Fish and Wildlife Service: Difference between revisions

}}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=ECount/>

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. state]]s through the Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration Program.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/AboutUs/AboutUs1.htm |title=About WSFR |website=US Fish and Wildlife Service |access-date=2018-12-26}}</ref> The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitats are on [[U.S. state|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.

USFWS employs approximately 8,000 people<ref name=ECount/> 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]].

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 of 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 Territory 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 seals, foxes, 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.<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>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/history/bsphist2.htm|title=USGS Patuxent wildlife Research Center: Biological Survey Unit History|website=www.pwrc.usgs.gov}}</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 mammals in the United States.

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]] (FWCA), 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.

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 salt-water laboratories of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife to form today's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an element of NOAA.<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 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.

USFWS manages the [[National Wildlife Refuge System]], which consists of 570 [[National Wildlife Refuge]]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. state]]s. It also manages thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas covering over {{convert|150,000,000|acre}}.

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, 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''.

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 [[amphibian]]s 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 in the United States|Native Americans]] and National Wildlife Refuges. The NFHS also engages in outreach, education, and research activities.

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.

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/international/about-us/|title=About Us|website=www.fws.gov}}</ref>

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 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 use "on the National Forests and the public domain in destroying wolves, coyotes and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry".{{r|:0|pages=95–96}} Meanwhile, scientists like Joseph Grinnell and Charles C. Adams, a founder of the [[Ecological Society of America]], 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 Mammalogists|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 <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> 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 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].

Pursuant to the [[eagle feather law]], Title 50, Part 22 of the [[Code of Federal Regulations]] (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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/law/eagle |title=National Eagle Repository |publisher=fws.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/permits/forms/eaglereligious.pdf |title=Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes |publisher=fws.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0d3c438b52acf3ba6b4f4e03689aacdb&rgn=div5&view=text&node=50:6.0.1.1.5&idno=50 |title=Title 50 Part 22 Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 22) |publisher=ecfr.gpoaccess.gov |access-date=December 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402202602/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0d3c438b52acf3ba6b4f4e03689aacdb&rgn=div5&view=text&node=50:6.0.1.1.5&idno=50 |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</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 USFWS began to incorporate the research of tribal scientists into conservation decisions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/nativeamerican/|title=Fish and Wildlife Service – Native American Program|last=Service|first=US Fish and Wildlife|website=www.fws.gov|access-date=May 4, 2016}}</ref> 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.<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>Banegas, Diane, "Native American Students Mentored by Forest Service Scientists," US Forest Service (blog), April 5, 2016 (1:00pm), http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/04/05/native-american-students-mentored-by-forest-service-scientists/ .

From 1940 to 1970, the FWS (from 1956 the USFWS) operated a fleet of seagoing vessels. The fleet included fisheries science research 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<ref name=afscearly/> and a cargo liner — known as the "Pribilof [[Ship's tender|tender]]" — to provide transportation for passengers and haul cargo to, from, and between the Pribilof Islands.<ref name=pribiloftenders/> 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, {{ship|USFS|Albatross II||6}}, in 1932;<ref name=dayp6>Day, p. 6.</ref> 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 time<ref name="dayp7">Day, p. 7.</ref> — and had three in commission simultaneously only in two years out of their entire combined history<ref name="dayp7"/> — by March 1950, the FWS fleet included 11 seagoing fisheries research and exploratory fishing vessels either in service or under construction,<ref name=dayp7/> and its fishery enforcement force in the Territory of Alaska included 29 patrol vessels and about 100 speedboats, as well as 20 airplanes.<ref>Day, pp. 8–9.</ref> 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.