The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...
dedicated to the management of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...
, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."
Among the responsibilities of the USFWS are enforcing federal wildlife laws; protecting endangered species; managing migratory birds; restoring nationally significant fisheries; conserving and restoring wildlife habitats, such as wetlands; helping foreign governments in international conservation efforts; and distributing money to fish and wildlife agencies of U.S. states through the Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration Program. The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitats are on
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* '' Our ...
or private land not controlled by the
United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
. Therefore, the USFWS works closely with private groups such as
Partners in Flight Partners in Flight / Compañeros en Vuelo / Partenaires d’Envol is an organization launched in 1990 in response to growing concerns about declines in the populations of many land bird species, and to emphasize the conservation of birds not covered ...
and the
Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council
The Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council''is an 18-member committee established under the Federal Advisory Committee Act whose purpose is to advise the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servic ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
, eight regional offices, and nearly 700 field offices distributed throughout the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
.
Activities
National Wildlife Refuge System
The USFWS manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, which consists of 560 National Wildlife Refuges, encompassing a full range of habitat types, including
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s, prairies, coastal and marine areas, and temperate, tundra, and boreal forests spread across all 50 U.S. states. It also manages thousands of small
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s and other special management areas covering over .
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
(NOAA) and the State of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
);
* The
Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument
The Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is located on three islands in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It was designated as part of World War II Valor in t ...
in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin, "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain of 14 main, ...
in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument is a United States National Monument in the South Pacific Ocean, covering and encompassing the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1973 with 39,066 acres (only emergent). The monumen ...
in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internation ...
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...
(NMFS), an element of NOAA, with the NMFS responsible for
marine species
Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. ...
, the FWS responsible for freshwater fish and all other species, and the two organizations jointly managing species that occur in both marine and non-marine environments. The USFWS publishes the quarterly ''Endangered Species Bulletin''.
National Fish Hatchery System
The USFWS's Fisheries Program oversees the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS), which includes 70 National Fish Hatcheries and 65 Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices. Originally created to reverse declines in lake and coastal fish stocks in the United States, the NFHS subsequently expanded its mission to include the preservation of the genes of wild and hatchery-raised fish; the restoration of native aquatic populations of fish, freshwater mussels, and amphibians including populations of species listed under the Endangered Species Act; mitigating the loss of fisheries resulting from U.S. Government water projects; and providing fish to benefit Native Americans and National Wildlife Refuges. The NFHS also engages in outreach, education, and research activities.
Migratory Bird Program
The Division of Migratory Bird Management runs the Migratory Bird Program, which works with partners of the USFWS to protect, restore, and conserve bird populations and their habitats by ensuring the long-term ecological sustainability of all migratory bird populations, increasing the socioeconomic benefit of birds, improving the experience of hunting, bird watching, and other outdoor activities related to birds, and increasing the awareness of the aesthetic, ecological, recreational and economic significance of migratory birds and their habitats. It conducts surveys; coordinates USFWS activities with those of public-private bird conservation partnerships; provides matching grants for conservation efforts involving USFWS partners; develops policies and regulations and administers conservation laws related to migratory birds; issues permits to allow individuals and organizations to participate in migratory bird conservation efforts; helps educate and engage children in wildlife conservation topics; and provides resources for parents and educators to assist them in helping children explore nature and birds.
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
s sponsored by the Department of the Interior which function as regional conservation bodies covering the entire United States and adjacent areas.
Law enforcement
Office of Law Enforcement
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement enforces wildlife laws, investigates wildlife crimes, regulates wildlife trade, helps people in the United States understand and obey wildlife protection laws, and works in partnership with international, state, and tribal counterparts to conserve wildlife resources. It also trains other U.S. Government, U.S. state, tribal, and foreign law enforcement officers.
Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
. By treaty, it also is the official crime laboratory for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES) and the Wildlife Group of
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...
. The laboratory identifies the
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
or subspecies of pieces, parts, or products of an animal to determine its cause of death, help wildlife officers determine if a violation of law occurred in its death, and to identify and compare physical evidence to link suspects to the crime scene and the animal's death.
Division of Refuge Law Enforcement
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Law Enforcement consists of professional law enforcement officers entrusted with protecting natural resources and public safety.
Federal Wildlife Officers promote the survival of species and health of the environment by ensuring that wildlife laws are followed. They also welcome visitors and are often the first U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees encountered by the public on refuges. Federal Wildlife Officers (FWO) are entrusted with protecting natural resources, visitors and employees on National Wildlife Refuge System lands.
Federal Duck Stamp
The USFWS issues an annual Federal Duck Stamp, a collectable adhesive stamp required to hunt for migratory waterfowl. It also allows access to National Wildlife Refuges without paying an admission fee.
International Affairs Program
The USFWS International Affairs Program coordinates domestic and international efforts to protect, restore, and enhance wildlife and its habitats, focusing on species of international concern, fulfilling the USFWS's international responsibilities under about 40 treaties, as well as U.S. laws and regulations. It oversees programs which work with private citizens, local communities, other U.S. Government and U.S. state agencies, foreign governments,
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
s, scientific and conservation organizations, industry groups. and other interested parties on issues related to the implementation of treaties and laws and the conservation of species around the world.
eagle feather law
In the United States, the eagle feather law provides many exceptions to federal wildlife laws regarding eagles and other migratory birds to enable Native Americans to continue their traditional, spiritual and cultural practices.
Under the cu ...
, Title 50, Part 22 of the
Code of Federal Regulations
In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. ...
(50 CFR 22), and the '' Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act'', the USFWS administers the National Eagle Repository and the permit system for Native American religious use of eagle feathers. These exceptions often only apply to Native Americans that are registered with the federal government and are enrolled with a federally recognized tribe.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the USFWS began to incorporate the research of tribal scientists into conservation decisions. This came on the heels of Native American
traditional ecological knowledge
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous and other traditional knowledge of local resources. As a field of study in Northern American anthropology, TEK refers to "a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by ...
(TEK) gaining acceptance in the scientific community as a reasonable and respectable way to gain knowledge of managing the natural world. Additionally, other natural resource agencies within the United States government, such as the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
, have taken steps to be more inclusive of tribes, native people, and tribal rights. This has marked a transition to a relationship of more co-operation rather than the tension between tribes and government agencies seen historically. Today, these agencies work closely with tribal governments to ensure the best conservation decisions are made and that tribes retain their sovereignty.
History
Ancestor organizations
Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries
The original ancestor of USFWS was the United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries, more commonly referred to as the United States Fish Commission, created in 1871 by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...
with the purpose of studying and recommending solutions to a noted decline in the stocks of food fish.
Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...
was appointed to lead it as the first United States Commissioner of Fisheries. In 1903, the Fish Commission was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries and made part of the United States Department of Commerce and Labor. When the Department of Commerce and Labor was split into the
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for busi ...
and the
United States Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemplo ...
in 1913, the Bureau of Fisheries was made part of the Department of Commerce. Originally focused on fisheries science and
fish culture
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
, the Bureau of Fisheries also assumed other duties; in 1906, the U.S. Congress assigned it the responsibility for the enforcement of
fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...
Territory of Alaska
The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...
, and in 1910 for the management and harvest of
northern fur seal
The northern fur seal (''Callorhinus ursinus'') is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily ( Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in ...
s,
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
es, and other fur-bearing animals in the
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands (formerly the Northern Fur Seal Islands; ale, Amiq, russian: Острова Прибылова, Ostrova Pribylova) are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of ...
, as well as for the care, education, and welfare of the Aleut communities in the islands. In 1939, the Bureau of Fisheries moved from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior.
Bureau of Biological Survey
The other ancestor of the USFWS began as the Section of Economic Ornithology, which was established within the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
in 1885 and became the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy in 1886. In 1896 it became the Division of Biological Survey.
Clinton Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855 – March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, mammalogist, ornithologist, entomologist, ecologist, ethnographer, geographer, naturalist and physician. He was commonly known as the 'father of mammalogy', a ...
headed the Bureau for 25 years and became a national figure for improving the scientific understanding of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s and mammals in the United States. In 1934, the Division was reorganized as the Bureau of Biological Survey and Jay Norwood Darling was appointed its chief; the same year, Congress passed the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (FWCA), one of the oldest federal environmental review statutes. Under Darling's guidance, the Bureau began an ongoing legacy of protecting vital natural habitat throughout the United States. In 1939, the Bureau of Biological Survey moved from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior.
Fish and Wildlife Service
On June 30, 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey were combined to form the Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Service was reorganized as the United States Fish and Wildlife Service — which remained part of the Department of the Interior — and divided its operations into two bureaus, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, with the latter inheriting the history and heritage of the old U.S. Fish Commission and U.S. Bureau of Fisheries.
Upon the formation of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
(NOAA) within the Department of Commerce on October 3, 1970, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries merged with the saltwater laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife to form today's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an element of NOAA. The remainder of the USFWS remained in place in the Department of the Interior in 1970 as the foundation of the USFWS as it is known today, although in 1985 the Animal Damage Control Agency, responsible for predator control, was transferred from the USFWS to the Department of Agriculture and renamed the Division of Wildlife Services.
Mission
At its founding in 1896, the work of the Division of Biological Survey focused on the effect of birds in controlling agricultural pests and mapping the geographical distribution of plants and animals in the United States. By 1905 with funding scarce, the Survey included in it's mission the eradication of wolves, coyotes and other large predators. This garnered them the support of ranchers and western legislators resulting, by 1914, in a $125,000 congressionally approved budget for use "on the National Forests and the public domain in destroying wolves, coyotes and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry". Meanwhile, scientists like Joseph Grinnell and Charles C. Adams, a founder of the
Ecological Society of America
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...
, were promoting a " balance of nature" theory - the idea that predators were an important part of the larger ecosystem and should not be eradicated. In 1924, at a conference organized by the American Society of Mammologists (ASM), the debate generated a public split between those in the Survey, promoting eradication, and those from the ASM who promoted some sort of accommodation. Edward A. Goldman, from the Survey, made perfectly clear their position in a paper that with the arrival of Europeans in North America, the balance of nature had been "violently overturned, never to be reestablished". He concludes with the idea that "Large predatory mammals, destructive to livestock and to game, no longer have a place in our advancing civilization." The Survey subsequently placed over 2 million poisoned bait stations across the west and by 1930 had "extirpated wolves from the Lower 48 and advised and assisted in erasing grey wolves from" Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. The Survey then turned to the eradication of coyotes. p. 124–126 coordinated through th 1931 Animal Damage Control Act
With various agency reorganizations, the practice continued more or less apace through the early 1970's but though hundreds of thousands of coyotes were killed, their extreme adaptability and resilience led to little overall population reduction and, instead, their migration into an expanded habitat, including urban areas. Increasing environmental awareness in the late 1960's and early 1970's resulted in Nixon banning post WWII era poisons in 1972 and the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Also in 1972, the Nixon administration rewrote the Animal Damage Control Act, effectively repealing it in favor of turning the mission of predator control over to the states. However, the loss of federally fund to protect their livestock was too much for ranching and agricultural communities and by 1980 Reagan had reversed the poison killing ban and transferred the responsibility for predator control to th Wildlife Services program under the U Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service The Program' mission has evolved to protect "agriculture, wildlife and other natural resources, property, and human health and safety".
Fleet
From 1940 to 1970, the FWS (from 1956 the USFWS) operated a fleet of seagoing vessels. The fleet included fisheries scienceresearch ships, fishery patrol vessels, and cargo liners.
The Fish Commission operated a small fleet of research ships and fish-culture vessels. The Bureau of Fisheries inherited these in 1903, and then greatly expanded its fleet of seagoing vessels, including both patrol vessels for fishery enforcement in the Territory of Alaska and a cargo liner — known as the "Pribilof
tender
Tender may refer to:
Entertainment Film
* ''Illegal Tender'' (2007), a film directed by Franc. Reyes
* ''Tender'' (2012), a short film by Liz Tomkins
* ''Tender'' (2019), a short film by Darryl Jones and Anthony Lucido
* ''Tender'' (2019), a sh ...
" — to provide transportation for passengers and haul cargo to, from, and between the Pribilof Islands. In the 1930s, the Bureau of Biological Survey operated a vessel of its own, ''Brown Bear''. Upon its creation in 1940, the FWS inherited the BOF’s fleet and ''Brown Bear''.
By 1940, no fisheries research vessels remained in commission, the BOF having decommissioned the last one, , in 1932;Day, p. 6. only in the late 1940s did the FWS begin to commission new research ships. Although between 1871 and 1940 the Fish Commission and BOF had never had more than three fisheries research ships in commission at the same timeDay, p. 7. — and had three in commission simultaneously only in two years out of their entire combined history — by March 1950, the FWS fleet included 11 seagoing fisheries research and exploratory fishing vessels either in service or under construction, and its fishery enforcement force in the Territory of Alaska included 29 patrol vessels and about 100 speedboats, as well as 20 airplanes. In the 1956 reorganization that created the USFWS, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (BCF) assumed the responsibility within the USFWS for the operation of the seagoing vessels of the fleet.
The USFWS continued fishery enforcement in Alaska until after Alaska became a state in January 1959, but by 1960 had turned over enforcement responsibilities and some of the associated vessels to the Government of Alaska as the latter assumed the responsibility for fishery enforcement in its waters. The USFWS continued to operate fisheries research ships and the Pribilof tender until the BCF’s seagoing fleet was transferred to the
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...
(NMFS), an element of NOAA, upon the creation of NOAA on October 3, 1970. Although the NMFS continued to operate the Pribilof tender until 1975,AFSC Historical Corner: ''Pribilof'', Bureau's Last Pribilof Tender (1964-75) Retrieved September 4, 2018 /ref> the rest of the ships were transferred from the NMFS to a unified NOAA fleet during 1972 and 1973. The modern NOAA fleet therefore traces its ancestry in part to the USFWS fleet operated by the BCF.
Both before and after the FWS became the USFWS in 1956, ships of its fleet used the prefix while in commission. The BOF usually named its ships after aquatic birds, and ships the FWS inherited from the BOF in 1940 retained those names in FWS service. However, the FWS/USFWS thereafter usually named vessels it acquired after people who were notable in the history of fisheries and fisheries science. A partial list of ships of the FWS and USFWS fleet:
* (research vessel, 1948–1959)
* (research vessel, USFWS 1963–1970, then NOAA 1970–2008)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1917–1940, then FWS 1940–1950)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1924–1940, then FWS 1940–1950s)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1926–1940, then FWS 1940–1953)
* US FWS ''Brown Bear'' (research vessel, Bureau of Biological Survey 1934–1940, then FWS 1940–1942, USFWS 1965–1970, NMFS 1970–1972)
* (research vessel, FWS/USFWS 1952–1970, then NOAA 1970–1973)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1928–1940, then FWS/USFWS 1940–1960)
* (research vessel, USFWS 1966–1970, then NOAA 1970–2010)
* (research vessel, USFWS 1968-1970, then NOAA 1970–2012)
* (Pribilof tender and cargo liner, 1948-1960)
* (Pribilof tender and patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940, then FWS 1940–1942 and 1946–late 1940s)
* (research vessel 1962–1970, then NOAA 1970–1980)
* (research vessel 1949–1951)
* (research vessel 1949–1959)
* (research vessel FWS/USFWS 1950–1970, then NOAA 1970–2008)
* (research vessel 1950–1969)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940, then FWS 1940–late 1940s)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940, then FWS 1940–ca. 1942–1943)
* (research vessel USFWS 1967-1970, then NOAA 1975–2013)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1917–1940, then FWS 1940–1942)
* (research vessel FWS/USFWS 1949–1970, then NOAA 1970-1989)
* (research vessel FWS/USFWS 1956–1970, then NOAA 1970–1980)
* (research and patrol vessel, BOF 1930–1940, then FWS/USFWS 1940–1958, NMFS ca. 1970/1971 to 1972)
* (Pribilof tender, BOF 1930–1940, then FWS 1940–1950)
* (Pribilof tender, 1950–1963)
* (Pribilof tender USFWS 1963–1970,then NMFS 1970–1975)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1922–1940, then FWS 1940–1949)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1928–1940, then FWS/USFWS 1940–1960)
* (research vessel 1964–1975, then NOAA 1975–2002)
* (patrol vessel, BOF 1919–1940, then FWS 1940–ca. 1944-1945)
In popular culture
In 1959, the methods used by USFWS's
Animal Damage Control Program
Wildlife Services is the program intended to provide Federal leadership and skill to resolve wildlife interactions that threaten public health and safety, as well as agricultural, property, and natural resources. The program is part of the United ...
Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program
The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) is a cooperative state-federal program of U.S. states and the District of Columbia. ACCSP was established to be the principal source of fisheries-dependent information on the Atlantic Coas ...
*
National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory
The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory is located in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1988 and run by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the forensics laboratory is the only such laboratory in the world devoted to ...
*
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...
*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE) is a federal police part of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, headquartered in Silver ...
*
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government within the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of ...
*
Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Partners for Fish and Wildlife is a voluntary partnership program administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior ded ...
*
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
*
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 provided guidelines and directives for administration and management of all areas in National Wildlife Refuge system including "wildlife refuges, areas for the protection and conservati ...
* Ramsar Wetlands Convention
* Sikes Act
* The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
* Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992
International Migratory Bird Day
Bird Day is the name of several holidays celebrating birds. Various countries observe such a holiday on various dates.
International Migratory Bird Day
International Migratory Bird Day is a conservation initiative that brings awareness on conse ...
*
Sierra Club v. Babbitt
''Sierra Club v. Babbitt'', 15 F. Supp. 2d 1274 (S.D. Ala. 1998), is a United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama case in which the Sierra Club and several other environmental organizations and private citizens challenged ...
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, Inc. is a nonprofit conservation organization in Newark, Delaware, dedicated to indigenous wild bird rehabilitation, especially rehabilitation efforts related to oil spills. It is notable for its research and reh ...
*
United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species
This is a list of the bird and mammal species and subspecies described as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It contains species and subspecies not only in the U.S. and its territories, but also those only found in other par ...
North American Game Warden Museum
The North American Game Warden Museum is a museum in the International Peace Garden on the Canada–United States international border between the Canadian province of Manitoba and the U.S. state of North Dakota. The museum is located on the Amer ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
Federal Register
The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fed ...
Fish and Wildlife
Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...