United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that is dedicated to managing and preserving wildlife.

Units in the Fish and Wildlife Service include:

• National Wildlife Refuge System
• Bird Habitat Conservation
• Federal Duck Stamp
• National Fish Hatchery System
• Endangered Species program

History

It began as the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries (later known as the Bureau of Fisheries) in the United States Department of Commerce and the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy (later known as the Bureau of Biological Survey) in the United States Department of Agriculture. It took its present form in 1939 when these Bureaus were transferred to the Department of the Interior and were merged.

The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is a bureau within the Department of Interior. The FWS's mission is, working with others, to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The FWS manages more than 520 National Wildlife Refuges and 66 National Fish Hatcheries. On the FWS website, http://www.fws.gov are links and information about all the FWS does and supports from birds, budget, coastal, fishing, grants, habitat, hunting, kids/educators, offices, partnerships, permits, species, and videos. The FWS website is a useful tool to find information about what nature conservation efforts are going on in and around your area as well as nationwide. The FWS website is organized into different categories as listed above and more: contaminants, endangered species, fire, fisheries and habitats, images, jobs, law enforcement, news, policies, and more.

Pursuant to the eagle feather law, Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 22), and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers the National Eagle Repository and the permit system for Native American religious use of eagle feathers. ^[1,2,3]

Since 2000, respective 2006 the FWS governs two National Monuments, Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington State and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a huge maritime area northeast of Hawaii (jointly with NOAA).

See also

Related governmental agencies

• National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• United States Coast Guard

Regulatory matters

• Coastal Barrier Resources Act
• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
• Marine Mammal Protection Act
• National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966
• Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992
• National Wetlands Inventory
• Sikes Act
• Listing priority number

Wildlife management

• Timeline of environmental events
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species
• International Migratory Bird Day
• Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research

Non-governmental organizations

• Safari Club International
• National Rifle Association
• World Hunting Association
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Ducks Unlimited

External links

• Official web site of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Office of Law Enforcement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Fish And Wildlife Service Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed

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References

1. National Eagle Repository http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/law/eagle

2. Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes http://www.fws.gov/permits/forms/eaglereligious.pdf

3. Title 50 Part 22 Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 22).