Consultation and Technical Assistance

The National Fish Passage Program provides financial and technical assistance for projects that improve the ability of fish or other aquatic species to migrate by reconnecting habitat that has been fragmented by a barrier such a a damn or culvert.

The National Fish Habitat Partnership is a national investment strategy that leverages funds through regional partnerships to address the nation's biggest fish habitat challenges.

Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is titled Interagency Cooperation. It identifies the responsibilities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), National Marine Fisheries Service ( NMFS), and other federal agencies to use their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of the ESA.

Find Best Management Practices (BMPs) for project proponents to consider early in the planning and project development process to avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife populations and habitats.

Plan ahead to minimize disruption to breeding birds during nesting season.

Upon request by U.S. citizens who engage in a specified activity (other than commercial fishing) within a specified geographic region, the Service may authorize the incidental, but not intentional, take of small numbers of marine mammals of a species or stock if the taking will have a negligible impact on such species or stock(s) and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on the availability of such species or stock(s) for subsistence uses.

The Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) program creates creative partnerships that allow public and private sectors to work with the Service to address listed and at-risk species in an ecosystem context, generate long-term commitments to conserve such species, and deliver regulatory assurances to project proponents.

The Sikes Act requires most military installations within the United States to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for natural resource conservation and management (e.g., fish and wildlife, forestry, land management, outdoor recreation) on the installation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides technical assistance to help reduce human vessel interactions with avian species listed under U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service provides funding and technical expertise for projects that restore and protect fish habitat in Alaska.

Missouri’s Threatened and Endangered Species Determination Key (Dkey) is a tool for aiding IPaC users in assessing project impacts on listed species, streamlining ESA compliance and consultation processes and generation of concurrence or technical assistance letters

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) established the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS), a defined set of geographic units along the Atlantic, Gulf of America, Great Lakes, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico coasts. The CBRA encourages the conservation of hurricane prone and biologically rich coastal barriers .

​The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) maintains the official maps of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS).

FRIMA is a voluntary fish screening and passage program targeted to Pacific Ocean drainage areas of Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Eligible projects include fish screens, fish passage devices, and related inventories by the States.

Find resources related to section 7 consultations in the Midwest.

Find resources related to section 7 consultations in the Pacific Southwest.

Safe Harbor Agreements (SHAs) are voluntary agreements between private or other non-federal property owners whose actions contribute to the recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In exchange, participating property owners receive formal assurances from the Service that if they fulfill the conditions of the SHA, the Service will not require any additional or different management activities.

Conservation banks are permanently protected lands that contain natural resource values. These lands are conserved and permanently managed for species that are endangered, threatened, candidates for listing as endangered or threatened, or are otherwise species-at-risk. In exchange for permanently protecting the land and managing it for these species, the Service approves a specified number of habitat or species credits that bank owners may sell.

Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCAs) are voluntary conservation agreements between the Service and one or more public or private parties. The Service works with its partners to identify threats to candidate species, plan the measures needed to address the threats and then monitor their effectiveness.

Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs) are voluntary agreements that provide incentives for non-federal landowners to conserve endangered and at-risk species on non-federal land.

A grassland easement (also known as a habitat easement) is a legal agreement that pays landowners to permanently keep their land in grass.

A wetland easement is a legal agreement signed with the United States of America, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that pays landowners to permanently protect wetlands.

Conservation Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are voluntary agreements that provide incentives for non-Federal property owners to conserve endangered and at-risk species. For the length of the agreement, property owners agree to undertake specific conservation measures for the net conservation benefit of the agreements covered species.