Raleigh Field Office

Welcome to the Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office web site. We work to protect endangered and threatened species, migratory birds and migratory fish and their habitat in North Carolina. To accomplish our mission the Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office has these programs: Coastal, Environmental Contaminants, Endangered Species, Project Planning, and Partners for Fish and Wildlife.

This Valentine’s Day Fall in Love with Nature

Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to fall in love with nature. Go outside to experience the excitement of a majestic bald eagle or the thrill of a bright red cardinal, whether in your own backyard or at one of America’s national wildlife refuges. There is a national wildlife refuge or fish hatchery just an hour’s drive from most major metropolitan areas, and all are inviting portals to the natural world.

The Service's "Let’s go Outside" Web site (www.fws.gov/letsgooutside) contains a wealth of information to help families connect with nature, including:

• Electronic Valentines, in both English and Spanish, featuring bald eagles, red foxes and even turtles, that are great to send to friends and family.
• Fact sheets about numerous wildlife species, including bald eagles, moose, sea turtles and cardinals.
• Tips on how youngsters and their families can start observing wildlife.
• Links to maps and a special events calendar that can help families find places to go and see nature up close.

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To Green Your Garden, Go Native

How 'green' is your garden? Well now may be the time to ensure that it is truly sustainable. You can order seeds of wildflowers native to your region that will give you low-maintenance blooms next spring and all summer long. Not only will they thrive — they’ll support native birds, insects and other pollinators that depend on familiar, home-grown species for a healthy ecosystem.

So advise many conservationists, including biologists in the National Wildlife Refuge System, the premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America’s wildlife and plants. National Wildlife Refuges strive to use native plantings or seeds on refuge land or plants unable to escape cultivation.

"Native species evolved in the local environment and have developed complex interrelationships with other area plant species as well as fine tuning to local climate and soil conditions," says Kathleen Blair, a plain-talking Ph.D. ecologist at Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona. Exotic plant species — non-natives, including many commercially available garden flowers — haven’t. That means, she says, "If you plant non-native or exotic species, a whole lot of other local species cannot use them."

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North Carolina Gill Net Fisheries Can Seriously Injure or Kill Migratory Birds

Gill nets used by fishermen unintentionally catch other animals. These catches can include birds, seagoing mammals and fish. The trapped animals are called bycatch. Often these animals are seriously injured or killed. Many states have eliminated the use of gill nets. North Carolina has not stopped gill net use. Bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles and fish is managed at the federal level by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Many species of birds are being caught and drowned in gill nets. These birds are protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The conservation of these birds including reduction of bycatch mortality is an important part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mission. Fishing gear that is lethal and non-selective is a real problem.

Gill nets are a source of mortality for diving ducks such as ruddy ducks, goldeneye, mergansers, scaup, and canvasbacks plus many seabirds such as loons, grebes, and gannets according to a report by Doug Forsell, Biologist, USFWS, Chesapeake Bay Field Office (Mortality of Migratory Waterbirds in Mid-Atlantic Coastal Anchored Gillnets).

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