Stories from the Home Page
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A male polar bear walks on pack ice near the open water. Credit: Eric Regehr / USFWS
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Conservation of an Arctic IconJanuary 13, 2017The rapid loss of its sea-ice habitat is jeopardizing the future of the polar bear, and its fate will be determined by our willingness and ability to address climate change. While the international community grapples with that long-term challenge, the Conservation Management Plan for the polar bear, developed by U.S. government agencies, native communities, private organizations, scientists and subsistence hunters, outlines actions to improve the polar bear's immediate chances of surviving in the wild. |
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A male polar bear walks on pack ice near the open water. Credit: Eric Regehr / USFWS
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An almost otherworldly array of rainbow-colored fish, plants and corals inhabit reefs within Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: James Watt
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'Hope Spots' in the OceanJanuary 13, 2017The ocean covers almost three-quarters of the Earth's surface and contains about 97 percent of the planet's water. We are just beginning to understand how the ocean's creatures are interconnected with one another and with us. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cooperatively manages five marine national monuments that conserve ocean habitat, remote islands and atolls for the benefit of marine life – and people. |
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An almost otherworldly array of rainbow-colored fish, plants and corals inhabit reefs within Papah?naumoku?kea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: James Watt
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Students learn about native plant and animal food chains. Credit: Lisa Cox / USFWS
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Immigrant Children Connect with Nature in Their New HomeJanuary 13, 2017With a Schoolyard Habitat in California, the Service and many volunteers and partners are helping children, mostly from war-torn countries such as Iraq and Syria, blossom into confident young girls and boys. |
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Students learn about native plant and animal food chains. Credit: Lisa Cox / USFWS
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Rusty patched bumble bee. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christy Stewart
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Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Listed as EndangeredJanuary 11, 2017Just 20 years ago, the rusty patched bumble bee was a common sight across 28 states from Connecticut to South Dakota. But the species, now balancing precariously on the brink of extinction, has become the first bumble bee that the Fish and Wildlife Service has declared endangered. Like other bees, rusty patched bumble bees pollinate many plants, including economically important crops such as tomatoes, cranberries and peppers. Each year, insects, mostly bees, provide pollination services valued at an estimated $3 billion in the United States. |
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Rusty patched bumble bee. Credit: Photo courtesy of Christy Stewart
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Snow geese at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California. Credit: Courtesy of Barbara Rich
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Super Bird Fests at National Wildlife Refuges!January 5, 2017Looking for a special bird to add to your life list? Brand new to birding and just thrill to the sight of thousands of migrating birds? Bird festivals beckon you to national wildlife refuges throughout the year and from coast to coast. Many festivals coincide with spring or fall migration. Here are some great refuge bird festivals to catch in 2017. The National Wildlife Refuge System protects natural habitat for America's treasured wildlife species. |
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Snow geese at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in California. Credit: Courtesy of Barbara Rich
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he Lesser long-nosed bat is an important pollinator of cacti in the American Southwest. Credit: Courtesy of Bat Conservation International, Bruce D. Taubert.
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Successful Recovery of Lesser Long-Nosed Bat Assisted by Citizen Science, Improved Research and Bat-friendly TequilaJanuary 5, 2017Although many species of bat across the U.S. are not faring well, the lesser long-nosed bat is bucking that trend. Due to a host of traditional, and not so traditional, conservation efforts, the lesser long-nosed bat has rebounded from near extinction in the late 1980s to being the first bat species proposed for delisting under the Endangered Species Act. The success exemplifies the power, flexibility, and ingenuity that the act inspires. |
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he Lesser long-nosed bat is an important pollinator of cacti in the American Southwest. Credit: Courtesy of Bat Conservation International, Bruce D. Taubert.
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The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is awarded $1 million to protect 72.40 acres of coastal saltmarsh and adjacent uplands along the shoreline of the Allens Pond Estuary. Credit: Courtesy of Massachusetts DCR
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Importance of Resilient Coastal Wetlands to Conservation, Recreation Economy, and Coastal Communities Recognized by $17 Million in Grants to StatesJanuary 5, 2017Over $17 million will be awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to 20 projects in 10 coastal states to protect, restore or enhance more than 13,000 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent upland habitats under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. State and local governments, private landowners, conservation groups and other partners will contribute over $20 million in additional funds to these projects. |
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The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is awarded $1 million to protect 72.40 acres of coastal saltmarsh and adjacent uplands along the shoreline of the Allens Pond Estuary. Credit: Courtesy of Massachusetts DCR
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Illegal ivory carvings that were seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement special agents and destroyed in 2013. Credit: Kate Miyamoto / USFWS
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China's Decision to Halt the Ivory Trade Is a Game-ChangerJanuary 5, 2017In a blog on the Huffington Post, Service Director Dan Ashe praises and thanks China for its "bold and consequential step" forward in pledging to end the commercial sale and processing of ivory and ivory products by the end of the year. While elephants remain in jeopardy, China's move will cut demand, which has been shown to be a major factor driving the illegal slaughter of elephants. The United States closed its ivory market last year. |
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Illegal ivory carvings that were seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement special agents and destroyed in 2013. Credit: Kate Miyamoto / USFWS
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"I am proud of our on-the-ground conservation actions for monarchs and other pollinators. It is catalyzing massive conservation effort across North America," says Service Director Dan Ashe. Credit: Eileen Hornbaker / USFWS
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330,000 Acres Restored or Enhanced for Monarchs; Number Blows Past GoalJanuary 4, 2017The numbers are in for 2016, and they're impressive. The Fish and Wildlife Service worked to restore and enhance more than 330,000 acres in 2016 for monarchs and other pollinators. That exceeds the goal the Department of Interior set for us of restoring or enhancing 320,000 acres of habitat by end of fiscal year 2017. |
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"I am proud of our on-the-ground conservation actions for monarchs and other pollinators. It is catalyzing massive conservation effort across North America," says Service Director Dan Ashe. Credit: Eileen Hornbaker / USFWS
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Hidden Lake bluecurls. Credit: Ayoola Folarin
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Recovery of Tiny Mountain Plant Prompts Delisting ProposalJanuary 4, 2017For nearly 20 years, Hidden Lake bluecurls, a tiny plant found only near a montane vernal pool in Riverside County, California, has been protected as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Successful conservation efforts by the Service and partners have allowed its recovery, and today the Service proposed its removal from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. |
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Hidden Lake bluecurls. Credit: Ayoola Folarin
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Mountain yellow-legged frog. Credit: Rick Kuyper / USFWS Credit: Rick Kuyper / USFWS
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Final Policy Provides Standards to Offset Impacts of Development on America’s Most At-Risk SpeciesDecember 23, 2016The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today finalized its Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy (CMP). It is the first such policy issued by the Service. The policy that will effectively and sustainably offset the adverse impacts of development activities to the nation’s most at-risk species and their habitats. The policy follows a recent Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of the Interior to update its existing mitigation policy and craft a new policy that addresses mitigation of impacts on species that are listed, or may soon need to be listed under the ESA. The Service released a final revised Mitigation Policy in November 2016 and has now finalized the ESA CMP, which provides greater certainty and predictability to the regulated community while improving conservation outcomes for affected species. |
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Mountain yellow-legged frog. Credit: Rick Kuyper / USFWS Credit: Rick Kuyper / USFWS
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Puerto Rico harlequin butterfly.
Credit: USFWS
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Federal Agencies Strengthen Opportunities for Public Engagement in Voluntary Conservation Efforts Under ESADecember 23, 2016The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have finalized revisions to the Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs) policy under the Endangered Species Act. The policy revisions do not change landowner requirements for participation in the program, but rather clarify and simplify the process of developing and approving CCAAs, which provide incentives for the public to implement specific conservation measures for declining species before they are listed under the ESA. The Service is also concurrently publishing changes to its CCAA regulations to make them consistent with these final changes to the policy. |
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Puerto Rico harlequin butterfly.
Credit: USFWS
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You might see curious river otters like these at Missouri’s Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, about 90 miles north of Kansas City, and at many other refuges. Credit: Kenny Bahr
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A Most Wonderful Time of the YearDecember 21, 2016“You can’t get too much winter in the winter,” American poet Robert Frost wrote. That’s not true for everybody, we know, but if you enjoy clean, crisp air and the great outdoors, winter is a special time of year at national wildlife refuges in northern latitudes. |
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You might see curious river otters like these at Missouri’s Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, about 90 miles north of Kansas City, and at many other refuges. Credit: Kenny Bahr
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The black-capped vireo is America's smallest vireo species and breeds only in Oklahoma, Texas and northernmost Mexico. Credit: Gil Eckrich
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American Songbird Sails to Recovery, Proposed for Delisting Under Endangered Species ActDecember 15, 2016Down to just 350 birds three decades ago, the black-capped vireo has made a remarkable recovery. Since being listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1987, Oklahoma and Texas, the U.S. Army, private landowners and conservation groups have all pitched in to restore and recover America's smallest vireo. As a result, this week the Service proposed delisting the black-capped vireo. |
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The black-capped vireo is America's smallest vireo species and breeds only in Oklahoma, Texas and northernmost Mexico. Credit: Gil Eckrich
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Roseate spoonbills at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Credit: Michael Rosenbaum by permission.
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National Wildlife Refuges That Charge for Entrance Will Waive Their Fees on Dates in 2017!December 15, 2016Across America, national wildlife refuges offer unparalleled opportunities to experience the great outdoors amid scenic beauty. From Hawaii to Texas and Indiana to Delaware, 31 refuges that normally charge entrance fees will offer free admission on certain days in 2017. Refuges offer world-class recreation, from fishing, hunting and wildlife observation to photography and environmental education. Every state and U.S. territory has at least one national wildlife refuge. |
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Roseate spoonbills at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Credit: Michael Rosenbaum by permission.
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