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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a bureau within the Department of the
Interior. Our mission is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance
fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people. Although a relative newcomer to the Department of the Interior,
the Fish and Wildlife Service's programs are among the oldest in the world
dedicated to natural resource conservation. The Service traces its origins to
the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries in the Department of Commerce and the
Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammology in the Department of Agriculture.
The Service manages the 93 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System of more
than 520 National Wildlife Refuges and thousands of small wetlands and other
special management areas. Under the Fisheries program it also operates 66
National Fish Hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services
field stations.
Among its key functions, the Service enforces Federal wildlife laws , protects
endangered species , manages migratory birds, restores nationally significant
fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps
foreign governments with their international 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.
The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-Federal lands. The
Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Partners in Flight, Sport Fishing and Boating
Partnership Council, and other partnership activities are the primary mechanisms
for assisting voluntary habitat development on private lands and fostering
aquatic conservation.
The Service employs approximately 7,500 people at facilities across the U.S. The
Service is a decentralized organization with a headquarters office in
Washington, D.C., seven geographic regional offices, and nearly 700 field units.
To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit the "Who We Are"
page.
The original Ohio Area Office was among the first established in the country. It was located in Lebanon, Ohio. At that time the Division of Ecological Services was called River Basin Studies. Consequently, the Ohio Area Office staff in Lebanon worked on all projects in the Ohio River watershed north of the river. Thus, we worked on water development project in portions of Illinois and Indiana, as well as Ohio.
In the 70's the Division became Ecological Services, and eventually our jurisdiction was limited to the State of Ohio. As this transpired, the Regional Director decided to move the office to Columbus, Ohio, and about ten years later the office moved east of Columbus to Reynoldsburg.
Please explore our Web site for information about our office's activities. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM ET to 4:00 PM ET.
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