Defenders of Wildlife Sues FWS Over Extensive FOIA Request Delays

Defenders of Wildlife today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing the agency’s extensive delay in fulfilling eight Freedom of Information Act requests related to land exchanges within the National Wildlife Refuge System.  The overdue requests – which concern the FWS’s refuge operations across its eight regions – violate the right to have timely access to any documentation upon request.  

Under FOIA, federal agencies must make records promptly available to individuals and organizations within 20 business days of receiving a request. They are also required to provide a clear, adequate timeline updating requesters on the status, including an estimated completion date. In addition to the backlogs, the FWS is unable to give any indication of when it will satisfy Defenders’ requests at all.

According to publicly available FOIA data, staffing has dropped by roughly 28%, falling from 18 full-time employees in 2024 to just 13, leaving the agency too understaffed to process requests in a timely manner. The agency received 1,073 requests in fiscal year 2025 and closed the year with 512 pending – an increase of more than 150 backlogged requests compared to the previous year.  

“There is virtually no transparency about what’s happening across several Fish and Wildlife regions,” said Christian Hunt, director of national wildlife refuges and parks program at Defenders of Wildlife. “The disturbing trend in failing to communicate about what the agency is doing with our nation’s public lands not only affects Defenders, but the efforts of every organization nationwide relying on information from the Service to advance their work.”

In December, Defenders obtained an internal FWS spreadsheet identifying the status of every refuge. The analysis showed that 59% of refuges were unable to achieve their operational goals, and none were fully staffed – revealing a broader pattern of workforce reductions extending well beyond the FOIA office.  

“The Trump administration’s persistent delays in processing FOIA requests undermine Americans’ right to public information and constitute a clear violation of law,” said Daniel Franz, staff attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. “We have an outstanding request dating back to August 2024, and our most recent submission now exceeds 161 days past the legal deadline  – that is simply inexcusable. It is the administration’s legal obligation to ensure sufficient staffing to meet the government’s transparency requirements. This is not a mere administrative challenge; it’s a failure to uphold the law, and the Service must be held accountable.”

In addition to these eight requests that are the substance of this lawsuit, Defenders has several other FOIA submissions on other topics still pending with FWS.  

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