The Long Island Field Office works in partnership with other federal, state, and local agencies, non-government organizations, and private landowners to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife resources on Long Island and throughout the New York City boroughs, Rockland, and Westchester counties.

About Us

Our Ecological Services Field Office is comprised of talented staff working to conserve, protect, enhance, and restore the fish, wildlife, and plant resources within Long Island. Our staff are highly trained and experts at working with at-risk, threatened, and endangered species, providing technical assistance related to conservation planning and renewable energy, and conducting cutting-edge research, environmental restoration, and community outreach and education. Our staff works closely with individual landowners as well as local, state, Tribal, and other federal organizations to achieve mutually agreeable conservation outcomes. 

What We Do

Through a series of laws created over the last century, Americans have declared that we need to collectively protect landscapes, fish, wildlife, and plants. Several agencies in the federal government put our country's conservation laws into action, and the Ecological Services Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps lead the way.

We administer the Endangered Species Act, working with experts in the scientific community to identify species on the verge of extinction and to build the road to recovery to bring them back. We work with our partners in federal and state agencies, tribes, local governments, the business community, and private citizens to help protect important habitat, and help increase species' populations and reduce the threats to their survival so that they can be removed from federal protection. 

We provide guidance and expertise to avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife for projects such as wind farms and large-scale transportation developments meeting our society's growing energy and transportation needs.  Our environmental contaminant specialists review project plans and licenses to avoid or minimize harmful effects on wildlife and habitats. In cases of significant releases of hazardous waste, they work in the field to pinpoint sources of pollution and investigate effects, using this data to secure compensation for lost or damaged wildlife and habitat. 

When we protect species and habitats, we conserve the natural resources on which we all depend. We provide recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies on measures to protect wetlands, which protect us from storms and filter our water. We conserve for future generations a continued source of land. Wild things and wild places are part of our shared history. They are part of the natural foundation of the lands we call home. 

Our Organization

The Long Island Field Office is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services Program. Below are the national program pages for programs conducted by our office - for Long Island specific information on these programs (and others), please visit the "More About What We Do" section, above. 

A rocky shoreline of a river. The water is calm. Mist and green branches line the river.
The Ecological Services Program works to restore and protect healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and plants and the environments upon which they depend. Using the best available science, we work with federal, state, Tribal, local, and non-profit stakeholders, as well as private land owners, to...
Close up of a California condor. Its pink featherless head contrasts with its black feathers.
We provide national leadership in the recovery and conservation of our nation's imperiled plant and animal species, working with experts in the scientific community to identify species on the verge of extinction and to build the road to recovery to bring them back. We work with a range of public...
Pronghorn running through sagebrush with natural gas field facility in background.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works collaboratively with other federal agencies, industries, and other stakeholders to achieve infrastructure development goals in ways that are sustainable and compatible with the conservation of fish, wildlife, and their habitats.

Our Species

Federally threatened and endangered species within New York State receive focused research, protection, and consideration from our biologists. 

A monarch butterfly on a yellow flower

Adult monarch butterflies are large and conspicuous, with bright orange wings surrounded by a black border and covered with black veins. The black border has a double row of white spots, present on the upper side of the wings. Adult monarchs are sexually dimorphic, with males having narrower...

FWS Focus
Bald eagle up close with wing raised

A large raptor, the bald eagle has a wingspread of about seven feet. Adults have a dark brown body and wings, white head and tail, and a yellow beak. Juveniles are mostly brown with white mottling on the body, tail, and undersides of wings. Adult plumage usually is obtained by the sixth year. In...

FWS Focus
Adult Black Rails are small blackish marshbirds with a black bill which are difficult to see. Juveniles are similar to adults, but are duller and have less distinct spotting and streaking.

References cited in Species Profile

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2015. Black Rail. All...
FWS Focus
Grey, white and black bird on sand in the foreground

Size: 18 cm (7.25 in) in length. Color: Breeding season: Pale brown above, lighter below; black band across forehead; bill orange with black tip; legs orange; white rump. Male: Complete or incomplete black band encircles the body at the breast. Female: Paler head band; incomplete breast band....

FWS Focus
A small white bird with light grey wings, orange legs and a black cap

The roseate tern is about 40 centimeters in length, with light-gray wings and back. Its first three or four primaries are black and so is its cap. The rest of the body is white, with a rosy tinge on the chest and belly during the breeding season. The tail is deeply forked, and the outermost...

FWS Focus
A greenish brown sea turtle laying on the beach

The Kemp's ridley turtle is the smallest of the sea turtles, with adults reaching about 2 feet in length and weighing up to 100 pounds. The adult Kemp's ridley has an oval carapace that is almost as wide as it is long and is usually olive-gray in color. The carapace has five pairs of costal...

FWS Focus
A large sea turtle swimming along a reef

Loggerheads were named for their relatively large heads, which support powerful jaws and enable them to feed on hard-shelled prey, such as whelks and conch. The carapace (top shell) is slightly heart-shaped and reddish-brown in adults and sub-adults, while the plastron (bottom shell) is...

FWS Focus
A scaly, dark-grey reptile hatchling, partially covered in sand on a beach

The leatherback is the largest, deepest diving, and most migratory and wide ranging of all sea turtles. The adult leatherback can reach 4 to 8 feet in length and 500 to 2000 pounds in weight. Its shell is composed of a mosaic of small bones covered by firm, rubbery skin with seven longitudinal...

FWS Focus
A green sea turtle swims along the bottom of the reef.

The green sea turtle grows to a maximum size of about 4 feet and a weight of 440 pounds. It has a heart-shaped shell, small head, and single-clawed flippers. Color is variable. Hatchlings generally have a black carapace, white plastron, and white margins on the shell and limbs. The adult...

FWS Focus

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