National Wildlife Refuge System: Conserving Our Lands and Resources
A Wildlife Refuge Officer’s Best Friend May 10, 2011 A dog’s acute sense of smell is incomprehensible to humans. Dogs can smell cancer, illegal drugs, blood, guns. They can track those smells to the source: a missing person, missing felon, missing car, a crime scene. Since the mid-1990s, Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement dogs have been used in an increasingly official capacity on national wildlife refuges. Read the full story in the May-June issue ofRefuge Update.
Threatened and Endangered Species: Achieving Recovery and Preventing Extinction
Service Announces Work Plan to Restore Biological Priorities and Certainty to Endangered Species Listing Process May 10, 2011 The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today unveiled a work plan that will reduce litigation-driven workloads and allow the agency to focus its resources on the species most in need of protections under the Endangered Species Act. “For the first time in years, this work plan will give the wildlife professionals of the Service the opportunity to put the needs of species first and extend that safety net to those truly in need of protection, rather than having our workload driven by the courts. It will also give states, stakeholders, and the public much-needed certainty,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes. Photo Caption: Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge .Credit: USFWS
Climate Change The Climate of Conservation in America: 50 Stories in 50 States
May 8, 2011 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners have launched an unprecedented series of 50 stories for 50 consecutive weekdays that explore the many ways accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife across America.
Since the series started on Earth Day, April 22, the Service has published 12 stories covering a broad range of issues and impacts from the states of South Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Louisiana, Idaho, California, Arizona, Delaware, Montana, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Mexico. Photo Caption: 50 Stories 50 States 50 Days graphic.
Credit: USFWS
Promoting Global Wildlife Conservation U.S. and China Commit to 2011-2013 Dialogue Advancing Nature Conservation May 9, 2011 Representatives of China’s State Forestry Administration met recently with officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Arlington, Virginia to agree on a nature conservation dialogue for 2011-2013. The agreement marks 25 years of cooperation between the two countries and increases the depth of exchange on topics ranging from endangered aquatic species and habitat management, to public education and outreach. Photo Caption: (R) FWS Assistant Director for Internationals Affairs Teiko Saito and (L) Deputy Director General of the State Forestry Administration’s Department of International Cooperation Zhang Hongyan sign Annex 11 Agreement
Credit: Charles Lane / EPA
Migratory Birds: Conservation and Management
$4.3 Million in Grants Awarded for Neotropical Migratory Birds and Habitat Conservation May 6, 2011 More than $4.3 million in grants under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act will fund projects to support bird and habitat conservation throughout the Western Hemisphere. Matched by more than $15.1 million in additional funds from partners, the 34 projects will support habitat restoration, environmental education, population monitoring, and other priority activities within the ranges of neotropical migratory birds in the United States, Canada, Mexico and 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Photo Caption: Ruby-throated hummingbird.
Credit: Bill Buchanan / USFWS
Protecting the Nation's Wildlife Resources Texas Fish Farm and Owner Charged with Killing Brown Pelicans
May 6, 2011 A fish farm in south Texas and its owner have been indicted by a Federal grand jury for illegally killing some 90 brown pelicans over an 11-day period this past February. The investigation behind this indictment, which was conducted by Service special agents and Texas Parks and Wildlife officers, documented violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), a Federal law that protects brown pelicans and more than 1,000 other wild birds found in the United States. Photo Caption: Brown pelican.
Credit: USFWS courtesy of Dr. Thomas G. Barnes / University of Kentucky
Threatened and Endangered Species: Achieving Recovery and Preventing Extinction Interior Announces Next Steps in Protection, Recovery, and Scientific Management of Wolves May 4, 2011 The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it is proposing to delist biologically recovered gray wolf populations in the Western Great Lakes, and – in accordance with recently enacted legislation – reinstating the Service’s 2009 decision to delist biologically recovered gray wolf populations in the Northern Rocky Mountains. “Like other iconic species such as the whooping crane, the brown pelican, and the bald eagle, the recovery of the gray wolf is another success story of the Endangered Species Act,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “The gray wolf’s biological recovery reflects years of work by scientists, wildlife managers, and our state, tribal, and stakeholder partners to bring wolf populations back to healthy levels.”
Photo Caption: Gray wolf.
Credit: Tracy Brooks / USFWS
Migratory Birds: Conservation and Management
State of the Birds 2011 Report on Public Lands and Waters Released May 3, 2011
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman today released the 2011 State of the Birds Report, the nation’s first assessment of birds on lands and waters owned by the American people. The report concludes that America’s public lands and waters, ranging from national wildlife refuges to national parks to national forests, offer significant opportunities to halt or reverse the decline of many species.
Photo Caption:Cover page image of The State of The Birds 2011 Report.
Credit: USFWS
San Marcos National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center FFS #R2PW, R2PX, R2PY, R2PZ, R2QA, R2RA, R2RD
Where: Texas
What’s Happening:The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used Recovery Act funds to complete seven projects at San Marcos National Fish Hatchery and Technology Center (NFHTC) in Texas. The projects upgraded the infrastructure and facilities at San Marcos NFHTC. In addition, they created a more energy efficient, and safer environment. The largest of the seven projects was completed in March and included the addition of an office space, and storage space, as well as three new research bays onto the existing greenhouse. The greenhouse is used to cultivate and conduct research on the endangered Texas wild rice.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners have launched an unprecedented series of 50 stories for 50 consecutive weekdays that explore the many ways accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife across America.
Since the series started on Earth Day, April 22, the Service has published 12 stories covering a broad range of issues and impacts from the states of South Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, Louisiana, Idaho, California, Arizona, Delaware, Montana, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Mexico. 
