Stories from the Home Page
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Southern Arizona citizens installed bat feeders in their back yards to help recover lesser long-nosed bats and share scientific data. Credit: Courtesy of Richard Spitzer.
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Good News for Agave: Plant Pollinating Bat No Longer EndangeredApril 17, 2018Thanks to three decades of partnerships between the Service and diverse stakeholders on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, the lesser long-nosed bat has rebounded from near-extinction and no longer requires Endangered Species Act protection. Agave growers, tequila producers, private landowners, wildlife agencies and citizen scientists all pitched in to conserve and restore this unique pollinator. |
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Southern Arizona citizens installed bat feeders in their back yards to help recover lesser long-nosed bats and share scientific data. Credit: Courtesy of Richard Spitzer.
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Sporting a namesake black cap and white face mask, the black-capped vireo is the smallest member of the vireo family. This bird occurs regularly in the United States and winters exclusively in Mexico along the Pacific Coast. Credit: Gil Eckrich
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Black-Capped Vireo Soars to Recovery Thanks to Conservation Partnerships; Service Delists the Songbird from ESAApril 13, 2018Not so long ago the black-capped vireo nearly went extinct. Goats ate their way through this songbird’s habitat and brown-headed cowbirds commandeered their nests. In the late 1980s there were only about 350 birds known to exist, but thanks to robust conservation efforts, the vireo is being removed from the list of endangered and threatened species. |
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Sporting a namesake black cap and white face mask, the black-capped vireo is the smallest member of the vireo family. This bird occurs regularly in the United States and winters exclusively in Mexico along the Pacific Coast. Credit: Gil Eckrich
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Male Kirtland's Warbler from Adams county, Wisconsin. Credit: Joel Trick/USFWS
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Service and Partners Celebrate Remarkable Conservation Victory of Once Critically Imperiled SongbirdApril 11, 2018In the early 1970s, the Kirtland's warbler seemed to be rapidly heading towards extinction. But after decades of partnership efforts among federal and state agencies, industry and conservation groups, the population of this songbird has rebounded, and the Service is now proposing to remove it from the list of endangered and threatened species. |
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Male Kirtland's Warbler from Adams county, Wisconsin. Credit: Joel Trick/USFWS
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Dave Murphy plants a native tree on his farm. Credit: Kelly O'Mara/Ozark Regional Land Trust
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Nature's Good Neighbors: For this Missouri Bat Ambassador, Conservation Begins at HomeApril 11, 2018The commissioner of the Missouri Department of Conservation manages his farm in a way that both enhances its economic value and provides a quality home for the endangered Indiana bat and other wildlife. |
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Dave Murphy plants a native tree on his farm. Credit: Kelly O'Mara/Ozark Regional Land Trust
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Jane Koger inspects her ranch in her Polaris Ranger. Credit: Greg Kramos/USFWS
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Nature's Good Neighbors: All About the TallgrassApril 6, 2018Rancher Jane Koger makes her living running a cow-calf operation in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Through experimentation, education and relationships, she has learned that improving habitat for wildlife also helps her bottom line. |
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Jane Koger inspects her ranch in her Polaris Ranger. Credit: Greg Kramos/USFWS
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Thousands of invasive silver carp were removed from Creve Coeur Lake. Credit: Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation.
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Herding Asian carp in St. Louis, MissouriApril 4, 2018We've heard of herding cats, but fish? In a recent fishing exercise at Creve Coeur Lake, our biologists worked with the Missouri Department of Conservation, U.S. Geological Survey and the St. Louis County Parks Department to remove 47,000 Asian carp from the lake. Partners used a Chinese "fish herding" technique to capture thousands of these unwanted fish. |
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Thousands of invasive silver carp were removed from Creve Coeur Lake. Credit: Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation.
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Landowner David Spicer with Partners for Fish and Wildlife biologist Christiana Manville. Credit: Joe Milmoe/USFWS
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Nature's Good Neighbors: Restoring Habitat and Reviving the Local EconomyApril 2, 2018Landowner David Spicer decided to help the Amargosa toad, a species unique to the Oasis Valley of Nevada, where he lives. As he worked on toad conservation, he also made his ranch a place for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy the natural world. And his tourism plans aren't complete. |
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Landowner David Spicer with Partners for Fish and Wildlife biologist Christiana Manville. Credit: Joe Milmoe/USFWS
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Two adult Hawaiian Geese (Nenes) with chick. Credit: Kathleen Misajon/NPS
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Hawaiian Goose is One Step Closer to RecoveryMarch 30, 2018After 60 years of collaborative conservation efforts among federal, state, NGOs and local partners, the Hawaiian Goose, or nene, is one step closer to recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to downlist the Hawaiian goose from endangered to threatened. By the mid-20th century, fewer than 30 nene remained in the wild. Today more than 2,800 individuals survive. |
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Two adult Hawaiian Geese (Nenes) with chick. Credit: Kathleen Misajon/NPS
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The black rhinoceros is critically endangered. Credit: Karl Stromayer/USFWS
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Wildlife Trafficker Sentenced to 27 Months in PrisonMarch 27, 2018After selling two black rhinoceros horns to an undercover agent with the Fish and Wildlife Service, a California man was convicted of crimes against the Lacey and Endangered Species acts. His 27-month sentence is another success for the Service’s Operation Crash, an ongoing nationwide effort to investigate and prosecute those involved in the black market trade of rhinoceros horns. |
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The black rhinoceros is critically endangered. Credit: Karl Stromayer/USFWS
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A bee visits a flowering butterfly milkweed plant at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Courtney Celley/USFWS
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Timing Is EverythingMarch 27, 2018Tracking the timing of events in nature gives refuge biologists information they need to manage refuge lands wisely – for example, suppressing invasive species, curbing wildfire risk, assessing the vulnerability of an at-risk species. Some national wildlife refuges are inviting citizens to help turbo-charge their data collection on the USFWS Phenology Network, a joint project of the Service and the USA-National Phenology Network. |
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A bee visits a flowering butterfly milkweed plant at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Courtney Celley/USFWS
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Red-cockaded woodpecker in flight. Credit: Martjan Lammertink/U.S. Forest Service
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At Camp Lejeune, Endangered Woodpecker Thrives Amid Simulated BattlesMarch 26, 2018Under a new and far-reaching state-federal partnership, the health and well-being of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker is tied to the U.S. Marine Corps mission at Lejeune. An agreement between the military, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the state of North Carolina allows Lejeune to expand training through prime woodpecker territory. In return, the so-called Recovery and Sustainment Program, or RASP, should boost the woodpecker population across eastern North Carolina. |
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Red-cockaded woodpecker in flight. Credit: Martjan Lammertink/U.S. Forest Service
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green-winged teal, one of the featured species for the 2018 Duck Stamp Contest, taking flight at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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2018 Duck Stamp Contest to Celebrate Contribution of Waterfowl HuntersMarch 20, 2018The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that the theme of the 2019-2020 Federal Duck Stamp will be "Celebrating our waterfowl hunting heritage." This theme requires entrants in the 2018 Duck Stamp Contest to include one or more visual elements that reflect the contributions waterfowl hunters make to habitat conservation. Through the purchase of a Duck Stamp, funds go to help protect habitat on national wildlife refuges, increase access to public lands and provide communities with an economic stimulus. |
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green-winged teal, one of the featured species for the 2018 Duck Stamp Contest, taking flight at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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Sport Fish Restoration funds create opportunities to get outside. Credit: RBFF
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Conservation and Recreation Win: More Than $1.1 Billion Distributed to States Through Time-Honored Excise Tax ProgramMarch 20, 2018Conservation and recreation opportunities provided by states got a boost today through more than $1 billion from excise taxes paid by the hunting, shooting, archery, boating and angling industries on firearms, bows and ammunition, sport fishing tackle and boating fuel. To date, the Service has distributed more than $20.2 billion in these apportionments for state conservation and recreation projects. |
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Sport Fish Restoration funds create opportunities to get outside. Credit: RBFF
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Refuge Planner Victoria Touchstone at the San Diego NWR Complex. Credit: USFWS
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Conservation Leaders Recognized with 2018 National Wildlife Refuge System AwardsMarch 20, 2018The National Wildlife Refuge Association announced the 2018 National Wildlife Refuge System Awards exemplifying the outstanding conservation management skills and volunteer leadership throughout the refuge system. The annual awards honor the Refuge Manager, Refuge Employee, Refuge Volunteer and Friends Group of the Year. |
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Refuge Planner Victoria Touchstone at the San Diego NWR Complex. Credit: USFWS
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Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge along 36 miles of the Green River in southwest Wyoming. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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Celebrating 115 Years of the National Wildlife Refuge SystemMarch 14, 2018With the establishment of the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island on March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt created the National Wildlife Refuge System, which today spans 150 million acres, including 566 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetlands management districts. While wildlife refuges are set aside for the protection of wildlife and their habitat, they also provide a variety of great outdoor experiences -- from wildlife observation, photography and hunting to fishing, environmental education and interpretation. |
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Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge along 36 miles of the Green River in southwest Wyoming. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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