Sec. 1 What is the background and purpose of this Order?
a. The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) are national treasures providing wildlife habitat for thousands of wildlife, plant, and fish species and millions of acres of outdoor opportunities for all Americans.
(1) The NWRS includes 573 refuges, which encompass over 96 million land acres, as well as 5 vast Marine National Monuments that encompass 760 million acres of submerged lands and waters. The NWRS includes half of the Service’s workforce and the overwhelming majority of the Service’s assets. The NWRS protects some of the country’s most iconic landscapes, waterways, and oceans and the fish and wildlife that rely on them.
(2) The NFHS is comprised of a vast network of 71 National Fish Hatcheries, 7 Fish Technology Centers, and 6 Fish Health Centers, encompassing a large portion of the Service’s workforce and assets. The NFHS stocks more than 122 million fish annually in support of restoration and recovery of threatened and endangered fish species, Tribal trust responsibilities, and recreational angling opportunities.
b. The National Wildlife Refuge and National Fish Hatchery Systems require a programmatic, comprehensive review. By way of this Order, the Director is providing the guidance, scope, and expectations for the review.
(1) Senior Advisor Joshua Coursey will lead the review of the NWRS and Acting Deputy Director for Operations David Miko will lead the effort for the NFHS (hereinafter referred to as “the Leads”).
(2) This Order establishes the scope, requirements, and expectations for the comprehensive reviews. The Director expects all staff, supervisors, and Project Leaders to provide necessary support to these efforts as requested by the two bureau Leads. This support will require responses to informational requests, meeting attendance, and other actions to aid in a thorough, accurate, effective, and timely process. These reviews will ensure that the Service is directing its resources (e.g., staff, funds, and assets) to best meet our highest mission priorities.
Sec. 2 What is the scope of this Order? The reviews required by this Order must encompass all units of the NWRS and NFHS. For the purposes of this Order:
a. A unit of the NWRS means all lands, waters, and interests therein that we administer as wildlife refuges, national monuments, wildlife management areas, waterfowl production areas, coordination areas, and other areas for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife.
b. A unit of the NFHS means all facilities that raise and distribute fish and aquatic species to support conservation efforts across the U.S. to enhance recreational fisheries managed by States and Tribes, boost local economic development, fulfill Tribal trust responsibilities, recover threatened and endangered species, and prevent at-risk species from becoming endangered.
Sec. 3 What are the required components of the reviews? Given the vast expanse of the NWRS and NFHS, each review should address a wide range of internal and external factors.
a. The review must consider the following factors:
(1) Overall mission of the bureau and NWRS and NFHS alignment; look for refuges or hatcheries established for a purpose that no longer aligns with the mission;
(2) Organizational structure required to achieve the mission of the NWRS and NFHS, including existing barriers and opportunities to remove those barriers;
(3) Current resources (both operational funding and workforce);
(4) Refuge and hatchery staff capacity to build and maintain relationships and ability to work in partnership with local communities and State and Tribal wildlife management agencies;
(5) Consistent, transparent policy and guidance to ensure system-wide land, water, and resource management;
(6) Asset and infrastructure management with a particular focus on accurate deferred maintenance assessments and actual maintenance needs; and
(7) Opportunities to achieve efficiencies in the areas of governance, oversight, and span of control.
b. The Leads are directed to:
(1) Oversee the establishment of an anonymous form that staff can use to provide constructive feedback with the purpose of achieving the best possible outcomes for the reviews, and
(2) Obtain feedback from State and Tribal wildlife and fish management agencies as well as relevant Non-Governmental partners to inform their final recommendations.
c. Staff are directed to:
(1) Provide feedback through established chains of command or through the anonymous feedback form that will be created in accordance with this Order, and
(2) Provide requested assistance in a timely manner to those conducting the reviews.
Sec. 4 What deliverables must be submitted to the Director?
a. The Leads will provide weekly updates to the Director.
b. The Leads will provide an initial summary of organizational change recommendations no later than January 5, 2026.
c. The Leads will each provide a detailed narrative of the results of their review and a list of actionable recommendations with associated necessary actions required for implementation no later than February 15, 2026.
Sec. 5 When is this Order effective? This Order is effective immediately. It remains in effect until we amend, extend, supersede, or revoke it, whichever comes first. If we do not amend, extend, supersede, or revoke it, the provisions of this Order will expire in 18 months.
/sgd/ Brian R. Nesvik
DIRECTOR
Date: December 16, 2025