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Residents urge delegation to pressure federal agencies after ARS staff reductions at Wenatchee fruit‑research lab
Summary
During public comment, residents asked the council to seek federal intervention after recent federal staffing cuts and funds freezes, highlighting possible impacts to the Wenatchee fruit‑research lab, WSU collaboration, and local agriculture research funding.
Two East Wenatchee residents used the public‑comment period on March 18 to urge elected officials to press federal leaders over recent federal staffing changes and fund freezes that they said are affecting the Agricultural Research Service and local fruit‑research operations.
Russ Truman, an East Wenatchee resident, asked the city to send a letter to the county, the governor and the congressional delegation asking four things: that terminated probationary employees be rehired, that federal funds be unfrozen so agencies can meet contractual and fiscal obligations, that fire hiring be supported for the coming season, and that states and local partners be consulted on federal reorganization plans. Truman said the letter will also be circulated to local businesses and organizations and that he had provided a printed handout to the clerk.
Rick Edwards, a long‑time East Wenatchee resident and Forest Service retiree who said he has worked on agricultural research, focused on the Wenatchee fruit lab and the lab’s partnership between Washington State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Edwards said WSU employed about 50 people at the lab as of Jan. 1, with 11 faculty, 15–20 graduate students and eight postdocs. He said ARS previously had 25 staff across Wenatchee and a Hood River satellite and told the council that staffing reductions have reduced ARS presence at the lab; Edwards said at one point the ARS side had about 25 but had ‘‘now lost 15 of those people’’ across the two sites and that at the Wenatchee facility ARS staff had fallen from 25 to about 12 (as reported to him).
Edwards said ARS leases lab space from WSU and that the federal government provides roughly $350,000 a year in lease payments to the university. He also said many WSU researchers at the lab rely in part or entirely on federal grant money and that industry contributions (about $1 per ton for apple/pear/cherry growers, he said) also support research. He warned of potential ‘‘domino’’ effects if ARS presence declines, including questions about continued federal support for the facility.
Both speakers urged the council and local leaders to advocate on behalf of federal employees and local research capacity. No formal council action on the requests was taken during the meeting; the comments were entered into public record.
