Partnerships | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Partners are valuable allies to the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and play a vital role in meeting the Service's conservation goals. We team up with private conservation organizations, state and federal agencies and tribes. Together, with the landowner, this collective shares funding, materials, equipment, labor and expertise to meet restoration goals and our conservation mission.

Partnership Categories

Great things happen when partners are matched with the right opportunities. That's why we work with many types of partners at FWS from local businesses and conservation groups to veterans and large industry partners. Here are just a few of the Partner Categories working with FWS today.

Academic Institutions

We frequently partner with academia to further the conservation of and research into the stewardship of many species.

Conservation, Science, and Land Management Organizations

We often partner with non-governmental conservation organizations on conservation projects, whether it's to conserve identified species such as the monarch butterfly or to advise on land acquisition for conservation so that it has the greatest benefit for species.

Economic, Tourism, Retail, and Industry

We partner with these groups to help them conduct their commercial activities in a way that best promotes conservation.

Federal Agencies

We work with other federal agencies to help them meet their legal responsibilities as well as their mission.

Friends Groups

Friends groups are organizations of community members committed to helping national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries meet conservation goals that would otherwise be out of reach.

Our Partners

Here are just a few of our national partners. You can view the full list of FWS partners, along with the regions and areas of focus our work together entails.

View Full Partner List

Latest Stories About Our Partners

Norfork National Fish Hatchery and Arkansas Game and Fish emplyees sifting through sand in search of mussels.

Endangered Species Act

Mussel Harvest Time for Norfork National Fish Hatchery

Norfork National Fish Hatchery pulls its mussel cages out of Norfork lake to look at mussel harvest numbers.

Oct 2, 2023

Recreation

Mammoth Spring Fish Fest

On September 23, 2023, the Mammoth Spring NFH hosted its annual Fish Fest Fishing Derby to celebrate National Fish and Hunting Day.

Oct 2, 2023

“We are Both Hunters and Stewards of the Land”

To Emmett Walker, hunting is about ethics. It’s about more than that too, of course. For Walker, hunting is also about family, food, being outdoors, and getting so close to majestic animals that he can reach out and touch them. It’s simply a part of life, the way Walker has lived ever since he shot...

Oct 2, 2023

Mitch Osborne leads a group around restored sections of Cripple Creek, July 2023

Our People

From Bush Planes to Arctic Dives, Mitch Osborne Has Served Alaska High and Low

As his 31-year U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service career comes to an end, the Fairbanks-based fish and wildlife biologist still has ‘attaboys’ to give.

Sep 29, 2023

Little girl smiling with a fishing pole in front of a stream

Recreation

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery Hosts 2023 Reaching for Rainbows Special Needs Fishing Derby

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery hosted a two-day event where special needs students from surrounding counties were able to try their luck fishing for rainbow trout on Hatchery Creek.

Sep 29, 2023

Endangered Species Act

$4.7M in Grants Given to Support Endangered Species Recovery in California

In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation issued $4.7 million in grants to several projects that support endangered species recovery in the Central and San Joaquin Valleys. The grants are funded through the Central Valley Project Conservation Program and the Central...

Sep 28, 2023