Regulations are an important part of our conservation efforts. During the past one hundred years, the United States has enacted wildlife laws and regulations, and ratified international treaties to protect our heritage of wild animals and plans and their habitats. 

Laws, Agreements and Treaties

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service receives its authority through a number of laws, treaties, and regulations focused on conservation. These various forms of legislation provide a framework and specific guidelines for much of the work the Service does domestically and internationally. 

Learn more about the U.S. Conservation Laws, Bilateral/Multilateral Agreements, Treaties and Conventions that guide FWS and its work.

Laws, Agreements, and Treaties

Implementing Laws

Laws passed by Congress often need additional details so that everyone impacted knows exactly what is allowed and what isn't. Congress has authorized the Fish and Wildlife Service to add detail to laws through additional rules or "regulations."

Regulations have the force of law, so they go through a rigorous process before being put into place. All proposed rules are open to public scrutiny and comment, after which we make needed changes. Only after we are sure the rule is needed and properly constructed do we make it final, announcing it in the Federal Register. 

Rulemaking

As a government agency, FWS has procedures to creates rules and regulations. Every proposed rule goes through a process of drafting, comment and review before it becomes final. The Federal Register is where we publish official notices about proposed and final rules, including rulemaking timelines.

Our Federal Register content

Open For Public Comment

As a government agency, FWS has procedures to creates rules and regulations. Every proposed rule goes through a process of drafting, comment and review before it becomes final.  The Federal Register is where we publish official notices about proposed and final rules, including rulemaking timelines.

View all rulemaking documents concerning FWS or search for a specific rulemaking document by title, docket ID or term.

PROVIDE COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK

How we handle your comments

Congressional Testimony

Interested in learning more about how FWS takes part in the legislative process? View an archive of Congressional Testimonies given by officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of the Interior on issues important to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Latest Stories Related to Laws & Regulations

A gray wolf lays down in short grasses, with it's head up and looking quizzically at the camera.
Endangered Species Act
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Information From the Public
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is seeking information regarding the deaths of three endangered gray wolves east of Bly in southern Oregon. The deaths occurred in an area of known wolf activity, as defined by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), that stretches across Klamath and Lake...
Headshot of a Bald eagle.
Wildlife Crime
Reward Offered for Information on Bald Eagle Shooting in Clayton, Delaware
Federal investigators seek information about the shooting of an adult bald eagle found at the Blackbird State Forest Dulany Manor Tract
Close Up of Federal Wildlife Officer/Pilot taxis at an airport with the entry window/door open.
Our People
A 67 Million Acre Open Air Office
How do you pack for a patrol of an area the size of Mississippi? What do you pack? A lunch? What about a week's worth of food, a tent, sleeping bag, and your flight helmet? Those are exactly what Senior Federal Wildlife Officer (SFWO) Cody Smith packs at a minimum for a patrol of his over 67-...
Close up of a black dog with a background out of focus. Dog is looking to the side with a black collar on. The dog has a white outline of hair around his upper lips that extend slightly down his neck.
Our People
Wildlife Inspector Canine
Wildlife Inspector Canines work with Wildlife Inspectors to help combat international wildlife trafficking. Dock, a black Labrador from Georgia, has spent seven years working with the Office of Law Enforcement in Alaska.
A snippet of the logo of the Federal Register
Annual Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annually publishes Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations, an update in the Federal Register to Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This page lists those regulations over recent years.
A black-footed ferret stands among dried vegetation.
Endangered Species Act
Expanding Areas for Black-Footed Ferret Reintroductions in Arizona
As part of ongoing efforts to conserve the endangered black-footed ferret, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, coordinating with multiple Native American Tribes and the Arizona Game and Fish Department, finalized a rule expanding the reintroduction of experimental populations of the ferret to much...