Stories from the Home Page
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Turtles were smuggled using a variety of methods. Here they are concealed inside athletic socks and surrounded by food packages. Credit: USFWS
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Turtle Smuggler Gets Stiff SentenceMarch 20, 2019Four South Carolina men were sentenced for smuggling endangered or protected turtles to and from the United States. One defendant was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit more than $263,000 from illicit proceeds. |
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Turtles were smuggled using a variety of methods. Here they are concealed inside athletic socks and surrounded by food packages. Credit: USFWS
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The White House. Credit: The White House
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President Requests $1.3B for Service in FY 2020March 18, 2019President Donald Trump has proposed a budget of $1.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 to fund the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s principal resource management and conservation programs. An additional $1.5 billion in permanent funding is administered to states through grants that support state wildlife and sport fish conservation, recreational boating and related programs. The President’s Budget invests in outdoor recreational opportunities, improvements to the permitting processes and infrastructure, and work to recover species listed under the Endangered Species Act. |
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The White House. Credit: The White House
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The gray wolf. Credit: Gary Kramer/USFWS
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Department of the Interior Celebrates Recovery of the Gray Wolf with Proposal to Return Management to States, TribesMarch 14, 2019The gray wolf, an iconic species of the American West, had all but disappeared from the landscape in the lower 48 states by the early 20th century. Now it roams free in nine states and is stable and healthy throughout its current range. This constitutes one of the greatest comebacks for an animal in U.S. conservation history. The Service is re-affirming the success of this recovery with a proposal to remove all gray wolves from protection under Endangered Species Act. |
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The gray wolf. Credit: Gary Kramer/USFWS
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P is for this pinniped – in this case, a seal at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Ian Shive/Tandem
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Refuge Animals From A to ZMarch 6, 2019The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conserves land and water on national wildlife refuges for more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species, and more than 1,000 species of fish. |
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P is for this pinniped – in this case, a seal at Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Ian Shive/Tandem
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Jackie Ferrier, 2019 Refuge Manager of the Year and project leader of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Credit: USFWS
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Herstory: First Woman Named Refuge Manager of the YearMarch 4, 2019History is not just about the past. It is about real people making real achievements every day. Jackie Ferrier, project leader of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Washington state, is one of those people. During Women’s History Month, we want to acknowledge Ferrier, who last month was named 2019 Refuge Manager of the Year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. This marks the first time in the award’s 25-year history that a woman has received the honor. |
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Jackie Ferrier, 2019 Refuge Manager of the Year and project leader of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Credit: USFWS
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Fostering institutions care for young northern red-bellied cooters until they are larger than the palm of a hand. Credit: Bridget Macdonald/USFWS
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In Massachusetts, Turtles Get a Head Start in SchoolMarch 1, 2019In the 1980s, scientists were concerned about the decline of northern red-bellied cooters in Massachusetts. They had estimated there were only 200 of the turtles left in the state, all in 12 ponds in Plymouth County. So they sent them to school. Since the initiation of the student-led program to raise turtles, 4,334 head-started cooters have been released into 33 sites in eastern Massachusetts. |
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Fostering institutions care for young northern red-bellied cooters until they are larger than the palm of a hand. Credit: Bridget Macdonald/USFWS
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Snow angel, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota. Why did a large-winged bird leave such a deep impression in the snow at Tamarac Refuge? Credit: Lee Kensinger/USFWS
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Snow TracksFebruary 27, 2019Winter is a great time to find signs of wildlife on national wildlife refuges. Snow prints may reveal clues to an animal’s size, diet, gait and habits. Some tracks and prints tell stories of struggle and survival. |
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Snow angel, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota. Why did a large-winged bird leave such a deep impression in the snow at Tamarac Refuge? Credit: Lee Kensinger/USFWS
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The Borax Lake chub can withstand the harsh conditions of remnant desert waters of the Great Basin, where surface water temperatures reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Credit: The Nature Conservancy
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Little Fish Makes Big RecoveryFebruary 26, 2019The tiny Borax Lake chub exists only in Borax Lake, a unique spring-fed lake in the Alvord Basin of southeast Oregon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to delist this endangered fish because threats to its survival have been reduced thanks to our partners at The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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The Borax Lake chub can withstand the harsh conditions of remnant desert waters of the Great Basin, where surface water temperatures reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Credit: The Nature Conservancy
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A pair of scarlet of Macaws in Costa Rica. Credit: Tom Murray/Creative Commons
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Scarlet Macaw Receives Endangered Species Act ProtectionsFebruary 25, 2019The scarlet macaw’s range in Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) has been reduced over the past several decades, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken the bird under its wing. Now, one subspecies is protected as endangered, others as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, a rule allows for interstate commerce and the import and export of certain captive-bred birds while ensuring needed protections. |
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A pair of scarlet of Macaws in Costa Rica. Credit: Tom Murray/Creative Commons
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A Blanding’s turtle crosses the road. Credit: Courtney Celley/USFWS
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Speaking Up for Wildlife: How to Report Wildlife CrimeFebruary 25, 2019People just like you help us protect everything from native turtles to pallid sturgeon and bald eagles. Learn what to do if you believe you have information related to a wildlife crime. Help us close the next case, and you may be eligible for a monetary reward. |
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A Blanding’s turtle crosses the road. Credit: Courtney Celley/USFWS
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Thousands of greater sandhill cranes fill the air at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. Credit: Kate Miyamoto/USFWS
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2019 Spectacular Bird Festivals on National Wildlife RefugesFebruary 11, 2019For a jaw-dropping nature spectacle, it’s hard to beat a bird festival. Some of the nation’s most celebrated bird festivals are at or near national wildlife refuges. Many celebrate the seasonal arrivals of large birds, such as sandhill cranes, notable for their great wingspans, noisy calls and striking mating dances. Other festivals focus on bald eagles, tundra swans, snow geese and prairie chickens. Refuges are family-friendly, so bring your whole crew! |
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Thousands of greater sandhill cranes fill the air at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. Credit: Kate Miyamoto/USFWS
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John D. Dingell. Credit: USFWS
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A Conservation Hero Leaves a LegacyFebruary 11, 2019Last week, the Service and the nation lost one of its most inspiring friends and conservation heroes: Congressman John D. Dingell, who passed away Feb. 7. Dingell’s name is synonymous with the country’s keystone conservation laws – the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act, to name a few -- all of which he authored or sponsored. Of his six decades in the U.S. Congress, Dingell spent more than half as an influential member of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. In 2017, the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge visitor center was named after Dingell, who worked to establish the Service’s first international wildlife refuge as a place to gather, learn and protect the area’s wildlife and natural resources. |
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John D. Dingell. Credit: USFWS
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Wisdom’s mate Akeakamai stands over their newly hatched chick Credit: Bob Peyton/USFWS
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Albatross Wisdom is a New Mom AgainFebruary 8, 2019Wisdom, a Laysan albatross and world’s oldest known banded wild bird, hatched another chick recently at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. She is at least 68 years old, has raised more than 30 chicks in her lifetime. |
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Wisdom’s mate Akeakamai stands over their newly hatched chick Credit: Bob Peyton/USFWS
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Members of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., youth auxiliary at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Credit: Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
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Finding America's Future ConservationistsFebruary 6, 2019Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida has had the privilege of hosting young men from the youth auxiliary of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., recently. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Sigma are working together to introduce young men to outdoor recreation and careers in wildlife conservation. |
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Members of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., youth auxiliary at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Credit: Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
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A monarch butterfly visits a monarch habitat at Wild Turkey Trace Golf Course in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Credit: USFWS
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Teeing up for Monarch ButterfliesJanuary 30, 2019The U.S. Golf Association helps fund Monarchs in the Rough, an Audubon International project to establish monarch habitats on American golf courses. Since kicking off at the beginning of 2018, the project has commitments from 250 courses so far to plant milkweed and other pollinator flowers on at least one acre per course. With additional funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the goal for 2019 is 500 more courses, 50 in each of 10 states. |
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A monarch butterfly visits a monarch habitat at Wild Turkey Trace Golf Course in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Credit: USFWS
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