DOGE to end 2 leases in State College area, including US Fish & Wildlife office. What we know
Two federal offices within the State College area are slated to close their doors as part of nationwide cuts championed by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency — and few details have so far been publicly released.
According to DOGE’s official website, the two local offices that will have leases terminated include U.S. Fish & Wildlife’s ecological services field office (110 Radnor Road, Suite 101) and U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division within the Employment Standards Administration (Lubert Building, 101 Innovation Blvd.). The latter is responsible for enforcing federal labor laws, while the former was created to conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife.
It’s unclear when exactly those offices will close and what will happen to those employees. On a larger scale, the impact of DOGE’s ongoing cuts and other federal action still has not been fully realized — but local officials don’t seem overly optimistic.
“It’s pretty stressful right now, and we’re just trying to see what happens,” Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins said during a Tuesday commissioners meeting, explaining roughly 39% of the county budget is comprised of state and federal funds.
As part of DOGE’s efforts to find what it characterizes as taxpayer savings, it says it has terminated more than 700 leases across the country that amount to about $660 million. The accuracy of that figure has been called into question by multiple news outlets such as Politico, which labeled it “likely an overestimate” because DOGE’s savings include lease months that have already been paid, among other factors. (DOGE has also acknowledged its numbers could be inaccurate due to data discrepancies.)
According to DOGE, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife field office in the State College area is about 6,700 square feet and annually costs $197,699. The nearby office operating under the U.S. Department of Labor is 443 square feet and annually costs $12,131.
It is unknown how many employees work at each office. However, according to the local field office’s website, 13 “key contact” employees are listed online.
The Centre Daily Times reached out to several listed local employees from U.S. Fish & Wildlife, in addition to regional spokespeople from both departments. Laury Marshall, assistant chief of public affairs for U.S. Fish & Wildlife, declined to answer whether employees were terminated because, “We do not comment on personnel matters.”
Another spokesperson, from the U.S. Department of Labor, referred all questions to the General Services Administration, which has jurisdiction over federally managed buildings. A GSA spokesperson responded Wednesday morning, after the initial publication of this story, and issued a statement in addition to declining comment on personnel matters.
“GSA is reviewing all options to optimize our footprint and building utilization,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “A component of our space consolidation plan will be the termination of many soft term leases. To the extent these terminations affect public facing facilities and/or existing tenants, we are working with our agency partners to secure suitable alternative space. In many cases this will allow us to increase space utilization and obtain improved terms.”
Both spokespeople declined to answer about the timetable for the closures. And U.S. Rep Glenn Thompson, R-Howard, did not immediately return a message asking for clarity and/or comment.
Higgins said the county commissioners learned of the plans Monday. Addressing reporters Tuesday, he said he knew few other details — and voiced concern when attention turned to potential cuts involving federal money received by Centre County.
“We don’t know,” he said. “It’s very stressful. We just don’t know.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM.
