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.

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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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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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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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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Click on image to view the 2011 South Florida Conservation Report

Video courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission