PEER Chapters - Refuge Keeper

PEER's first national chapter, serving employees of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) within the National Wildlife Refuge System, officially opened for business in the Spring of 1999.

Refuge Keeper is headed by Gene Hocutt, a long-time FWS Refuge Manager who during his 29 year career served on five refuges in four Regions, on both coastal and inland units across the country. Gene, who holds advanced degrees in zoology and education, also served as a Supervisor of Conservation Education for the State of Maine.

Refuge Keeper is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the integrity and independence of the more than 500 National Wildlife Refuges and their dedicated staffs. The purpose is to assist employees who are dealing with natural resource-related conflicts, including conflicts with their own Regional Offices or chain of command. Backed by the entire PEER organization, Refuge Keeper provides legal representation, congressional advocacy and campaign planning when needed by FWS refuge and law enforcement professionals. As chief "refuge keeper" for PEER, Gene is on hand to counsel refuge employees and advocate on their concerns.

"We are advocates not only for the resource but also for the people who are protecting the resource," says Gene. "I have been on the front lines of battles to ban or block incompatible activities on refuges and I know what it takes in order to prevail. I want to share that experience with my former colleagues."

Gene Hocutt
P.O. Box 359
Aurora, New York 13026
Phone: (315) 364-7495
Email: refugekeeper[at]peer.org

Following are PEER news releases, white papers, surveys and other activities for Refuge Keeper:

News Releases for Refuge Keeper
March 1, 2010  LAWSUIT FILED TO BAR GE CROPS FROM NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — Delaware’s Bombay Hook Lacks Required Environmental Review and Justification

February 24, 2010  CALL FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW OF BISON RANGE OPERATIONS — Documents Show Poaching, Policing, Pesticide and Financial Problems on Refuge

February 18, 2010  BISON KILLED IN ANNUAL BISON RANGE ROUNDUP — Tribal Workers’ Inability to Ride Horses Causes Safety and Management Headaches

June 18, 2009  AMERICA'S TEN MOST IMPERILED WILDLIFE REFUGES — Climate Change and Coping with Climate Change Challenge Nature Sanctuaries

May 11, 2009  HIGHWAY AGENCY BREAKING FEDERAL LAWS ON DELAWARE REFUGE — DelDOT Committing Criminal Wildlife Offenses in Refuge Road Construction

March 24, 2009  LAWSUIT ENDS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS ON WILDLIFE REFUGE — Ruling on Delaware’s Prime Hook May Affect Farming on Scores of Other Refuges

December 8, 2008   LAWSUIT TO BLOCK TRIBAL TAKEOVER OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE — Bison Range Deal Cedes “Inherently Federal” Functions and Bars Public Oversight

July 10, 2008  FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE HIDING INFLUENCE OF REFUGE DRILLER — Federal Court Asked to Force Government to Release Records

May 22, 2008  AMERICA’S TEN MOST IMPERILED WILDLIFE REFUGES — Threatened by Oil Drilling, Mining, Roads, ORV Use and, Above All – Politics

April 29, 2008  ARIZONA GAME AGENCY SCAPEGOATS COUGARS FOR BIGHORN TRAVAILS — Agency Engages in “Biological McCarthyism” by Targeting Puma as Bighorn Gain

April 21, 2008  ARIZONA’S KOFA REFUGE COUGARS GET ONE-YEAR REPRIEVE — Government Halts “Lethal Removal” of Refuge Puma after PEER Intervention

April 2, 2008  WILDERNESS WATER WAR IN ARIZONA REFUGE OVER BIGHORNS — Former Long-Time Kofa Wildlife Refuge Biologist Says His Agency Is All Wet

March 20, 2008  OIL DEAL FOR ALASKA WILDLIFE REFUGE ON FAST TRACK — Yukon Flats Land Exchange Tied to Oil Development but No Time for Appraisals

December 7, 2007  INTERIOR ISSUES NEW MARCHING ORDERS FOR BISON RANGE DEAL — Funding Agreement with Tribe by Next March but Big Questions Remain

December 5, 2007  INTERIOR DIRECTS BISON RANGE TO BE HANDED OVER TO TRIBE — Inspector General Report Describes High-Level Political Machinations

November 13, 2007  FATE OF NATIONAL BISON RANGE HAS BECOME A POLITICAL FOOTBALL — House Leaders Pushing in Opposite Directions on Transferring Refuge to Tribes

May 17, 2007  TRIBES REJECT FIVE-YEAR BISON RANGE PARTNERSHIP — CSKT Renews Push for Takeover of Refuge Management and More Jobs

April 11, 2007  NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES SEVERELY SHORTCHANGED — Acre-for-Acre, Refuges Get 17 Cents for Every Dollar Spent on National Parks

February 1, 2007  WILDLIFE REFUGE CUTS CRIPPLING CONSERVATION, SAY MANAGERS — Survey Cites Declining Habitats and Visitor Safety and Growing Frustrations

January 18, 2007  INTERIOR DEPARTMENT LEAVES BISON RANGE EMPLOYEES IN DARK — Grievance Appeal Filed; New Threats Against Employees

January 9, 2007  ABUSES AT NATIONAL BISON RANGE CONFIRMED BY INVESTIGATION — Threats, Intimidation and Safety Concerns Documented in Independent Report

December 14, 2006  FWS TERMINATES CONTROVERSIAL BISON RANGE AGREEMENT — Agency Rebuffs Efforts by Tribe to Assume Management of Entire Refuge in FY 2007

November 15, 2006  TRIBE SEEKING TOTAL TAKEOVER OF NATIONAL BISON RANGE — Fish & Wildlife Service May Also Cede Two More Refuges and Five Waterfowl Areas

October 26, 2006   NATIONAL BISON RANGE EVALUATION CENSORED BY AGENCY — Warnings about Communications Breakdowns and Worsening Relations Were Stifled

October 12, 2006  STAFF REBEL AGAINST HARASSMENT ON BISON RANGE REFUGE — Joint Complaint of Tribe Trying to Drive Off Staff in Order to Take Over Their Jobs

July 20, 2006  TROUBLED FIRST YEAR FOR BISON RANGE REFUGE TRIBAL OPERATION — Agreement Renewal in Limbo as Tribe Demands More Funds and Jobs

February 21, 2005  REFUGE MANAGER CHARGED FOR SAVING THREATENED FROGS — First Case of Refuge Manager Facing Criminal Charges for Wildlife Offense

February 8, 2005  BISON RANGE EMPLOYEES GIVEN REMOVAL NOTICES — Action Against Refuge Workers While Congressional Review Pending

December 14, 2004  BISON RANGE DEAL TO BE SIGNED DESPITE OBJECTIONS — Lingering Questions on Terms, Costs and Consequences

December 2, 2004  CHANGES IN BISON RANGE DEAL; SIGNING DELAYED — FWS Retirees Protest That Concerns Still Not Addressed

October 18, 2004  REFUGE MANAGERS PROTEST BISON RANGE DEAL AS UNWORKABLE — Joint Letter By 23 Managers Cites Money, Manpower and Performance Problems

October 13, 2004  INTERIOR REFUSES TO HOLD HEARINGS ON BISON RANGE DEAL — Repudiates Its Own Cost Estimates on Day That Public Comment Period Closes

October 6, 2004  INTERIOR WITHHOLDING COST FIGURES ON BISON RANGE DEAL — Congressman Calls for Public Hearings

August 28, 2001  REFUGE DOLLARS NOT REACHING THE GROUND — Manager Survey Cites Bureaucratic Barriers

Surveys for Refuge Keeper
2007  Refuge Managers Survey

2001  Refuge Managers Survey

1999  Refuge Managers of the National Wildlife Refuge System Survey

1998  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Refuge Managers Survey

1997  National Wildlife Refuge Survey

Other PEER Activities for Refuge Keeper
PEER Letter to Senator Burns about the transfer of National Bison Range management

PEER Report: America’s Ten Most Imperiled Refuges 2008