Stories from the Home Page
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Principal Deputy Director Margaret Everson and Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon work with kids at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. Credit: Melissa A. Clark/USFWS
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Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge Celebrates Expansion of Hunting and Fishing AccessOctober 11, 2019As the nation heads into National Wildlife Refuge Week, Principal Deputy Director Margaret Everson welcomed members of the conservation community to Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was highlighting work to expand hunting and fishing opportunities and make it easier for all Americans to access their public lands. |
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Principal Deputy Director Margaret Everson and Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon work with kids at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. Credit: Melissa A. Clark/USFWS
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Monarch butterfly on blazing star. Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Whaley/Creative Commons
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How Saving One Butterfly Could Help Save the PrairieOctober 10, 2019The monarch is more than one butterfly. Think of it as an ambassador to a mosaic of prairie plants and animals that all need soil, sun and time to grow. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been making a home for monarchs and species of the wider prairie ecosystem for decades, improving overall prairie health. |
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Monarch butterfly on blazing star. Credit: Photo courtesy of Brett Whaley/Creative Commons
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A Kirtland's warbler on a tree branch. Credit: Vince Cavalieri/USFWS
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Partners Celebrate Successful Recovery of Beloved Kirtland's WarblerOctober 8, 2019Bird enthusiasts from around the world travel to northern Michigan in hopes of catching sight of a Kirtland's warbler, a small songbird once poised on the brink of extinction. Decades of effort by dedicated partners have increased the chances of a sighting, and due to the species' remarkable recovery, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the bird no longer warrants Endangered Species Act protection. |
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A Kirtland's warbler on a tree branch. Credit: Vince Cavalieri/USFWS
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Sandhill cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Credit: Marvin De Jong
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National Wildlife Refuge WeekOctober 7, 2019Rediscover your nature at a national wildlife refuge October 13-19. National wildlife refuges make our lives better in many ways: They protect lands and waters for beloved species such as bison and eagles. They offer world-class recreation such as fishing and paddling. They ease the impact of storms and flooding. And they pump $3.2 billion per year into local economies. No wonder we take time each fall to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week. |
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Sandhill cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Credit: Marvin De Jong
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Between 1970 and 1992, black rhino populations declined 96 percent. Credit: USFWS
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Another Win for Operation Crash and Rhinos: Judge Sends Trafficker to PrisonOctober 2, 2019After being extradited to the United States in August, an Irish national pleaded guilty this week for his role in trafficking a libation cup made from rhino horn. A judge sentenced him to 14 months in prison and two years of supervised release. |
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Between 1970 and 1992, black rhino populations declined 96 percent. Credit: USFWS
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A pair of Monito geckos. Credit: JP Zegarra/USFWS
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Monito Gecko Saved From the Brink of ExtinctionOctober 2, 2019A rat eradication project, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and carried out by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and others, has brought the Monito gecko, a resilient little lizard that lives only on Monito Island in the Caribbean Sea, back from near extinction. The species is now so abundant that it no longer warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.
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A pair of Monito geckos. Credit: JP Zegarra/USFWS
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Deputy Assistant Secretary Skipwith with a tagged monarch at Masonville Cove in Baltimore, Maryland. Credit: USFWS
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Deputy Assistant Secretary Skipwith Joins Refuge CelebrationsSeptember 30, 2019What did you do this weekend? Aurelia Skipwith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior and nominee to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service, was busy celebrating National Public Lands Day and Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day. |
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Deputy Assistant Secretary Skipwith with a tagged monarch at Masonville Cove in Baltimore, Maryland. Credit: USFWS
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The 12th Annual Catch a Smile Senior Fishing Derby at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery. Credit: USFWS
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Your Public Lands Want You—to Visit!September 27, 2019Looking for something awesome to do this weekend? There’s never been a better time to visit your public lands. You can thrill to the heart-pounding excitement of nature, delight in the peace of the outdoors, and work up a sweat as you help make your lands shine. Saturday is National Hunting and Fishing Day and National Public Lands Day. |
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The 12th Annual Catch a Smile Senior Fishing Derby at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery. Credit: USFWS
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The winning 2019 Federal Duck Stamp art, an acrylic painting of a black-bellied whistling-duck pair by Alabama artist Eddie LeRoy. Credit: © USFWS
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Alabama Artist Eddie LeRoy Wins 2019 Federal Duck Stamp Contest!September 26, 2019Eddie LeRoy, an artist from Eufala, Alabama, is the winner of the 2019 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with his painting of a black-bellied whistling-duck pair. Service Principal Deputy Director Margaret Everson announced the winner at the annual contest, held this year at Patuxent Research Refuge. LeRoy’s acrylic painting will be made into the 2020-2021 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp. Since 1934, sales of this stamp have raised more than $1 billion to protect six million acres of wetlands habitat on national wildlife refuges around the nation.
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The winning 2019 Federal Duck Stamp art, an acrylic painting of a black-bellied whistling-duck pair by Alabama artist Eddie LeRoy. Credit: © USFWS
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Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana: In Concert with Nature. Credit: Ian Shive/Tandem Stills & Motion
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Urban National Wildlife Refuges Bring Nature to the CitySeptember 25, 2019Urban national wildlife refuges offer visitors the best of two worlds: precious green space to unwind plus a hint of their region's unique flavor. Sunday, September 29, is Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day, which recognizes urban national wildlife refuges for enriching the lives of Americans and their communities. The 101 urban refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System expand access to nature to the 80 percent of Americans who live in or near cities. |
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Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana: In Concert with Nature. Credit: Ian Shive/Tandem Stills & Motion
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Mountain yellow-legged frog Credit: Rick Kuyper/USFWS
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Update Effective Date of Section 7 Final Rule under the Endangered Species ActSeptember 24, 2019In its more than 45-year history, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has led to countless conservation partnerships that have helped recover some of America’s most treasured animals and plants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries are publishing in the Federal Register a notice delaying the effective date of a final rule to revise portions of our regulations that implement section 7 of the ESA. |
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Mountain yellow-legged frog Credit: Rick Kuyper/USFWS
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Francis Marion National Forest devastation after Hurricane Hugo. Credit: Ralph Costa/USFWS
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Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are the Silver Lining of 30-year-old Monster Hurricane HugoSeptember 24, 2019Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina had the second largest population of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers in existence, with 1,900 red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees and an estimated 1,765 birds in 500 active clusters or groups -- until the night of September 21, 1989. In the blink of a hurricane's eye, Hugo felled 87 percent of the active cavity trees on the forest. With only 200 cavity trees left standing, the race was on to provide homes for the estimated 700 birds that survived the storm. |
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Francis Marion National Forest devastation after Hurricane Hugo. Credit: Ralph Costa/USFWS
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Twenty-five miles of channels were dredged as part of the Prime Hook marsh restoration project supported by federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery. Credit: David Eisenhauer/USFWS
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Service-led Marsh Restoration Honored for Reducing Climate-related ThreatsSeptember 24, 2019The Tidal Marsh and Barrier Beach Restoration Project at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware has received a 2019 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources in the "Federal Government" category. The award was established in 2016 to recognize outstanding and innovative projects "that are advancing the resilience of our nation's valuable fish, wildlife, and plant resources in a changing climate." The Prime Hook project was recognized for its "exemplary leadership in reducing climate-related threats and promoting adaptation." |
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Twenty-five miles of channels were dredged as part of the Prime Hook marsh restoration project supported by federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery. Credit: David Eisenhauer/USFWS
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Regional Director Charlie Wooley at Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: USFWS
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New Leadership Announced for Conservation in the MidwestSeptember 23, 2019Charlie Wooley is the new Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior's Unified Region 3 – Great Lakes, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Wooley has more than 40 years' experience working with the Service and has been acting Regional Director for more than a year. "Charlie has been leading conservation efforts on a national scale for decades. I'm pleased to have his leadership directing the work of our dedicated employees as they work with partners across America's heartland," says Principal Deputy Director Margaret Everson. |
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Regional Director Charlie Wooley at Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: USFWS
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Migratory bird species like the mallard will benefit from wetland conservation projects funded by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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More than $100 Million in Public-Private Funding will Benefit Wetland Conservation ProjectsSeptember 16, 2019The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, chaired by U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, today approved $28 million in grants for the Service and its partners to conserve, enhance or restore more than 150,000 acres of lands for waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds in 20 states through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act matched by more than $72 million in partner funds. The commission also approved $4.2 million from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to conserve 2,200 acres in Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. |
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Migratory bird species like the mallard will benefit from wetland conservation projects funded by the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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