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Pacific Region Highlights

The mountain yellow-legged frog, listed as endangered since July 2, 2002, as depicted by Amanda Garcia from Murrieta, California, one of the 2011 Youth Art Contest semi-finalists. Credit: Endangered Species Coalition.	Service Announces Annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Coalition, Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Ogden Museum of Southern Art/University of New Orleans announce the launch of the 2012 Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest. The competition offers K-12th grade students an opportunity to learn about endangered species and express their knowledge and support through artwork. Endangered Species Day, taking place on May 18, 2012, recognizes the conservation programs nationwide aimed at protecting America's threatened and endangered species. Entries for the contest must be postmarked by March 15, 2012. Bulletin Learn More

The chick's parents will log tens of thousands of miles during the next five months foraging on squid and flying fish eggs they regurgitate to the chick once back at the Refuge. Photo by Bonnie L. Campbell, USFWS	Endangered Short-tailed Albatross Chick Thriving The short-tailed albatross chick that hatched January 12 at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is doing well under the care and feeding of its attentive parents. The parents are switching jobs every few days, with one of them searching for food while the other stays with the chick. If the parents behave as they did with last year's chick, they will not leave their offspring alone for another two to three weeks, when they will both start searching for food. The chick is only the second short-tailed albatross to hatch at Midway; most short-tailed albatross nest only on a small island near Japan. By establishing a new nesting site, the short-tailed albatross couple has given new hope to the future of the endangered species. Learn More

Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly Photo Credit: USFWS	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA's Fisheries Service Extend Comment Period on Proposed Policy to Improve Implementation of Endangered Species Act The Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act, today announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase "significant portion of its range" (SPR) in the ESA's definitions of "endangered species" and "threatened species." The notice will publish in the Federal Register on February 07, 2012. Comments must be received on or before March 08, 2012. Bulletin Learn More

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Feb 8, 2012 - Service Announces Annual Endangered Species Day Youth Art Contest

Feb 7, 2012 - Public Scoping Meetings Scheduled for Draft Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Management Plan

Feb 3, 2012 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Welcomes Inaugural Class of Diversity Change Agents

Feb 2, 2012 - Closure Update on Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuges

Feb 1, 2012 - Public Scoping Period Extended for Wilderness Review and Legislative Environmental Impact Statement

More News Releases

Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery Website

Screen Shot of Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery website

Take a few moments to investigate our featured site. Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery raises more than 15 million Tule Fall Chinook salmon annually. The hatchery uses water from several springs located at the base of the adjacent basalt cliffs, recycling the water through a unique, oyster shell filtration system to conserve water and reduce pollution. Ninety percent of the water used in the hatchery's rearing ponds is recycled.

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Screen Shot of Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery website