The Mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, working with others, is to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

The Service manages the 150-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of 553 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

Learn more...

Latest News Service Proposes Listing of Eight Mussels and Designation of Critical Habitat 90-Day Finding of 374 Aquatic-dependent Species May Warrant Endangered Species Act Protection 374 Aquatic-dependent Species Table Determination of Nine Distinct Population Segments of Loggerhead Sea Turtles 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Snowy Plover and Reclassify the Wintering Population of Piping Plover		Quick Links Hunting and Fishing License Information (850)265-3676 Available SCA Internships Post Hurricane and Endangered Species Guidance