We work with landowners, private and community organizations, government agencies and others to conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay area including Delaware, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Our conservation priorities include: endangered, threatened and at-risk wildlife; migratory birds and fish; pollinators; and wetland, coastal, riparian and upland habitats.

About Us

Our Mission

We work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Our office supports activities that conserve wildlife and their habitats in the District of Columbia, Delaware and Maryland.

What We Do

We work with other agencies and organizations to monitor populations of migratory birds, fish and other wildlife; restore and enhance forest, wetland, and streamside habitat; improve coastal resiliency; conserve endangered, threatened and at-risk wildlife; and provide opportunities for citizens to actively participate in conservation connect with nature.

Our Organization

A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...
Program
Baileys Crossroads,VA
Gathering of Puffins on brown rock
The Coastal Program is one of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s most effective resources for restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat on public and privately-owned lands. We play an important role in promoting the Service’s mission and priorities, delivering landscape-scale...
Program
Falls Church,VA
A bison grazing in the foreground with mountains and a city and electrical infrastructure in the background
The Urban Wildlife Conservation Program improves lives by expanding access to green space, education and outdoor recreation for Americans living in and around cities. Program members work to clear social and historical barriers and foster new connections that advance conservation and strengthen...
Program
Close up of a California condor. Its pink featherless head contrasts with its black feathers.
We provide national leadership in the recovery and conservation of our nation's imperiled plant and animal species, working with experts in the scientific community to identify species on the verge of extinction and to build the road to recovery to bring them back. We work with a range of public...
Program
Baileys Crossroads,VA
Partners for Fish and Wildlife: Nevada Coordinator Susan Abele Meets with Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Member to Conduct a Site Visit at Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provides free technical and financial assistance to landowners, managers, tribes, corporations, schools and nonprofits interested in improving wildlife habitat on their land. Since 1987, we have helped more than 30,000 landowners to complete more than 50,...
Program
Pronghorn running through sagebrush with natural gas field facility in background.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works collaboratively with other federal agencies, industries, and other stakeholders to achieve infrastructure development goals in ways that are sustainable and compatible with the conservation of fish, wildlife, and their habitats.
Program
Baileys Crossroads,VA

Our Species

We work with other Federal, state and local agencies, conservation organizations and private citizens to conserve and protect fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Chesapeake Bay Ecological Services Field Office is responsible for protecting threatened and endangered plants and wildlife as well as other species that face threats to their survival in Delaware, the District of Columbia and Maryland. Conservation activities also support shorebirds, waterfowl, songbirds, raptors, local and migratory fish, aquatic invertebrates and pollinators. 

Projects and Research

Our office works with private landowners and other partners to restore or enhance wetland, upland, riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian  and instream habitats for threatened, endangered and at-risk species. We work to recover populations of plants and animals listed under the Endangered Species Act such as the eastern black rail, red knot, bog turtle, Puritan tiger beetle, dwarf wedgemussel, Indiana bat, northern long-eared bat and small whorled pogonia. We connect communities to nature through broad-based initiatives like Baltimore Rivers to Harbor Urban Refuge Partnership and provide landscape level conservation through the Delmarva Conservation and Restoration Network and Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project. We help to reduce energy impacts to wildlife through recommendations of best management practices. We manage wildlife habitat at beneficial dredge material sites such as Poplar Island and Masonville Cove.

Latest News

a small stream flows through a lush and wooded area
Land Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Public Input on Proposed National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Maryland
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public review and comment on a draft proposal and environmental assessment establishing the Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge in Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties. The proposal would conserve up...
A sparrow--primarily gray and black with russet around the eyes--perches in tall marsh grass.
Habitat Restoration
Restoring Salt Marshes for People & Wildlife
Salt marshes are home to unique, native wildlife that live nowhere else. Many birds other wildlife including commercial and recreational fish rely on salt marshes. Salt marshes are important for people too, buffering coastal communities from destructive floods. But there are bright spots:...
students setting up trail camera in the woods
Wildlife Management
An Amazing Journey From Intern to Zoologist
In 2022, a Bowie State University biology student, Muhannad Alghamdi, entered into the Masonville Cove Partnership's Urban Conservation and Education Internship (UCEI). Now, two years later, Muhannad is a zoologist at a nature reserve in Saudi Arabia. One of his first projects is an intensive 200-...
group of people outdoors posing for a photo. A small sign that reads Masonville Cove can be seen
Our Partners
Service celebrates a decade of Connecting People to Nature through Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams joined partners and other leaders at Baltimore’s Masonville Cove — the Service’s first Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership site — to celebrate a decade of the Service’s Urban Wildlife Conservation Program. Since 2013, the Program has improved...
Sunrise over lake with cypress trees and dock
Habitat Restoration
USFWS and NFWF announce $7.4 million in new grants to restore and protect Chesapeake Bay Watershed habitats
Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced 25 grants totaling $7.4 million for projects that support wildlife habitat, climate resilience, community conservation partnerships, and equitable access to nature in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
A small brown butterfly rests on a green plant
Habitat Restoration
Growing habitat for the frosted elfin butterfly
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with partners to restore and create habitat for the frosted elfin butterfly.
View All News

Location and Contact Information