Stories from the Home Page
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Brown-belted bumble bee on prairie clover. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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Beyond Monarchs: A Pollinator PrimerNovember 21, 2019We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are continually learning about pollinators. We know their populations are changing. We are still in the process of researching them, but because they are often small and solitary, they are difficult to study. But you don’t have to be a pollinator expert to save butterflies and bees. Here are some of the basics about these vital species. |
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Brown-belted bumble bee on prairie clover. Credit: Tom Koerner/USFWS
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Karen Little is a botanist and the environmental laboratory manager for specialty gardens and greenhouses at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Credit: Al Barrus/USFWS
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Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners Strike at Cactus Black MarketNovember 14, 2019After years of investigation, four cactus traffickers have been sentenced to a combined total of nine years of probation and more for their role in the illegal harvest, sale and/or transportation of the protected living rock, a thornless cactus. There are several more defendants in this case, and the fight to protect the cactus is ongoing. It’s a felony to export the wild plant outside United States. |
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Karen Little is a botanist and the environmental laboratory manager for specialty gardens and greenhouses at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Credit: Al Barrus/USFWS
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Roseate spoonbill at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Credit: Larry A. Woodward/USFWS
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Why I Took These ShotsNovember 14, 2019“Wildlife photography has become a passion of mine that I have shared with my special-needs daughter, Roland,” says Larry Woodward, deputy manager and wildlife biologist at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. “On a weekly basis, we are together, both with camera in hand, photographing wildlife.” |
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Roseate spoonbill at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Credit: Larry A. Woodward/USFWS
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Biologists at the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery in Wyoming hopped at the chance to raise the endangered Wyoming toad. Credit: USFWS
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National Fish Hatcheries No Longer Just About FishNovember 6, 2019Mussels, birds, turtles: These creatures, and more, are living at national fish hatcheries across the nation. The hatcheries, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, host 30 non-fish species — shelled, feathered, hopping — as well as growing more than 100 species of fish. |
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Biologists at the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery in Wyoming hopped at the chance to raise the endangered Wyoming toad. Credit: USFWS
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A hawksbill turtle is among the creatures a diver might see near Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. Credit: Credit: © Jan P. Zegarra
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Dive Into Puerto Rico's Blissful WatersNovember 1, 2019"I grew up here," says Jan P. Zegarra, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who has been diving off Puerto Rico since he was a teenager. "We're surrounded by the ocean on all sides, so it feels almost natural to be in the water here." Join Zegarra in exploring great diving opportunities off the coasts of three national wildlife refuges in Puerto Rico. |
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A hawksbill turtle is among the creatures a diver might see near Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. Credit: Credit: © Jan P. Zegarra
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Tri-colored bat with visible symptoms of white-nose syndrome at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. Credit: Pete Pattavina/USFWS
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Service Announces Funding to Spur Innovation to Save America's BatsOctober 30, 2019The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a $100,000 challenge to help combat white-nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of hibernating bats in North America. Funds will be awarded to individuals and teams who identify innovative ways to permanently eradicate, weaken or disarm the fungus that causes the disease. The deadline to submit ideas to the White-nose Syndrome Challenge is Dec. 31, 2019, by 11:59 p.m. ET. |
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Tri-colored bat with visible symptoms of white-nose syndrome at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. Credit: Pete Pattavina/USFWS
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Visitors enjoying a morning bike ride at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah. Credit: J. Barney
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Guidance for Electric Bicycle Use On National Wildlife RefugesOctober 22, 2019The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System announced today a Director’s Order to allow the use of low-speed electric bicycles (e-bikes) at national wildlife refuges that permit traditional bicycling, expanding recreational opportunities and access. E-bike use is now permitted at any refuge where biking is deemed to be consistent with the site’s statutory purpose. |
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Visitors enjoying a morning bike ride at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Utah. Credit: J. Barney
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The Tualatin River at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuges. Credit: USFWS
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The Tualatin River Runs Through ItOctober 16, 2019The Tualatin River in Oregon brings together cities, partners and the public with Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Both urban refuges are in the middle of extensive projects that will provide habitat for fish, wildlife and plants and improve quality drinking water for 400,000 humans. The projects are also strengthening long-term relationships with local cities and partners. As we celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week, why not check out what’s happening at a refuge near you? |
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The Tualatin River at Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuges. Credit: USFWS
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Thumbnail image of a still shot from the These Are Your National Wildlife Refuges video. Click image to view the video. Credit: USFWS
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National Wildlife Refuges Make Life BetterOctober 16, 2019Mid-October brings much to savor: crisp air, turning leaves and the sprouting of Halloween goblins on lawns. Here’s something else that belongs on your things-to-celebrate-this-fall list: national wildlife refuges. This week—National Wildlife Refuge Week — is a great time to reflect on how much we all owe these wondrous lands and waters. |
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Thumbnail image of a still shot from the These Are Your National Wildlife Refuges video. Click image to view the video. Credit: USFWS
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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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Although interior least terns are generally considered seabirds, they can be found along lakes, wetlands and more than 2,800 miles of river channels in the U.S interior. They winter in the Caribbean and South America. Credit: Bill Stripling
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Decades of ESA-Inspired Partnerships Support Interior Least Tern Delisting ProposalOctober 5, 2019When the interior least tern was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1985, there were only a few dozen of the bird's nesting sites scattered across America's Great Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley. That's when local stakeholders, states, industry and federal agencies like the US Army Corp of Engineers all came together to help America's smallest tern make a big recovery. Today, there are more than 18,000 interior least terns at more than 480 nesting sites in 18 states. |
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Although interior least terns are generally considered seabirds, they can be found along lakes, wetlands and more than 2,800 miles of river channels in the U.S interior. They winter in the Caribbean and South America. Credit: Bill Stripling
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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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