Our Mission is: Working with Tribal, Federal, State and local governments, non-government organizations and private landowners, to conserve, manage and rehabilitate native species and their habitats for citizens of the Lake Superior basin. This station mission steps down the national mission of the Service, which is Working with others, to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Our mission describes what we stand for and our reason for existence. A strong mission also has an impact on staff, enabling them to become committed to the organization because they can identify with its overall purpose and reason for existence.
Our Goals, objectives and activities are based on assumptions that attempt to predict the future direction, capabilities, and expectations of our station and organization. Based on our understanding of the current situation (where we are), we set goals and objectives (where we want to be), propose work activities/action tasks (how do we get there), review progress and make adjustments (measure how are we doing).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is Conserving America's Fisheries through the Fisheries Program's Vision for the Future which was implemented in 2002. The Fisheries Vision outlines Service activities to provide for aquatic species conservation and management, aquatic habitat conservation and management, cooperation with native Americans, leadership in science and technology, partnerships and accountability, public use, and workforce management.
The eight focus areas of the Ashland National Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office
(listed below) support this mission:
Goals: Open, interactive communication between the Fisheries Program and its partners. Effective measuring and reporting of progress toward meeting conservation goals and objectives.
2. Aquatic Species Conservation
Goals: Self-sustaining populations of native fish and other aquatic resources that maintain species diversity, provide recreational opportunities, and meet the needs of Tribal communities. Interjurisdictional fish populations are managed at self-sustaining levels.
Goals: Risks of aquatic invasive species (AIS) are substantially reduced, and their economic, ecological, and human health impacts are minimized. The spread of ruffe, round gobies and zebra mussels through the Great Lakes is delayed and they are prevented from entering new inland lakes and watersheds.
4. Public Use
Goal: Provide quality opportunities for responsible fishing and other related recreational enjoyment of aquatic resources on Service lands, on Tribal and military lands, and on waters where Ashland NFWCO has a role.
5. Cooperation with Native Americans
Goals: Assist Tribes in the management, protection, and conservation of their treaty-reserved or statutorily defined trust natural resources. Provide consultation, technical assistance, cooperative partnerships and training opportunities to Native American fish and wildlife professionals, consistent with the principles of tribal self-determination and self-governance.
6. Leadership in Science and Technology
Goal: Science developed and used by Ashland NFWCO biologists is state-of-the-art, scientifically sound and legally defensible, and technological advances developed by the Service are available to partners.
7. Aquatic Habitat Conservation and Management
Goal: America’s streams, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands are functional ecosystems that support self-sustaining communities and fish and wildlife.
Goal: Maintain and support an adequately sized, strategically positioned workforce with state-of-the-art training, equipment, and technologies in their career fields.
Aquatic Invasive Species
