Our Services

We promote healthy fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats and offer a variety of services through our programs: Endangered Species, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Contaminants, Coastal Program and Project Evaluation.

More information:
  • Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office brochures in English and Spanish
Mojave desert tortoise

Since two-thirds of federally listed species have at least some habitat on private land, and some species have most of their remaining habitat on private land, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has developed an array of tools and incentives to protect the...

Butterfly rests on tall flowering plant.

The purpose of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is to provide a means to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend and provide a program for the conservation of such species. The ESA directs all federal agencies to participate in conserving these species....

Adult island marble butterfly resting on a blade of grass.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) considers candidate species to be those plants and animals that are candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These are species for which we have enough information regarding their biological status and threats to propose them as...

Monarch butterfly sitting on flower

Candidate species are plants and animals for which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has enough information regarding their biological status and threats to propose them as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but listing is currently precluded by higher...

Two curious animals with long necks and what looks like black masks around their eyes peek out from a burrow in the ground.

​A Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) is a voluntary agreement involving private or other non-federal property owners whose actions contribute to the recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The agreement is between cooperating non-federal property...