By Brynn Walling, USFWS

Wood storks are walking back from the edge.

The majority of the birds’ nesting is done throughout Florida.

This stork ranges from North Carolina, west through Mississippi. It can also be found in Georgia, South Carolina, and of course Florida.

A wood stork and its chick. (Photo: USFWS)

But, that wasn’t always the case!

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By Amir Lawal, USFWS

I just finished one more day that involved running, jumping, cleaning, and hitting targets. But if you think I just enlisted in the Marine Corps, you’d be wrong.

I’m one of four U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife inspectors learning how to be the Service’s first professional wildlife inspector/canine handlers. We’ve been logging hours at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Detector Dog Training Center near Atlanta, Georgia.

It’s fulfilling – but exhausting – work so far. Each day involves running and jumping with our dogs. We also have to care for them and keep them clean, of course. And we have to train them to “hit the target”, which means getting the dogs to detect the scents they’re being trained to find.

(Viper is one of four dogs being trained to sniff out smuggled wildlife. Photo: USFWS)

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By Brynn Walling, USFWS

Illinois is famously home of the Windy City, but the state is also home to a plethora of diverse plants and animals.

As we continue our year-long celebration of the Endangered Species Act, we’re going to take you on a virtual tour of the various species native to Illinois that make the state special.

Did you know, for instance, that the caves in the Salem Plateau Karst region are home to the Illinois cave amphipod? Although the species has not completely recovered, it has made major strides towards recovery since it was listed as endangered in 1998.

The Illinois cave amphipod. (Photo: USFWS)

But that’s not all.

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By Susan Morse, USFWS

February is Black History Month. What are some natural places to celebrate your heritage?

National wildlife refuges.

Surprised? Don’t be. National wildlife refuges help protect our nation’s history as well as our natural heritage!

Clouds float over a marsh at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, which is believed to have been a key transit point on the underground railroad. (Photo: Tim Williams/USFWS)

Consider these stops on a refuge-based African American history tour:

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By Susan Morse, USFWS

Going all out for your honey on Valentine’s Day?

Prepare to be outdone. When it comes to over-the-top courtship displays, we humans are kinda tame. There’s just no competing with love in the wild.

Male Attwater’s prairie chicken inflate air sacks on their necks and make a 'booming' sound when they want to attract a female. (Photo: George Lavendowski/USFWS)

Want proof? Watch this!

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Every so often it's good to look into the past to revisit the people who got us where we are today. Looking Back is a series on the people who helped shape the National Wildlife Refuge System. The series is based on "A Look Back," a regular column written by Karen Leggett, from the Refuge System Branch of Communications, which appears in each issue of the Refuge Update newsletter.

Fred Staunton was raised on his family’s ranch in Roundup, MT, and he finished his 31-year U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service career in Montana, as manager of Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. But he became passionate about waterfowl when he worked at Long Lake Refuge in North Dakota and then Waubay Refuge in South Dakota in the 1940s.

Fred Staunton in the mid-1940s, an era when he was a pioneer in recognizing the value of Prairie Pothole Region wetland habitat to waterfowl. (Photo: USFWS)

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So, we know you’ve heard of Punxsutawney Phil, the world-renowned rodent that captures the hearts and minds of many Americans every year on Groundhog Day.

But Phil isn’t the only one worthy of such recognition.
 
Every February 2, friends and employees of the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge gather to honor their own mighty marmot – Bitterroot Bill.

(Photo: USFWS)

This yellow-bellied fellow is a native species to western Montana, although he’s not a woodchuck like Phil. Bill is still part of the marmot family though, which is why we feel he’s still worthy of acknowledgement on the only day when Americans band together to honor rodents.

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By Brynn Walling, USFWS

The Canada Lynx has returned to the Rockies!

This reintroduction in Colorado is one of the most successful of a threatened species to date. It’s also a great model plan for future efforts.

The story starts all the way back in 1999, when the Colorado Parks and Wildlife began the reintroduction process. They introduced 96 lynx from Alaska and Canada into the San Juan Mountains to kick off the effort.

The next year, in 2000, we listed the lynx as a federally threatened species. This put protections in place for the lynx to help protect the species and its’ habitat. A recovery plan was also put into place.

By 2003, we were already seeing progress. 16 native kittens were born that year alone.

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From egg to fry -- students are getting a first-hand look at how salmon grow and devleop.

Fishery Biologist Sean Connolly talks to the students about salmon and the importance of protecting their habitat. (Photo: USFWS)

For the first time, students in the Portland Public School system have the opportunity to engage with Salmon in the Classroom, a curriculum created and implemented by the Columbia Gorge National Fish Hatchery Information and Education Office.

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By Brynn Walling, USFWS

What a comeback!

There are now more than 600 Whooping cranes in North America.

These wonderful birds were almost wiped out, but thanks to the Endangered Species Act, their populations continue to climb – and their recovery stories continue to inspire.

In 1947, Mac was the only Whooping crane left in the entire state of Louisiana. (Photo: USFWS)

For instance, if you were near the Louisiana marshes in March 2011 you may have witnessed some amazing history in the making. Whooping Cranes were freely flying overhead for the first time in 60 years! Conservation efforts paid off and 10 “whoopers” that were raised in captivity were set free to fly the Louisiana Marshes. (Watch it here!)

At one time, the whooping crane population soared between 15,000 – 20,000 birds and their habitats ranged from Central Canada to Mexico and from Utah to the Atlantic coast.

But the birds began to vanish due to the transformation of wetlands and grasslands. Unregulated hunting and specimen collection negatively impacted the population, as well.

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