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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

America’s oldest federal conservation agency grew out of an effort to understand disappearing fisheries in 1871 and has since expanded into a wide-ranging mission to protect wildlife, plants, and habitats. Today it helps manage national wildlife refuges, conserve endangered species, restore fisheries, and enforce wildlife laws across the country.

1 Audiobook

For the Birds

For the Birds

by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

About the author

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior and traces its roots to the U.S. Fish Commission, created by Congress in 1871. The modern agency took shape in 1940, when earlier federal fish and wildlife bureaus were combined, and its history reflects more than a century of adapting to new conservation challenges.

Its mission is simple and far-reaching: to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. That work includes overseeing the National Wildlife Refuge System, helping recover endangered species, managing migratory birds, restoring nationally significant fisheries, and supporting habitats that benefit both wildlife and communities.

What makes the Service especially distinctive is its mix of science, stewardship, and public service. With refuges, hatcheries, law enforcement, ecological services, and on-the-ground partnerships, it plays a central role in how the United States cares for its natural world.