The National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) was founded in 1975 as part of the

U.S. 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 dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

's (USFWS) Office of Biological Services. Its headquarters are located in Lafayette, Louisiana. The NWRC is one of 16 science centers of the Biological Resources Division of the

U.S. 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, and ...

. The mission of the National Wetlands Research Center is to develop and disseminate scientific information needed for understanding the ecology and values of U.S. wetlands and for managing and restoring wetland habitats and associated plant and animal communities. Its mission's primary goal is to bridge the gap between researchers and decision makers, mostly by using geographic information systems and producing reports such as coastal characterizations, community and estuarine profiles, and species profiles.

History

*1975 - Began as the National Coastal Ecosystems Team; headquartered at

National Aeronautic and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

's rocket-testing site in Stennis,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. *1979 - Moved its headquarters to

Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Orleans− Metairie− Kenner metropolitan statistical area. Hi ...

. *1986 - Gained a new research mission and renamed to the National Wetlands Research Center; opened field stations in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

, Corpus Christi, Texas, and

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

. *1992 - Moved its headquarters to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

research park in

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, through the recruitment of president

Ray Authement Ray Paul Authement Sr. (November 19, 1928 – April 5, 2020) was an American academic administrator and the longest-serving university president in the United States. From 1974 to 2008, he was the fifth president of the University of Louisiana a ...

. *1993 - Secretary

Bruce Babbitt The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has be ...

consolidated research in several bureaus of the Department of the Interior to form the National Biological Survey, an agency designed to foster scientific understanding and technologies. *1994 - The National Wetlands Research Center added a field station in College Station, Texas, and project offices in Gulf Breeze, Florida,

, and

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...

. *1995 - The National Biological Survey became the National Biological Service. *1996 - The National Biological Service became the Biological Resources Division of the U. S. Geological Survey.

References

Sources

NWRC history

External links

* {{authority control United States Fish and Wildlife Service Research institutes in Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette Buildings and structures in Lafayette, Louisiana Biological research institutes in the United States 1975 establishments in Mississippi