Fish and Wildlife Service
Logo of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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Flag of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | June 30, 1940 |
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| Jurisdiction | United States federal government |
| Headquarters | Falls Church, Virginia |
| Employees | approx. 9,000 employees (2010) |
| Annual budget | $2.32 billion (FY08) |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | U.S. Department of the Interior |
| Website | www.fws.gov |
| Footnotes | |
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency of the federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. 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."
The leader of the FWS is the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel M. Ashe, of Maryland, who was confirmed on June 30, 2011, succeeding Sam Hamilton.
Among the responsibilities of the FWS are enforcing federal wildlife laws, protecting endangered species, managing migratory birds, restoring nationally significant fisheries, conserving and restoring wildlife habitat, such as wetlands, helping foreign governments with their international conservation efforts, and distributing money to states' fish and wildlife agencies through the Wildlife Sport Fish and Restoration program.
Units within the FWS include:
The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. Therefore, the FWS works closely with private groups, such as The Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Partners in Flight, Sport Fishing and The Boating Partnership Council, to assist voluntary habitat conservation and restoration.
The FWS employs approximately 9,000 people and is organized into a central administrative office (in Arlington, VA), eight regional offices, and nearly 700 field offices distributed throughout the United States.
The USFWS originated in 1871 as the United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries, more commonly referred to as the United States Fish Commission, created by the United States Congress with the purpose of studying and recommending solutions to a noted decline in the of food fish. Spencer Fullerton Baird was appointed its first commissioner. In 1903, the Fish Commission was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries.
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