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Public Access Civil Rights

"The Synergy of Conservation and Civil Rights: No Community Left Behind."


The Service monitors its State fish and wildlife agencies to ensure that person from different racial/ethnic backgrounds have equal access to programs and services of those agencies; that barriers to participation to persons with disabilities are removed; that women are included in educational activities such as hunter and aquatic education; that the public is notified of their rights via recipient publications; that recipients sign assurances to comply with Federal civil rights laws; that advisory boards reflect the demographic makeup of the State population; that State programs are accessible to persons with limited English proficiency; that State environmental policies and practices do not have an adverse impact on minority and low-income communities; and related requirements. The Service facilitates liaisons and partnerships between the state agencies and multicultural community groups to help ensure equal access for all.

The monitoring of the civil rights activities of recipients is accomplished via different methods: Anyone who believes that he/she has been discriminated against on one or more of the above bases has the right to file a complaint with: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Federal Assistance, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop: MBSP-4020, Arlington, Virginia 22203. The Service also conducts systemic reviews of State fish and wildlife agencies to determine overall adherence to civil rights mandates. Finally, the Service accepts feedback from minority, disability and women’s groups on the civil rights practices of our recipients.

The Service partners with several other offices and agencies to accomplish Federal civil rights objectives. We work closely with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Civil Rights, which has on overall coordination role for civil rights across the entire Department of the Interior. They can be reached at www.doi.gov/diversity/civil_rights.html.

The U.S. Department of Justice, at www.usdoj.gov, oversees civil rights for the entire Federal government, under the Civil Rights Division. The DOJ provides expertise and legal support on issues such as: equal access to different racial/ethnic groups under Title VI; equal access to persons with disabilities under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA; limited English proficiency; and new requirements (under Presidential Executive Order 13347) that persons with disabilities must be included in all emergency preparedness/evacuation plans of Federal agencies. The Department of Homeland Security, at www.dhs.gov, provides overall coordination of the emergency preparedness initiative, pursuant to E.O. 13347.

The U.S. Access Board, at www.access-board.gov, provides guidance on accessibility standards for different kinds of facilities. All new construction and major renovations must be 100% accessible in accordance with these standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency, at www.epa.gov/compliance/environmentaljustice/index.html, provides overall guidance on environmental justice/equity standards pursuant to Executive Order 12898.

Overall national guidance and policy recommendations for public access civil rights is provided by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights at www.usccr.gov.

Guidance and resource material for the limited English proficiency program can be found at www.lep.gov, a sub-site of the Department of Justice.

A subsection of the public access civil rights program is the requirement that small business opportunities and other Federal programs be provided on an equal basis to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, as part of a special White House Initiative. More information on this Initiative is available at www.aapi.gov.

The Service partners with its state fish and wildlife agencies on many activities, including civil rights. Information on conservation initiatives of the State agencies, and general contact information, is available by contacting the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies at www.iafwa.org.

For a comprehensive list of disability community groups nationwide, contact the United Cerebral Palsy’s Website at www.ucp.org.

For a comprehensive list of African-American, Hispanic and Asian Pacific American community groups nationwide, contact TIYM Publishing at (703) 734-1632.

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