Hawaii Couple Sentenced in Wildlife Smuggling Operation

Liliani and James Muti have been sentenced for conspiracy to traffic and illegally sell bone carvings and jewelry made from protected whales, sea turtles, and other wildlife. The sentencing was the culmination of a two-year joint undercover investigation by NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A search warrant resulted in the seizure of more than 2,000 bone carvings, a sea turtle shell, and a walrus skull. It is the largest seizure of whalebone in Hawaii history.

News release

Hunting, Fishing Opportunities Expanded at 30 National Wildlife Refuges

The Service has increased fishing and hunting opportunities at 30 National Wildlife Refuges, including three in Oregon. Part of a continuing effort to increase access to public lands, the latest additions opened more than 251,000 acres to new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities. Hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities contributed more than $156 billion in economic activity in communities across the United States in 2016, according to the Service’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

News release

National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation

Butterflies Find Haven at Southern Oregon Golf Club

Wildlife on the fairway can be a hazard of the wrong kind. Yet, managers of the Stewart Meadows Golf Course in Medford are creating gardens to attract them. By creating five 'Monarch Waystations', the 9-hole golf course in Southern Oregon will provide native milkweed and nectar plants to support monarchs and other pollinators. This effort, the first in the Pacific Northwest, will use best management practices to be responsible with water consumption and to limit the use of pesticides and fertilizer. Learn more about this effort and how our partners are providing a future filled with monarchs.

Read more about the ribbon cutting ceremony