View source for United States Fish and Wildlife Service

{{Short description|United States federal government agency}}
{{Redirect|FWS}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = United States Fish and Wildlife Service
| logo            = File:Modern Flag of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.jpg
| logo_width      = 140px
| logo_caption    = Flag of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
| seal            = US-FishAndWildlifeService-Logo.svg
| seal_width      = 140px
| seal_caption    = Seal of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
| formed          = Fish and Wildlife Service: {{Start date and age|1940|06|30}}
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 1956; {{Years or months ago|1956}}
| preceding1      = [[United States Fish Commission|Bureau of Fisheries]]
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States|Federal government]]
| headquarters    = [[Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia]]<ref name="Address">{{Cite web |title=US Fish and Wildlife Service Moving to Bailey's Crossroads? |work=Falls Church, VA Patch |access-date=December 6, 2017 |date=August 6, 2013 |url=https://patch.com/virginia/fallschurch/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-moving-to-baileys-crossroads }}</ref>
| coordinates     = {{Coord|38|50|46|N|77|7|12|W|type:landmark_region:US-VA|display=inline,title}}
| employees       = ~ 8,000<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-07-10 |title=About Us|url=https://www.fws.gov/about |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref>
| budget          = $1.58 billion (2021)<ref>{{cite report |author=R. Eliot Crafton |date=January 5, 2021 |title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2021 Appropriations |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11470 |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |page=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 }}</ref>
| chief1_name     = [[Brian Nesvik]]
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name     = Justin Shirley
| chief2_position = Principal Deputy Director
| parent_department = [[United States Department of the Interior]]
| website         = {{URL|https://www.fws.gov|fws.gov}}
}}

The '''United States Fish and Wildlife Service''' ('''USFWS''' or '''FWS''') is a [[List of federal agencies in the United States|U.S. federal government agency]] within the [[United States 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"''.<ref name=":1" />

==History==
[[File:Warden Paul Kroegel.png|thumb|[[Conservation officer|Game warden]] [[Paul Kroegel]] with a [[brown pelican]] at [[Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge|Pelican Island]], 1907]]

===Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries===

The original ancestor of the agency 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 [[Fish stocks|stocks]] of [[Fish (food)|food fish]].<ref>{{citation |chapter-url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/022.html#22.3 |chapter=22.3, General records of the U.S. Fish Commission and the Bureau of Fisheries, 1870-1940 |title=Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] |date=August 15, 2016 |publisher=The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref> [[Spencer Fullerton Baird]] was appointed to lead it as the first United States Commissioner of Fisheries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.org/details/fisherycircular145unit |title=Fishery circular |date=September 6, 1962 |publisher=[Washington] : The Bureau |via=Internet Archive }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1900.html |title=Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1900s |work=NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) |date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref> 

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1910.html |title=Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1910s |work=NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) |date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref> Originally focused on [[fisheries science]] and [[fish culture]], the Bureau of Fisheries also assumed other duties; in 1906, the U.S. Congress assigned it the responsibility for the enforcement of [[fishery]] and [[fur seal]]-hunting regulations in the [[District of Alaska]],<ref name=afscearly>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska |title=Alaska &#124; NOAA Fisheries |first=NOAA |last=Fisheries |date=August 27, 2021 |website=NOAA }}</ref> and in 1910 for the management and harvest of [[northern fur seal]]s, foxes, and other fur-bearing animals in the [[Pribilof Islands]], as well as for the care, education, and welfare of the [[Aleut people|Aleut]] communities in the islands.<ref name=pribiloftenders>{{cite web |url=https://www.afsc.noaa.gov/History/vessels/pribilof_tenders.htm |publisher=AFSC Historical Corner |title=The Pribilof Islands Tender Vessels |access-date=September 4, 2018 }}</ref> In 1939, the Bureau of Fisheries moved from the Department of Commerce to the Department of the Interior.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1930.html |title=Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1930s |work=NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) |date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref>

===Bureau of Biological Survey===
The other ancestor of the agency 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/history/bsphist2.htm |title=USGS Patuxent wildlife Research Center: Biological Survey Unit History |website=www.pwrc.usgs.gov |date=June 24, 2025 }}</ref> In 1896 it became the '''Division of Biological Survey'''. [[Clinton Hart Merriam]] headed the Division for 25 years and became a national figure for improving the scientific understanding of birds and [[mammal]]s in the United States.

By 1905 with funding scarce, the Survey included in its 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 destroying wolves, coyotes and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Flores |first=Dan |title=Coyote America |publisher=Basic Books – Hachette Book Group |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-465-09372-4 |edition=First |location=New York |language=English |author-link=Dan Flores }}</ref> Meanwhile, scientists like [[Joseph Grinnell]] and Charles C. Adams, a founder of the [[Ecological Society of America]], were promoting a [[balance of nature]]. In 1924, at a conference organized by the [[American Society of Mammalogists]], the debate generated a public split between those in the Survey, promoting eradication, and the mammalogists who promoted some sort of accommodation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldman |first=Edward |date=February 1925 |title=The Predatory Mammal Problem and the Balance of Nature |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1373467.pdf |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=28–33 |doi=10.2307/1373467 |jstor=1373467 }}</ref> The Survey subsequently placed over 2 million poisoned bait stations across the west. The Survey then turned to the eradication of coyote,{{r|:0|pages=124–126}} coordinated through the [https://www.animallaw.info/statute/us-agriculture-animal-damage-control-act-chapter-17-miscellaneous-matters 1931 Animal Damage Control Act].

In 1934, the Division of Biological Survey 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]], one of the oldest federal environmental review statutes.<ref>Rosenberg, Ronald H., and Olson, Allen H., ''Federal Environmental Review Requirements Other than NEPA: The Emerging Challenge'' (1978). CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW [Vol. 27: 195. 1978] FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. In  [http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/672 Faculty Publications. Paper 672.] College of William and Mary Law School</ref> 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===
[[File:FWS patrol vehicles 1950.jpg|thumb|Patrol vehicles of the Fish & Wildlife Service in [[Territory of Alaska|Alaska]], 1950.]]

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.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1950.html |title=Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1950s |work=NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) |date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref>

In 1970, the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] was formed within the [[United States Department of Commerce|Department of Commerce]]. That year, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries merged with the [[saline water]] laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. This led to the creation of today's [[National Marine Fisheries Service]], which also acquired the [[former fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/timeline/1970.html |title=Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1970s |work=NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) |date=June 16, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 }}</ref>

The use of poisoned [[Bait (luring substance)|bait stations]] continued into the early 1970s. Although it resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of [[coyote]]s, this method failed to significantly reduce their population. Instead, due to their remarkable adaptability and resilience, coyotes migrated into a wider range of [[habitat]]s, even venturing into urban areas. Driven by growing environmental awareness in the late 1960s and early 1970s, [[Richard Nixon]] banned poisons used since the [[World War II|Second World War]] and signed the [[Endangered Species Act of 1973]].<ref name=":0"/> In 1985 [[Ronald Reagan]] reversed the poison killing ban and transferred the responsibility for predator control to the [[Wildlife Services]] program under the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.humaneworld.org/sites/default/files/docs/2015-wildlife-service-white-paper.pdf |title=Wildlife Disservice: The USDA Wildlife Services Inefficient and Inhumane Wildlife Damage Management Program |publisher=The Humane Society of the United States |year=2015 |location=Washington}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pemberton |first=Rachel |year=2020 |title=Detailed Discussion of Wildlife Services |url=https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed-discussion-wildlife-services |website=Animal Legal & Historical Center |publisher=Michigan State University College of Law}}</ref>

==Habitat conservation==
The agency plays a vital role in wildlife and [[habitat conservation]] through various key functions, including protecting [[native species]], managing [[Bird migration|migratory bird]] populations, restoring [[Fishery|fisheries]] to support [[ecosystem]]s, conserving vital habitats like [[wetland]]s, and overseeing wildlife efforts on [[military base]]s per the [[Sikes Act]].<ref name=":1" />

===National Wildlife Refuge System===
[[File:Natdiglib10013full.jpg|thumb|[[Biologist]] examining a baby [[American alligator|alligator]] in the [[Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge]]]]

The agency manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, guided by the [[National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966]], which consists of 570 [[National Wildlife Refuge]]s, encompassing a full range of habitat types, including [[wetland]]s, [[prairie]]s, coastal and marine areas, and temperate, [[tundra]], and [[boreal forest]]s spread across all 50 U.S. states. It also manages thousands of small [[wetland]]s and other areas covering over 150 million acres.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Nathaniel Pryor |title=The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service |last2=Drabelle |first2=Dennis |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2020 |isbn=978-0367312251 |location=United Kingdom }}</ref>

===National Monuments===
The agency participates in the governance of six [[National monument (United States)|National Monument]]s:
* The [[Hanford Reach National Monument]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington state]];
* The [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]], a huge maritime area in the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]];
* The [[Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument]] in the [[Aleutian Islands]] in Alaska;
* The [[Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument]], the largest [[marine protected area]] in the world;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/25/presidential-proclamation-pacific-remote-islands-marine-national-monumen |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |title=Presidential Proclamation – Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Expansion |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |date=September 25, 2014 }}</ref>
* The [[Rose Atoll Marine National Monument]] in [[American Samoa]];
* The [[Marianas Trench Marine National Monument]], which includes undersea [[mud volcano]]es, vents, [[chemosynthetic]] organisms, and many of the deepest points on Earth.

===Endangered species===
{{see|United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered mammals and birds}}
The agency shares responsibility for administering the [[Endangered Species Act of 1973]] with the [[National Marine Fisheries Service]]. The latter is responsible for [[Marine biology|marine species]], while the agency oversees [[freshwater fish]] and all other species. The two organizations jointly manage species that inhabit both marine and non-marine environments. To manage the listing process, a [[listing priority number]] is assigned to candidate species to reflect the relative urgency of listing them as [[Threatened species|threatened]] or [[Endangered species|endangered]] when an immediate listing is not feasible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nicholopoulos |first=Joy |year=1999 |title=The Endangered Species Listing Program |url=https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-04/1831.pdf |journal=Endangered Species Bulletin |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |volume=24 |issue=6}}</ref> The agency publishes the quarterly ''Endangered Species Bulletin''.

===National Conservation Training Center===
The [https://www.fws.gov/program/national-conservation-training-center National Conservation Training Center] trains employees and partners in the accomplishment of the agency's mission. The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitats are on state or private land not controlled by the [[United States government]]. Therefore, the agency's [[Partners for Fish and Wildlife]] program works closely with private groups such as [[Partners in Flight]], [[National Wildlife Refuge Association]], and the [[Landscape conservation cooperatives]] to promote voluntary [[habitat conservation]] and restoration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lccnetwork.org |title=Landscape Conservation Cooperative Network |website=www.lccnetwork.org }}</ref>

==Migratory bird program==
[[File:USFWS and Canada warbler.jpg|thumb|[[Biologist]] with a [[Canada warbler]] in [[Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge]]]]

The '''Migratory Bird Program''' aims to protect and conserve bird populations and habitats. It ensures ecological sustainability, enhances opportunities for [[birdwatching]] and other outdoor activities, and promotes awareness of the importance of [[Bird migration|migratory birds]]. To achieve these goals, the program utilizes resources such as the [[National Wetlands Inventory]] to map and monitor critical wetland habitats. The program conducts surveys, coordinates conservation partnerships, offers conservation grants, develops policies, and manages conservation laws, such as the [[Migratory Bird Conservation Act]], educates children, and provides resources for engaging with nature and birds.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-04 |title=Migratory Birds |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/migratory-birds |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref> 

===Federal Duck Stamp===
The agency organizes the annual art competition for the [[Federal Duck Stamp]], formally known as the '''Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp''', a [[collectable]] adhesive stamp required for [[waterfowl hunting]]. It also allows access to [[National Wildlife Refuge]]s without paying an admission fee.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dolin |first1=Eric Jay |title=The duck stamp story: art, conservation, history |last2=Dumaine |first2=Bob |date=2000 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=978-0-87341-814-0 |location=Iola, WI}}</ref> Since 1934, sales of Federal Duck Stamps have generated over $1.2 billion, which has enabled the conservation of more than 6 million acres of [[wetland]]s [[habitat]]. This makes the Duck Stamp one of the most successful [[wetland conservation]] revenue programs in history, with over 98% of the funds directly supporting the acquisition of wetlands and conservation easements for the [[National Wildlife Refuge|National Wildlife Refuge System]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-27 |title=Federal Duck Stamp |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/federal-duck-stamp |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref>

==Restoring fisheries==
[[File:Fishery employee feeds fish.jpg|thumb|[[Bozeman National Fish Hatchery]]]]

The agency oversees the [[National Fish Hatchery System]] which includes [[List of national fish hatcheries in the United States|71 fish hatcheries]] and 65 conservation offices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-25 |title=National Fish Hatchery System |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/national-fish-hatchery-system |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref> Originally created to reverse declines in lake and coastal fish stocks, the program subsequently expanded its mission to include the preservation of the genes of wild and hatchery-raised fish. The fish hatcheries contribute to the restoration of native fish populations, freshwater [[mussel]]s, and [[amphibian]]s including populations of species listed under the [[Endangered Species Act]], and providing fish to benefit [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and [[nature reserve]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=U S Fish and Wildlife Service |title=Fish Hatchery Management |publisher=University Press of the Pacific |year=1982 |isbn=978-1410225566 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=America's bountiful waters: 150 years of fisheries conservation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |date=2021 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-3955-9 |editor-last=Springer |editor-first=Craig |location=Lanham}}</ref>

The '''National Fish Passage Program''' provides financial and technical resources to projects that promote the free movement of fish and aquatic life. Common projects include [[dam removal]] and [[fishway]] construction. Between 1999 and 2023, the program has worked with over 2,000 local partners to open {{cvt|61,000|mi}} of upstream habitat by removing or bypassing 3,400 aquatic barriers.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 5, 2023 |title=National Fish Passage Program |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/national-fish-passage |access-date=October 5, 2023 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |publisher= |language=en}}</ref> The agency also plays a key role both in protecting sensitive [[marine coastal ecosystem]]s under the [[Coastal Barrier Resources Act]] and in conducting evaluations of the impacts on fish and wildlife resulting from proposed [[water resources]] development projects, in accordance with the [[Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act]].

==Law enforcement==
[[File:Fishing licence compliance check.jpg|thumb|Officer checking a [[fishing license]]]]

The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement|Office of Law Enforcement]] enforces wildlife laws such as the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act]], the [[Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918]], and the [[Lacey Act of 1900]]. The Refuge Law Enforcement officers safeguard National Wildlife Refuges, playing a vital role in preventing [[habitat destruction]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-01 |title=Refuge Law Enforcement |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/refuge-law-enforcement |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref> The office also provides training to law enforcement officers, and collaborates with [[Tribe (Native American)|tribal partners]] to conserve wildlife resources. 

The International Affairs Program coordinates national and global initiatives to protect, restore, and enhance wildlife and habitats, with a focus on species of international concern. It fulfills obligations under international [[Treaty|treaties]], such as [[CITES]]. The program collaborates with private citizens, local communities, government agencies, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders to implement treaties and laws and conserve species worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2024 |title=Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species |url=https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2024-03/factsheet-cites-overview-2024_0.pdf |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service }}</ref>

===Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory===
The agency operates the [[Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory]], the only [[forensic science|forensics]] laboratory in the world devoted to [[wildlife]] [[law enforcement agency|law enforcement]]. By treaty, it also is the official crime laboratory for [[CITES]] and [[Interpol]]. The laboratory identifies the [[species]] 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.

==Tribal relations==
Pursuant to the ''[[Eagle feather law]]'' and the ''[[Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act]]'', the agency administers the [[National Eagle Repository]] and the permit system for [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] religious use of eagle feathers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Eagle Repository |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/national-eagle-repository |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref> 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 agency began to incorporate the research of tribal scientists into conservation decisions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=National Native American Programs |url=https://www.fws.gov/program/native-american |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |language=en}}</ref> This came on the heels of Native American [[traditional ecological knowledge]] gaining acceptance in the scientific community as a reasonable and respectable way to gain knowledge of managing the natural world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Berkes |first=Fikret |date=2000 |title=Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Adaptive Management |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=1251–1262 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1251:ROTEKA]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Huntington |first=Henry |date=2000 |title=Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Science: Methods and Applications |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=1270–1274 |doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1270:UTEKIS]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Banegas |first=Diane |date=2016-04-05 |title=Native American Students Mentored by Forest Service Scientists |url=https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/blog/native-american-students-mentored-forest-service-scientists |website=U.S. Department of Agriculture}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Tribal Relations |url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/mission/tribal-relations/about-tribal-relations |access-date=2025-08-24 |website=Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

==In popular culture==
[[Tom Lehrer]]'s satirical song, ''[[An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer|Poisoning Pigeons in the Park]]'', gained notoriety in 1959 for its criticism against the agency's Animal Damage Control program's cruel practice of poisoning pigeons.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Faulkner |first=Clarence |date=May 1, 1999 |title=As It Was in Region 5,1949-1964 |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=icwdmprobe |journal=The Probe |volume=200 |pages=7 |via=DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska – Lincoln, ''"City-wide pigeon control in Boston, MA using strychnine-treated whole corn"'' }}</ref> This program was in 1985 transferred to the [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] and renamed [[Wildlife Services]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bale |first=Rachael |date=February 12, 2016 |title=This Government Program's Job Is to Kill Wildlife |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160212-Wildlife-Services-predator-control-livestock-trapping-hunting |work=National Geographic}}</ref>

In the 2017 [[contemporary Western]] crime film ''[[Wind River (film)|Wind River]]'', [[Jeremy Renner]] plays a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [[Tracking (hunting)|tracker]] who teams up with an FBI agent to solve a murder in the [[Wind River Indian Reservation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/weinstein-nabs-jeremy-renner-drama-wind-river-cannes-894008 |title=Cannes: Weinstein Co. Nabs Jeremy Renner Drama 'Wind River' (Exclusive) |last=Siegel |first=Tatiana |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 14, 2016 |access-date=May 22, 2020 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [https://www.library.noaa.gov/fisheries-heritage/annual-report U.S. Fish Commission Annual Reports, 1871–1979]
* {{Cite Americana |wstitle=Biological Survey, Bureau of |short=x}}
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/fish-and-wildlife-service Fish and Wildlife Service] in the [[Federal Register]]
* [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library]

{{DOI agencies}}
{{ES Government}}
{{US Environmental law}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Fish And Wildlife Service}}
[[Category:United States Fish and Wildlife Service| ]]
[[Category:Environmental agencies in the United States]]
[[Category:United States Department of the Interior agencies|Fish and Wildlife Service]]
[[Category:Nature conservation in the United States]]
[[Category:Land management in the United States]]
[[Category:United States public land law]]
[[Category:Wildfire suppression agencies]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1940]]
[[Category:1940 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1940 in the environment]]
[[Category:Regulatory authorities of the United States|Fish and Wildlife]]