The officers are among 34 Service employees?mostly firefighters and law enforcement officers--who have deployed from national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois to support hurricane relief efforts in Texas, southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

?While relatively few in number, our employees possess a wealth of expertise and specialized equipment needed to support federal and local government agencies working to recover from Hurricane Katrina,? said Robyn Thorson, regional director of the Service's Midwest Region.

The Midwest group joins a contingent of about 220 Service employees who are supporting a wide range of relief missions in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi. More than 40 emergency responders from the Service have been on the ground in the hurricane damaged region since August 31. Initial missions for Service crews included clearing downed trees and other debris from roads and high priority buildings such as hospitals, schools and law enforcement centers. Service law enforcement officers are also assisting local law enforcement agencies in search and rescue missions.

The Service is coordinating its relief efforts through an Incident Command Post at Big Branch Marsh NWR in Lacombe, La. The Service-operated support facility there is providing showers, food and other services to local police, emergency services personnel and other relief workers. The facility is also providing between 350-400 meals each day, 200 hundred of which are being sent to a local hospital.

The Service has about 100 employees permanently stationed at national wildlife refuges and other facilities in areas most affected by Hurricane Katrina. All employees are safe and accounted for, however 21employees lost their homes in the hurricane according to Jeff Fleming, assistant regional director for external affairs in the Service's Southeast Region.

?Many have gone to stay with relatives while a few are being housed temporarily in mobile home type trailers we?ve secured for them. We?re making sure all of our people are being cared for,? Fleming said.

The Service also temporarily closed 16 national wildlife refuges in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama due to storm damage. The agency also closed the port of entry it operates in New Orleans and is urging importers and exporters of fish and wildlife products to use one of 16 other ports the agency operates including those in Houston, Miami, Memphis, and Atlanta.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. -FWS-