U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program

Joint Policy Task Force

In September 2002 the Joint Federal/State Task Force was formed to review operational policies and administrative issues of national significance for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Grant Program. The Joint Task Force Charter was amended in 2004 to include the State Wildlife Grants Program and the Landowner Incentive Program.

The membership of the Joint Task Force is comprised of:

Co-Chairs, one from the Office of the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and one Director from a state fish and wildlife agency designated by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).

Members include six (6) WSFR Program employees designated by USFWS and six (6) state fish and wildlife agency employees designated by AFWA.

At the direction of the cochairs, working groups may be established or appropriate legal counsel may be enlisted to assist the Task Force in developing its recommendations.

The Joint Task Force's purpose is to provide a process for the Service and state fish and wildlife agencies to cooperatively identify program issues and jointly develop recommendations for resolving those issues.

Joint Task Force efforts have resulted in the issuance of Director's Guidance, new/revised Service Manual chapters, Policy Recommendations, and other recommendations to clarify existing guidance. In cooperation with many State and Service personnel the JTF also developed the Conservation Heritage Strategic Plan for the WSFR Program.

Joint Task Force Meeting Reports are published after each meeting. These reports provide useful summaries of JTF discussions about issues and resulting recommendations.