David Patte

David Patte, climate change coordinator in the Pacific Region, is just one of many Service employees committed to reducing their carbon footprint while getting plenty of enjoyable exercise in the great outdoors.

Every day, David bikes to work, rain or shine, even in snow and ice.

A little scratch-pad math shows David has ridden nearly 40,000 miles out in Portland, eight miles daily since 1995. He actually has ridden farther because he started commuting by bike when he was here at Headquarters in 1992.

People like David do not need any encouragement to try commuting by bicycle. But others may need a push.

For all those folks, May is National Bike Month, and Friday, May 17, is National Bike to Work Day. Think about cycling and maybe give it a shot.

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Our law enforcement officers are dedicated to protecting our natural heritage. Credit: USFWS

Plants and animals have countless and often ingenious ways to deter predators. Monarch butterflies are toxic; turtles have shells; armadillos curl into a ball; cacti have sharp spines. But these defenses aren’t enough to stave off the ultimate predator:  people.

The human intellect and the technology it commands have been able to overcome almost every defense plants and animals can deploy. Which means that the only defense left to our native plants and animals is humanity itself.

For more than a century, dedicated men and women have been willing to put their lives on the line to protect and defend our natural heritage. All of us in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and across the conservation community contribute to this goal in vital ways. But among us, a few assume the responsibility and risk of putting on a badge and a gun to deter and confront the perpetrators of wildlife crime.

As we celebrate National Police Week (May 12-18), I hope we all will take time to reflect on those who dedicate their careers to conservation law enforcement, especially the officers who died to protect our safety.

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April 20, 2013 was a blessed day in my family. Three weeks before this annual celebration of Mothers, and the miracles they work, our daughter was married.  The photographs are glorious, and numerous as geese and cranes in a November morning "fly-out" from the marshes of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Each photo depicts a piece of a wonderful celebration. But one is special for me. It was not taken by the official photographer, but rather by my youngest brother.  It is an unscripted, simple, shoulders-to-head picture of mother and daughter.

When my wife first saw it, she said, "I look old."  I said, quite honestly, "You look beautiful. You are next to a 25-year-old bride."  But maybe what I like most about this picture is what is represents to me. It is a monument to 25 years of hard work.

Don't mistake me. Our daughter -- Mary -- has been a wonderful child to raise, and we have been fortunate as parents.  But we have had many of the day-to-day struggles that all parents face, and it has been her Mother -- Barbara -- who has borne the greatest burden of those struggles.  I can't tell you how many times I heard her say some version of this refrain: "I  don't care what your friends' parents are letting them do, and I don't have the slightest interest in what your friends think of me."  As Mary got older, and more skilled in debate, she would try to make "logic-based" arguments around seemingly arbitrary parental decisions like not allowing her to join in the trouble-ridden, right-of-senior-passage called "Beach Week." Barbara would quickly cut off discussion with something like, "Thank you for that bit of wisdom, but I have shoes in my closet that are older than you."

 She has never been afraid to be a Mother; always willing to make the hard decisions that job requires; never looking for the easy way.  And looking at that picture, I see the reward. A Mother who has done her job exceptionally well. A daughter who loves and respects her for that.

Even though the daughter still believes we should have let her go to Beach Week.

To all who serve in the blessed trenches of Motherhood -- Happy Mother's Day!