Stories from the Home Page
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An ornate box turtle. Credit: Grayson Smith/USFWS
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Service Awards $7.4 Million to Help Imperiled SpeciesJanuary 13, 2021Vulnerable wildlife across the nation will benefit from nearly $7.4 million in grants thanks to the Competitive State Wildlife Grant (C-SWG) Program. The program supports projects led by state and commonwealth fish and wildlife agencies protecting imperiled wildlife and their habitats. Supporting these projects can accelerate the recovery of endangered species and potentially prevent others from being listed under the Endangered Species Act. This year’s grantees will implement 17 conservation projects that span 28 states and four commonwealths. |
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An ornate box turtle. Credit: Grayson Smith/USFWS
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An interior least tern incubating eggs. Credit: USFWS
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Trump Administration Celebrates Recovery of America’s Smallest TernJanuary 12, 2021After more than three decades of conservation partnerships inspired by the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is celebrating the delisting of the interior least tern due to recovery. Thanks to the diverse efforts of local, state and federal stakeholders across an 18-state range, the interior least tern’s populations are healthy, stable and increasing. |
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An interior least tern incubating eggs. Credit: USFWS
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Golden-cheeked warbler. Credit: Steve Maslowski/USFWS
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Service Finalizes Regulation Clarifying the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ImplementationJanuary 5, 2021The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final regulation that defines the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Consistent with the text, purpose and history of the MBTA, the final regulation clarifies that conduct resulting in unintentional (incidental) injury or death of migratory birds is not prohibited under the MBTA. This rule provides regulatory certainty to the public, industries, states, tribes and other stakeholders about implementation of the MBTA and best practices for conservation. |
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Golden-cheeked warbler. Credit: Steve Maslowski/USFWS
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America's Wild Read Credit: USFWS
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America’s Wild Read is Back!January 5, 2021The USFWS Conservation Library is relaunching America’s Wild Read, a virtual book club centered on inspiring readers to engage with conservation literature and nature writing. Read along with us, and look out for posts on the USFWS Conservation Library blog where we’ll weave together the perspectives of Fish and Wildlife Service thought leaders through their commentary and conversation. Join in on the discussion by posting your thoughts and responses. Our first selection is J. Drew Lanham’s The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. |
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America's Wild Read Credit: USFWS
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Double-crested cormorant. Credit: USFWS
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Service Finalizes New Special Permit for Cormorant Management in Lower 48 StatesDecember 22, 2020Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a final rule and final environmental impact statement to responsibly manage conflicts associated with double-crested cormorants in the United States. The final rule establishes a new special permit for state and federally recognized tribal wildlife agencies in the contiguous 48 United States to undertake additional cormorant control activities when permissible under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. |
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Double-crested cormorant. Credit: USFWS
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Watching Director Aurelia Skipwith sign the Memorandum of Understanding are from left: Kellis Moss, Ducks Unlimited; Kaitlyn Glover, Public Lands Council; Ethan Lane, National Cattlemen's Beef Association; and Chris Comer, Safari Club International. Credit: USFWS
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Trump Administration Finalizes Endangered Species Critical Habitat Designation RuleDecember 18, 2020U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Public Lands Council, Ducks Unlimited and Safari Club International. The agreement outlines a shared commitment to habitat conservation through sustainable multiple use. Working together, the partners will cultivate healthier ecosystems, wildlife populations, and local economies through hunting, fishing and livestock grazing. |
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Watching Director Aurelia Skipwith sign the Memorandum of Understanding are from left: Kellis Moss, Ducks Unlimited; Kaitlyn Glover, Public Lands Council; Ethan Lane, National Cattlemen's Beef Association; and Chris Comer, Safari Club International. Credit: USFWS
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Monarch on New England Aster. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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Service Announces Listing Determination for the Monarch ButterflyDecember 15, 2020After a thorough assessment of the monarch butterfly’s status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that adding the monarch butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species is warranted but precluded by work on higher-priority listing actions. With this decision, the monarch becomes a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act, and its status will be reviewed each year until it is no longer a candidate. |
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Monarch on New England Aster. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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The definition addresses a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in a case regarding dusky gopher frog critical habitat. Credit: John A. Tupy/Western Carolina University
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Service and NOAA Fisheries Finalize Regulatory Definition of HabitatDecember 15, 2020To improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have defined the term “habitat” under the act. Not previously defined by the act, the definition will help stimulate more effective conservation, and improve consistency and predictability around critical habitat designations. |
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The definition addresses a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in a case regarding dusky gopher frog critical habitat. Credit: John A. Tupy/Western Carolina University
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USFWS Director Aurelia Skipwith meets with Federal Wildlife Officers. Credit: USFWS
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More Than 13,600 Pounds of Illegal Narcotics Seized on National Wildlife Refuges in 2020December 15, 2020Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes the public safety protection efforts of Federal Wildlife Officers who in 2020 successfully led the seizure of 13,615 pounds of illegal narcotics on national wildlife refuges. The 2020 street value of the seizures was $43 million -- 17 times more than in 2019, which was $2.5 million. The Trump Administration has made it a priority to end the drug overdose epidemic that kills approximately 70,000 Americans each year. |
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USFWS Director Aurelia Skipwith meets with Federal Wildlife Officers. Credit: USFWS
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Wisdom incubates her newest egg. Credit: Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll NWR
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As Usual, Wisdom the Albatross Returns to Midway AtollDecember 10, 2020Wisdom, the world’s oldest known and banded wild bird, has returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. At least 69 years old, Wisdom, a mōlī (Laysan albatross), was first seen at her nest this year at the end of last month. Biologists have confirmed that she has laid an egg. |
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Wisdom incubates her newest egg. Credit: Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll NWR
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Find a shooting range near you. Credit: USFWS
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Interactive Map for Shooting Sports Supports Safety, ConservationDecember 5, 2020Finding a place to shoot safely is now easier than ever thanks to a new interactive tool premiered today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of its 83-year partnership with states, industry and individual firearms users who help pay for wildlife and natural resource conservation, hunter education and public shooting ranges through the Wildlife Restoration Program. The new map identifies a total of 623 ranges across the United States, including 183 archery ranges, 285 firearms ranges and 155 archery and firearms combined shooting ranges, highlighting opportunities and access from California to Massachusetts. |
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Find a shooting range near you. Credit: USFWS
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Splash-backed poison frogs at the time of seizure. Credit: Alberto J. Gonzalez/USFWS
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Splash-backed Poison Frogs Fly Home to BrazilDecember 4, 2020In September, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife inspectors carefully placed a container of 21 splash-backed poison frogs, including 19 of a rare blue-morph coloration, on a plane home to Brazil. The country doesn’t allow the frogs to be exported, but they are prized by collectors. U.S. wildlife inspectors seized the frogs as part of the fight against wildlife trafficking. In Brazil, the frogs will have a permanent home at the São Paulo Zoo, one of Brazil’s premier institutions. |
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Splash-backed poison frogs at the time of seizure. Credit: Alberto J. Gonzalez/USFWS
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One-to-five-day-old least tern chicks using their camouflage to hide among the sand and wrack. Credit: Helen Manning/USFWS
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Sense of Wonder in the FieldDecember 1, 2020As Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine celebrates 50 years of conservation, technicians, biologists and others have been reflecting on the legacy of the famed conservationist. |
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One-to-five-day-old least tern chicks using their camouflage to hide among the sand and wrack. Credit: Helen Manning/USFWS
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Video: Desert Tortoise Rescue. Credit: USFWS
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'Zip-tie,' Family Get Helping HandNovember 20, 2020Mojave desert tortoises occur in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts north and west of the Colorado River in southwestern Utah, southern Nevada, southeastern California and northwestern Arizona. They live on a variety of terrain from sandy flats to rocky foothills but face numerous obstacles when seeking suitable habitat in the wild. Roadways are one of the greatest dangers, accounting for the deaths of more than 200 tortoises a year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works closely with the U.S. Marine Corps and other organizations to treat injured tortoises. |
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Video: Desert Tortoise Rescue. Credit: USFWS
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A Service firefighter lights a prescribed burn at Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho. Credit: Justin Hughes/USFWS
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Trump Administration Reduces Wildfire Risk by Record 5.4 Million AcresNovember 18, 2020The Department of the Interior announced today that it has once again made substantial progress in Fiscal Year 2020 to reduce the risk of wildfire nationwide by treating a ten-year best 1.5 million acres of public lands.In continued efforts to reduce wildfire risk across much of the United States, the Service has exceeded yearly milestones to ensure National Wildlife Refuge System lands remain healthy, resilient and accessible to the public. The Service completed a significant amount of fuels treatments to reduce hazardous fuel loads, provide wildfire suppression efforts across the country, and increase protection of local communities surrounding fire-prone areas. |
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A Service firefighter lights a prescribed burn at Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho. Credit: Justin Hughes/USFWS
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