News Releases & Photos

News releases issued from the Pacific Southest Regional Office (Region 8) are delivered via an automated fax/email system. If you would like to receive our news releases, please send us an email with your name, email address or fax number. For news releases from our field offices in California and Nevada, notify the public affairs contacts listed below.

9/13/12 - New Plan Will Help Tiny Foxes Continue Big Steps Toward Recovery

9/13/12 - New Report Shows Rise in Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife-Related Recreation Participation in 28 States

9/12/12 - AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS: Salazar, Ashe Announce More than $29 Million to Expand Refuge System, Conserve Wetlands

9/10/12 - Draft Economic Analysis on Proposed Revised Critical Habitat for Munz’s Onion and San Jacinto Vallley Crownscale Released

9/5/12 - Eagle Lake Trout May Warrant Protection under the Endangered Species Act

RSS News Feeds

Regional News Photos & Images
National Digital Media Library

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION FACEBOOK PAGE

Regional Newsletter

We Are the Pacific Southwest Region ( Web 1 MB ) is a quarterly newsletter that highlights the activities and people of the Service's Pacific Southwest Region.

To download, you'll need Adobe Acrobat version 8 or later.

Newsletter Archives

The Fish & Wildlife Journal

Looking for "soft news," story ideas or information about Fish and Wildlife Service activities and accomplishments in the field? Try the Fish & Wildlife Journal website. The Fish & Wildlife Journal includes an online searchable database that contains hundreds of employee-written summaries of field activities and other accomplishments.

additional publications

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

The Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management includes an online searchable database that contains scientific papers on the practical application and integration of science to conservation and management of North American fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats.

North American Fauna

North American Fauna includes monographs on an array of topics relating to North American vertebrates, invertebrates and plants including descriptions of groups of taxa, ecosystems, or complex interactions among species and basic research on species life history, distribution, population dynamics and taxonomy.

Eddies

Eddies seeks to inform its readers of the work -- past, present, and future -- of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Conservation. Each issue
has several feature stories and five regular departments.

Agency Overview

Conserving the Nature of America: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the premier government agency dedicated to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plants, and their habitats.

Endangered Species Bulletin

The Endangered Species Bulletin was created in 1976 to meet the growing demand for endangered species program news. Through the Bulletin, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service disseminates information on rulemakings, recovery plans and activities, conservation partnerships, research developments, and a variety of other issues. It is distributed on-line four times per year.

Pacific Southwest Region External Affairs

The primary focus of the Region 8 staff is on strategic public communications issues at the Regional level.  We also provide communications and outreach expertise to project leaders in the field, and support outreach and communications efforts of public affairs staff organic to Fish and Wildlife Offices in California and Nevada.

Paul McKim, Assistant Regional Director, External Affairs
Phone (916) 978-6619

Scott Flaherty, Deputy Assistant Regional Director, External Affairs
Phone (916) 978-6156

Pamela Bierce, Public Affairs Officer
Phone (916) 414-6542

Jon Myatt, Web Communications Manager, Public Affairs
Phone (916) 414-6474

Alene Thomas, Executive Assistant
Phone (916) 414-6498

External Affairs Fax: (916) 414-6486

Field Office Public Affairs Contacts

Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office
916-930-5643
Steve Martarano, Public Affairs

Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office
760-431-9440 ext. 205
Jane Hendron, Division Chief
Stephanie Weagley, Outreach and Information

Coleman National Fish Hatchery
530-365-8622

Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex
702-515-5480
Daniel Balduini, Public Affairs

Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex
805-644-5185
Michael Woodbridge, Information and Education

National Fire Program Outreach
530-934-2801
Miriam Morrill, Public Outreach, Sacramento NWR Complex

Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office
775-861-6300
Jeannie Stafford, Public Affairs

Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office
916-414-6571
Sarah Swenty, Public Affairs

San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex
510-72-0222, ext. 143
Doug Cordell, Public Affairs

Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office
805-644-1766 ext. 332
Lois Grunwald, Public Affairs

Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office
530-842-5763
Matt Baun, Public Affairs

pacific southwest region in the News

Precious Step Toward Condor Recovery

In a sandstone cliff band at the edge of Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in southern California, California condor #107 guards his week-old chick from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists who arrived to survey the nesting site. The nest of condor #107 and his mate, #161, is one of five in Southern California this year (2009). Condor #107 (a.k.a. Ushkal), a 15-year-old adult, was born at the Los Angeles Zoo and released into the wild near Bitter Creek NWR. Condor #161, a 12-year-old female, was born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and released near Big Sur in Central California. The California condor was listed as an endangered species in 1967. By 1982 only 23 existed in the world. As a result of intensive public and private conservation efforts and captive breeding programs, more than 80 condors fly free in central and southern California, 70 in Arizona and 15 in Baja, Mexico. The goal of the California Condor Recovery Plan is to establish two geographically separate populations, one in California and the other in Arizona, each with 150 birds and at least 15 breeding pairs.

Witness the Winter Migration

National Wildlife Refuges in California and Nevada provide migratory birds with places to rest, nest and feed. The Sacramento Valley National Wildlife Refuge near Willows, California, is one of several refuges in the region that provide opportunities for the public to "connect with nature" and witness the awe-inspiring migration close-up. Located 90 miles north of Sacramento, the Sacramento refuge complex provides winter resting and feeding areas for nearly half of all migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway. Three million ducks and a million geese migrate here. The refuge hosts interpretive tours and birding events January through April.

"Leave No Child Inside"

A growing number of children's advocates and political leaders are worried that our culture's disconnection from nature is harming kids. This concern has caused the Fish and Wildlife Service and other government agencies to engage in a  movement to "leave no child inside." KQED public television's QUEST program explores why we need nature, and efforts to encourage children to play outdoors. This segment orignally aired Monday, May 12, 2008. More on this topic is available on the QUEST website.

Learn about the Fish and Wildlife Service's "Let's Go Outside" initiative to Connect Children With Nature. Find a National Wildlife Refuge near you.

"Condors vs Lead Bullets"

External Affairs & NCTC contributed to this 10 minute video produced by KQED's "QUEST" series that examines the affects of lead on condor health. This program aired on KQED Feb. 20, 2007. FWS Condor Recovery partner, Ventana Wildlife Society, is featured in the video. The video aired prior to changes in California law in 2008 restricting lead ammunition in condor range.

Visit Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, home to the Service's California condor recovery program.

Tis the Season for Migrating Birds

Each fall, millions of birds travel south compelled by changes in food availability, habitat and weather. Healthy waterfowl habitats are critical for this passage to remain uninhibited. What are the conditions of these habitats and how can humans assist this natural flow? KALW-FM radio host Rose Aguilar discusses the fall migration with Brad Bortner, chief of the migratory bird division at the Pacific Region in Portland, Ore.and Beth Huning, San Francisco Bay Joint Venture. (Originally broadcast Oct. 6, 2008)

Listen to the Podcast (55:35)
Learn more about the Service's Migratory Bird Program
San Francisco Bay Joint Venture