Environmental Contaminants Program in Midwest Region
"The most alarming of all man’s assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials."
Rachel Carson�s Silent Spring
Environmental Contaminants Program
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 3
1 Federal Drive
BHW Federal Building
Fort Snelling, MN 55111
(612) 713-5350
FAX: (612) 713-5292The industrial heritage of the Nation’s heartland has brought prosperity to millions of Americans, but has also left a legacy of polluted water and soil that continues to impact our natural resources, and ultimately, human well being. In her seminal work, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson documented that pesticides creeping up the food chain could devastate eagles, falcons, and other birds, eventually causing birth defects and other human health problems.
Carson was an employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the primary federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Thanks to her pioneer work, DDT and other pesticides have been banned or regulated, eagles & falcons are making a strong comeback, and your health is better protected.
The Great Lakes - Big Rivers Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spans the nation’s heartland -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In these states, the Environmental Contaminants Program is available to:
- Identify sources of pollution
- Investigate pollution effects on fish, wildlife, and habitat
- Investigate fish and wildlife die-offs
- Respond to oil and hazardous material spills or releases
- Restore habitats and resources degraded by pollution
- Provide advice to minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizer
- Provide technical expertise to other federal agencies, states, industrial, and agricultural interests
Learn more: Fact sheet on FWS National Environmental Contaminants Program (download or view .pdf file)
Region 3 EC Fact Sheet: Fact sheet on the Region 3 Environmental Contaminants Program (download or view .pdf file)
Read on: 2005 National Environmental Contaminants Program Accomplishments Report (download or view .pdf file)
Contaminant Biologists in Action in the Midwest:
Links:
Region 3 Strategic Plan - Environmental Contaminants Program
Region 3 Natural Resource Damage Assessment Page
Cleanup activities at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge Superfund Site
National Environmental Contaminants Home Page
For more information, contact Frank Horvath at (612) 713-5336 or via e-mail at Frank_Horvath@fws.gov
