Washington Office
4401 North Fairfax Drive
ARLSQ 840
Arlington, VA 22203

The Division of Habitat and Resource Conservation provides national oversight for a number of Fish and Wildlife Service programs, implemented at the field level, that promote the protection, conservation, and restoration of our Nation's fish and wildlife resources. The activities implemented under these programs focus on maintaining quality of fish and wildlife habitats. The Division's involvement includes:

• providing expert habitat conservation planning and ecological technical assistance;
• working to conserve coastal habitats that have been nationally recognized as highly threatened;
• mapping, inventorying, and monitoring the Nation's wetlands; and
• addressing the Service's ecological data needs through the formulation of resource data bases.

Branch of Conservation Planning Assistance

Advanced Project Planning - The Division's staff works closely with Service regional and field offices and other Federal agencies in support of Service involvement in all types of development project planning. Staff provide expert ecological advice and assistance to Federal agencies, States, Native American tribes, private industry, and the public to protect and conserve important fish and wildlife resources and their habitats.

Through Project Planning activities, the Service seeks to protect wetlands, uplands, river corridors, and deepwater habitats by ensuring that Federal projects (e.g., navigation, flood control, economic development) are designed and constructed to minimize adverse environmental impacts to fish and wildlife and their habitats. The Service also attempts to protect rare and declining species and their habitats before actions such as Federal listings for endangered or threatened species become necessary.

Using its authorities under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Federal Power Act, and other statutes, the Service strives to protect fish and wildlife resources by coordinating with other Federal agencies to ensure that projects are designed to mitigate potential impacts. Efforts are made to become involved as early in the project planning process as possible to be the most effective in influencing project design and development.

Sikes Act - Integrated Natural Resources Management Plans (INRMPs) are planning documents that allow Department of Defense (DoD) installations to implement landscape-level management of their natural resources while coordinating with various stakeholders. They are extremely important management tools that ensure military operations and natural resources conservation are integrated and consistent with stewardship and legal requirements.

INRMPs provide a framework for the use and conservation of natural resources on lands and waters under DoD control. While primarily used by installation natural resources managers, the INRMP also provides installation planners with baseline information necessary for the development of installation master plans and associated Geographic Information Systems. An INRMP also serves as a principal information source for preparing environmental assessments or environmental impact statements for new construction, military operations, and other proposed installation actions. In addition, INRMPs provide the basis for formulating the natural resources budget. Each plan balances the ecosystem-wide management of natural resources with mission requirements and other land use activities affecting those resources.

Branch of Resource and Mapping Support

National Standard and Support Team
U.S. Geological Survey
505 Science Drive
Madison, WI 53711-1060

The Branch of Resource Mapping Support provides coordination, support, and guidance for the Service's implementation of three laws that promote the protection, conservation, and restoration of our Nation’s fish and wildlife resources and habitats: (1) the Coastal Barrier Resources Act; (2) the Marine Mammal Protection Act; and (3) the Sikes Act. The Service implements these laws at the field and regional levels through the Ecological Services and the Fisheries Programs.

Marine Mammals - The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides the Department of the Interior authority for the conservation and management of polar bears, walrus, sea and marine otters, manatees, and dugongs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Marine Mammal Program manages polar bears and Pacific walrus in Alaska, northern sea otters in Alaska and Washington, southern sea otters in California, and manatees in the southeast U.S. The MMPA directs that marine mammals be maintained at, or returned to, their optimum sustainable population level and that the health and stability of the marine ecosystem on which they depend be maintained.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act also established a moratorium on taking and importing marine mammals, with some exemptions and exceptions. For instance, Alaskan Natives (Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos) under certain circumstances are exempt from the MMPA and may hunt for subsistence purposes and to create authentic native articles of make handicrafts and clothing. In addition, the MMPA allows for the issuance of permits, subject to specific requirements, for otherwise prohibited activities.

Coastal Barrier Resources Act -In the past, some Federal expenditures had the effect of encouraging development of fragile, high-risk coastal barriers. Legislation passed in 1982 and 1990 limits federally-subsidized development within a defined Coastal Barrier Resources System. The result is a savings in Federal dollars, the protection of human lives and the conservation of natural resources.

Coastal barriers are unique land forms that provide protection for diverse aquatic habitats and serve as the mainland's first line of defense against the impacts of severe coastal storms and erosion. Located at the interface of land and sea, the dominant physical factors responsible for shaping coastal land forms are tidal range, wave energy, and sediment supply from rivers and older, pre-existing coastal sand bodies. Relative changes in local sea level also profoundly affect coastal barrier diversity.

National Wetlands Inventory - The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service produces information on the characteristics, extent, and status of the Nation’s wetlands and deepwater habitats. The National Wetlands Inventory information is used by Federal, State, and local agencies, academic institutions, U.S. Congress, and the private sector. Congressional mandates in the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act requires the Service to map wetlands, and to digitize, archive and distribute the maps. With funding from other Federal, State, Tribal, local and private organizations, the Service has produced final maps for much of the nation. About half are digitized and available to the public on the Internet. Private companies provide NWI data in various other media. Hard-copy maps are available through Cooperator-run Distribution Centers.