United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats in the United States. 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."[1]
"FWS" redirects here. For other uses, see FWS (disambiguation).Agency overview
Fish and Wildlife Service: June 30, 1940 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 1956; 68 years ago
- Bureau of Fisheries
Approx. 8,000[1]
$1.584 billion (FY2021)[2]
- Martha Williams, Director[9]
- Vacant, Principal Deputy Director
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.[10] 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 and the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council to promote voluntary habitat conservation and restoration.
The Fish and Wildlife Service was created in 1940 through the combination of two previous bureaus within the Department of the Interior. Its current director is Martha Williams, who was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden on March 8, 2022.
USFWS employs approximately 8,000 people[1] and is organized into a central administrative office in Falls Church, Virginia, eight regional offices, and nearly 700 field offices distributed throughout the United States.
Activities[edit]
National Wildlife Refuge System[edit]
USFWS manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, which consists of 570 National Wildlife Refuges, 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 150,000,000 acres (61,000,000 ha).
National Monuments[edit]
The USFWS governs six National Monuments:
In popular culture[edit]
In 1959, the methods used by USFWS's Animal Damage Control Program were featured in the Tom Lehrer song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park."[44]
Jeremy Renner plays a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service predator control specialist in the 2017 film Wind River.[45]