that sit vacant.