Trending Topics
|
Our Mission
Conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, and their habitats, in cooperation with partners, for the continuing benefit of the American people, from the Lake Wales Ridge to the Florida Keys.
The Ecological Services Division of the USFWS works to protect and restore healthy populations of fish and wildlife and the environments on which they depend. To accomplish this, the South Florida Ecological Services Field Office has these programs: Everglades Restoration, Coastal Ecology, Contaminants, Endangered Species, Habitat Conservation, and Partners for Fish and Wildlife.
News and Features
Service Proposes to Protect Three South Florida Plants Under the Endangered Species Act
October 10, 2012
Agency Seeks Information from the Public, Scientific Community Before Making Final Decision
Current evidence suggests that two wild cacti, Florida semaphore cactus and aboriginal prickly-apple, and an herb, Cape Sable thoroughwort, are in danger of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today. As a result, the Service is proposing to protect these species under the Endangered Species Act, and is seeking new information from the public and the scientific community that will assist the agency in making a final determination.
Click Here to Read More
Service Proposes to Protect the Florida Bonneted Bat Under the Endangered Species Act
October 3, 2012
Agency Seeks Information from the Public, Scientific Community before Making Final Decision
Current evidence suggests that the Florida bonneted bat is in danger of becoming extinct in the foreseeable future, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today. As a result, the Service has proposed to protect the species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and is seeking new information from the public and the scientific community that will assist the agency in making a final determination.
Click Here to Read More
Proposed Endangered
Species Status for the Florida Bonneted Bat: Proposed rule; request for public comments - PDF, 437 KB
Court Order Ends 22-Year Legal Battle in South Florida National Flood Insurance Case; Stage Set for Enhanced Protection of Imperiled Wildlife in Keys
September 27, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- After a seven-year-delay, applicants for new residential and commercial developments in the Florida Keys can finally participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) following a federal judge’s recent court order.
The case was settled September 13, 2012 when U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore signed the order dissolving the 2005 injunction that enjoined “FEMA from issuing flood insurance for new developments in suitable habitat” as identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in affected communities in the Keys.
Click Here to Read More
One Click Away: Finding Data on Florida’s Endangered Species Just Got Easier
September 18, 2012
Davie, Florida -- A new online tool will make data on several of Florida’s threatened and endangered species—including the Florida panther, American crocodile, and Key deer—more readily accessible to resource managers and planners.
The tool, a searchable database known as "Threatened and Endangered Vertebrates in Florida," was developed by a team of researchers from the University of Florida, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Park Service.
Click Here to Read More
Service's Partners Program Celebrating Silver Anniversary
August 27, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.Click Here to Read More
FNC story: Fight to Save Even the Smallest of Endangered Species in FL
August 20, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- There are more than 50 Florida animal species listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, and several of them have seen sharp declines in recent years. The Florida panther and manatee are well-known creatures on the list, but there are dozens of lesser-known, yet vital, examples, such as the Miami blue butterfly and the Everglade snail kite.Click Here to Read More
USFWS Announce More Than $33 Million in Grants to Support Land Acquisition and Conservation Planning for Endangered Species; Includes $1.2 Million for Florida Projects
August 17, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced nearly $33 million in grants to 21 states to support conservation planning and acquisition of vital habitat for threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants.Click Here to Read More
Key Tree Cactus Plants Reintroduced In First-Time Effort
August 15, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- With a lot of help from his friends from Fairchild Botanical Gardens and Florida State Parks, Dave Bender reintroduced 72 Key tree cactus plants to an area of higher elevation in the Florida Keys on July 25, as part of what Bender calls an “interim solution” to help reverse alarming negative population trends for this highly endangered species.
“The numbers for this species dramatically declined over the past decade or so…by as much as 90 percent,” said Bender, a botanist with the South Florida Ecological Services Office (SFESO), a unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Click Here to Read More
Emergency Action Underway to Protect Endangered Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly
June 13, 2012
BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued an emergency authorization for the collection and captive rearing of Schaus swallowtail butterflies in an effort to save the “endangered” species from extinction.
As a result of that authorization on June 8 -- within two days after surveyors observed only three to five Schaus swallowtail butterflies at Biscayne National Park during their current flight season -- the USFWS, National Park Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Florida initiated an on-going emergency action to collect up to four female Schaus Swallowtail butterflies within BNP. The surveys are continuing.
Click Here to Read More
2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest Winners
May 18, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's South Florida Ecological Services Office is pleased to announce the 13 winners of our 2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest.
Click Here to Read More
2012 Treasure Coast Students Endangered Species Calendar Art Contest
April 19, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office here is celebrating Endangered Species Day by encouraging students to learn about threatened and endangered plants and animals through art. The Service is hosting an art contest open to all students grades 1-12 in public, private or home schools on the Treasure Coast (Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie Counties). To enter, the student will draw or paint, in an original artwork, a federally listed threatened or endangered species from south Florida.
Click Here to Read More
Miami Blue Butterfly Receives Federal Endangered Species Status
April 5, 2012
Vero Beach, Florida – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is formally listing the Miami blue butterfly, a small, coastal, non-migratory butterfly, as endangered. This action permanently protects the butterfly under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and follows an emergency listing, enacted on August 10, 2011, which had temporarily protected it for 240 days.
The Miami blue’s geographic range once extended from the Dry Tortugas north along the Florida coasts to about St. Petersburg and Daytona, but it is now restricted to a handful of remote islands within the Florida Keys. Only a few, small populations are known to remain.
Click Here to Read More
Miami Blue Butterfly Final Rule: Listing as Endangered Throughout Its Range - PDF, 437 KB
Miami Blue Butterfly Final Rule: Listing as Endangered Questions and Answers - PDF, 33 KB
USFWS to Host Earth Day Open House in Conjunction with Hibiscus Festival April 14
April 3, 2012
VERO BEACH, Fla. – The general public is invited to mark the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day on Saturday, April 14 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in downtown Vero Beach at an “Earth Day Open House” focused on conservation and the environment.
The free event -- held in conjuntion with the Hibiscus Festival -- will include children’s activities, displays of live reptiles and fish, presentations by Service biologists, displays of artwork and science fair projects by local students and an exhibit of illegal wildlife products seized by law enforcement officials.
Click Here to Read More
2012 Earth Day Flyer - PDF, 507 KB
Interagency Florida Panther Response Team Report Released
March 13, 2012
According to a report compiled by a group of federal and state agencies, Florida panther depredations more than doubled in Fiscal Year 2010-2011 as compared to Fiscal Year 2009-2010.
The report, called the 2010-11 Interagency Florida Panther Response Team Report, summarized human-panther interactions investigated by the Interagency Florida Panther Response Team between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.
Click Here to Read More
2010-2011 Florida Panther Response Team Annual Report - PDF, 891 KB
Service Develops Updated Skink Guidance
February 7, 2012
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has revised the conservation guidelines and survey protocol for the threatened sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi) and blue-tailed mole skink (Eumeces egregius lividus). We are hosting an informational meeting for consultants and stakeholders to discuss the skink review process and revised survey protocol on February 23, 2012, from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm, at the Osceola County Commission Chambers in Kissimmee, Florida. Registration is required. Please RSVP by email at skink_guide@fws.gov.
Click Here to Read More
Salazar Announces Ban on Importation and Interstate Transportation of Four Constrictor Snakes that Threaten Everglades
January 17, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized a rule that would ban the importation and interstate transportation of four nonnative constrictor snakes that threaten the Everglades and other sensitive ecosystems across the United States, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.
The final rule – which incorporates public comments, economic analysis, and environmental assessment – lists the Burmese python, the yellow anaconda, and the northern and southern African pythons as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in order to restrict their spread in the wild in the United States. It is expected to publish in the Federal Register in the coming days.
Click Here to Read More
The Final Rule in the Federal Register - PDF, 318 KB
Final Economic Analysis Jan 2012 - PDF, 307 KB
Final Environmental Assessment Jan 2012 - PDF, 2.70 MB
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Jan 2012 - PDF, 92 KB
Finding of No Significant Impact - PDF, 146 KB
References Used in Evaluation of 9 Species - PDF, 100 KB
Section 7 Intra-Service Consulation - PDF, 837 KB
Q&A: Listing of Four Snake Species as Injurious
What Listing Means For Snake Owners - PDF, 93 KB
