Our Mission
Conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, and their habitats, in cooperation with partners, for the continuing benefit of the American people, from the Lake Wales Ridge to the Florida Keys.
The Ecological Services Division of the USFWS works to protect and restore healthy populations of fish and wildlife and the environments on which they depend. To accomplish this, the South Florida Ecological Services Field Office has these programs: Everglades Restoration, Coastal Ecology, Contaminants, Endangered Species, Habitat Conservation, and Partners for Fish and Wildlife.
News and Features
Critical Wildlife Corridor Protected
May 22, 2012
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A large and continuous piece of land critical for wildlife passage and the natural recovery of the Florida panther was purchased and protected by a collaborative public and private partnership in an outstanding effort to accomplish species conservation.
The conservation easements established on the 1,278-acre American Prime property along the Caloosahatchee River in Glades County is a key natural landscape through which Florida panthers can disperse from habitats farther south. This acquisition required a sequence of events involving multiple agencies and was accomplished just in time to prevent the land from going to foreclosure auction.
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2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest Winners
May 18, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's South Florida Ecological Services Office is pleased to announce the 13 winners of our 2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest.
Each winner's artwork will represent a month on our 2013 Endangered Species Day Calendar and they'll receive a $100 U.S. savings bond. The grand prize winner's artwork will grace the cover of the calendar. In addition, we'll present Jordan with a framed version of her artwork and her school a $150 gift card for biology, science and/or art supplies.
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2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest
April 19, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office here is celebrating Endangered Species Day by encouraging students to learn about threatened and endangered plants and animals through art. The Service is hosting an art contest open to all students grades 1-12 in public, private or home schools on the Treasure Coast (Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie Counties). To enter, the student will draw or paint, in an original artwork, a federally listed threatened or endangered species from south Florida.
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Miami Blue Butterfly Receives Federal Endangered Species Status
April 5, 2012
Vero Beach, Florida – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is formally listing the Miami blue butterfly, a small, coastal, non-migratory butterfly, as endangered. This action permanently protects the butterfly under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and follows an emergency listing, enacted on August 10, 2011, which had temporarily protected it for 240 days.
The Miami blue’s geographic range once extended from the Dry Tortugas north along the Florida coasts to about St. Petersburg and Daytona, but it is now restricted to a handful of remote islands within the Florida Keys. Only a few, small populations are known to remain.
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Miami Blue Butterfly Final Rule: Listing as Endangered Throughout Its Range - PDF, 437 KB
Miami Blue Butterfly Final Rule: Listing as Endangered Questions and Answers - PDF, 33 KB
USFWS to Host Earth Day Open House in Conjunction with Hibiscus Festival April 14
April 3, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. – The general public is invited to mark the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day on Saturday, April 14 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in downtown Vero Beach at an “Earth Day Open House” focused on conservation and the environment.
The free event -- held in conjuntion with the Hibiscus Festival -- will include children’s activities, displays of live reptiles and fish, presentations by Service biologists, displays of artwork and science fair projects by local students and an exhibit of illegal wildlife products seized by law enforcement officials.
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2012 Earth Day Flyer - PDF, 507 KB
Interagency Florida Panther Response Team Report Released
March 13, 2012
According to a report compiled by a group of federal and state agencies, Florida panther depredations more than doubled in Fiscal Year 2010-2011 as compared to Fiscal Year 2009-2010.
The report, called the 2010-11 Interagency Florida Panther Response Team Report, summarized human-panther interactions investigated by the Interagency Florida Panther Response Team between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.
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2010-2011 Florida Panther Response Team Annual Report - PDF, 891 KB
Service Develops Updated Skink Guidance
February 7, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has revised the conservation guidelines and survey protocol for the threatened sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregius lividus). We are hosting an informational meeting for consultants and stakeholders to discuss the skink review process and revised survey protocol on February 23, 2012, from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm, at the Osceola County Commission Chambers in Kissimmee, Florida. Registration is required. Please RSVP by email at skink_guide@fws.gov.
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Salazar Announces Ban on Importation and Interstate Transportation of Four Constrictor Snakes that Threaten Everglades
January 17, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a rule that would ban the importation and interstate transportation of four nonnative constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.
The final rule – which incorporates public comments, economic analysis, and environmental assessment – lists the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African pythons as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in order to restrict their spread in the wild in the United States. It is expected to publish in the Federal Register in the coming days.
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The Final Rule in the Federal Register - PDF, 318 KB
Final Economic Analysis Jan 2012 - PDF, 307 KB
Final Environmental Assessment Jan 2012 - PDF, 2.70 MB
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Jan 2012 - PDF, 92 KB
Finding of No Significant Impact - PDF, 146 KB
References Used in Evaluation of 9 Species - PDF, 100 KB
Section 7 Intra-Service Consulation - PDF, 837 KB
Q&A: Listing of Four Snake Species as Injurious
What Listing Means For Snake Owners - PDF, 93 KB
