The Northeast Region's Budget and Administration staff has continued to provide a wide array of services to all employees and programs of the region in Fiscal Year 2003, smoothing the way for their resource-related work.

• The Division of Information Resources Management conducted an extensive, in-depth examination of the Regional Office computer network's security and continued to provide employees throughout the region with timely, helpful information while protecting their computers amid a flurry of computer viruses and worms.
• The Human Resources Division continued to provide a broad range of personnel services during a time of heavy workload, including hosting the annual regionwide awards ceremony, expanding the scope of CARES (the online job application system), creating model and standard position descriptions for use throughout the Service, and processing more than 5,000 personnel actions over the 12-month period.
• Staff members in the divisions of Diversity and Civil Rights and Human Resources coordinated on-site recruitment at more than a dozen campuses and events, which resulted in enriching the diversity of the pool of applicants for Northeast Region positions.
• The Safety and Occupational Health Division continued to promote the safety of employees throughout the region and expanded its offerings by initiating chain-saw training and by creating an easily accessible database of safety-related bulletins, safety talks and other informational materials.
• The Budget and Finance Division gave increased attention to financial management and internal controls, provided extensive support to the Service's financial audit and ensured that the region had one of the highest obligation rates in the Service for resource management funds (100% of FY2002 funds, and 99.9% of FY2003 funds).
• The Engineering Division provided fish passage technical assistance for more than 170 hydroelectric projects and barriers to fish, and managed 125 construction projects with a total value in excess of $20 million, including completion of the Parker River and Chincoteague national wildlife refuges' headquarters and visitor centers, the water reuse treatment system at the White River National Fish Hatchery and the mussel holding and propagation facility at While Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery.
• The Contracting and General Services Division provided extensive support of several multi-million dollar construction projects that were completed during the National Wildlife Refuge System centennial year (including the Parker River and Chincoteague headquarters and visitor centers), and also expanded its use of electronic commerce to the point that it became the leader in the Service in awarding contracts electronically.

NORTHEAST REGION, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE -- Conserving the Nature of the Northeast