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 In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. 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 or private land not controlled by the United States government. 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 ...

to promote voluntary habitat conservation and restoration. The agency's directorship is currently led by Martha Williams. President Joe Biden appointed her to the position on March 8, 2022. She was previously the director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The USFWS employs approximately 8,000 people and is organized into a central administrative office in

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

, Virginia, eight regional offices, and nearly 700 field offices distributed throughout the United States.

Activities

National Wildlife Refuge System

The USFWS manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, which consists of 560

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

s, encompassing a full range of habitat types, including wetlands, prairies, coastal and marine areas, and temperate, tundra, and boreal forests spread across all 50 U.S. states. It also manages thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas covering over .

National Monuments

The USFWS governs six

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

s: * The Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington state; * The

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) (roughly ) is a World Heritage Site, World Heritage listed National Monument (United States), U.S. National Monument encompassing of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of th ...

, a huge maritime area in the

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands or Leeward Hawaiian Islands are a series of islands and atolls in the Hawaiian island chain located northwest (in some cases, far to the northwest) of the islands of Kauai and Niihau. Politically, they are all p ...

, managed jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Hawaii); * 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 in Alaska; * The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, the largest marine protected area in the world, managed in consultation with NOAA; * The

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, managed jointly with NOAA and the Government of American Samoa; and * The

Marianas Trench Marine National Monument The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is a United States National Monument created by President George W. Bush by the presidential proclamation no. 8335mud volcanoes, vents, chemosynthetic organisms, and many of the deepest points on Earth, managed in coordination with NOAA and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Endangered species

The USFWS shares the responsibility for administering the Endangered Species Act of 1973 with the National Marine Fisheries Service (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

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s, and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s including populations of species listed under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

; 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.

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives

The USFWS partners with the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, a network of 22 autonomous cooperatives 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

The USFWS operates the Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, the only

forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

laboratory in the world devoted to wildlife law enforcement. 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 laboratory identifies the species or

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

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 organizations, 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.

National Conservation Training Center

The USFWS's National Conservation Training Center trains USFWS employees and those of USFWS partners in the accomplishment of the USFWS’s mission.

Tribal relations

Pursuant to the

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 (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, 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 with the purpose of studying and recommending solutions to a noted decline in the

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

of food fish.

Spencer Fullerton Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He ...

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 and the United States Department of Labor 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, both ...

and fur seal-hunting regulations in the Territory of Alaska, and in 1910 for the management and harvest of northern fur seals,

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, 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 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 headed the Bureau for 25 years and became a national figure for improving the scientific understanding of birds and

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s 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 (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, were promoting a "

balance of nature The balance of nature, also known as ecological balance, is a theory that proposes that ecological systems are usually in a stable equilibrium or homeostasis, which is to say that a small change (the size of a particular population, for example) w ...

" 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

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 science

research ship A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

s, fishery patrol vessels, and

cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...

s. 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 (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. Albatross III

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 ...

were featured in the Tom Lehrer song " Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

Day, Albert M., "The Fish and Wildlife Service — Ten Years of Progress," ''Commercial Fisheries Review'', March 1950, p. 1.

External links

*
US Fish and Wildlife Service on Google Cultural Institute

Fish and Wildlife Service
in the

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 feder ...

FWS Midwest Region

FWS Southwest Region

Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office

Technical Report Archive and Image Library
(TRAIL) Historic technical reports from the Fish and Wildlife Service (and other Federal agencies) {{DEFAULTSORT:United States Fish And Wildlife Service Environmental agencies in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Nature conservation in the United States Land management in the United States United States public land law Wildfire suppression agencies Government agencies established in 1940 1940 establishments in the United States 1940 in the environment

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 ...