Service Releases Climate Change Strategy for Public Review and Comment Builds on Secretary Salazar’s DOI Climate Change Order

As part of the Department of the Interior’s commitment to building a coordinated strategy to respond to the impacts of climate change on the nation’s natural resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today releases a proposed strategic plan that will guide the agency’s efforts to respond to the unprecedented threat posed by global warming.

Learn More

Delta’s U.S. Mentored Hunt Program Takes Off – More than 70 Hunts Planned for Upcoming Season

Bismarck, N.D.—The seeds of John Denker’s love of waterfowling were sown when he was a young boy working as his father’s field apprentice in and around his hometown of Quincy, Illinois. “I was affectionately called the bag boy, the kid who pick…

National Wildlife Refuges to be Featured on New Quarters

Block Island National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware will be featured on quarters with reverse (tails side) designs as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, which showcases national wildlife refuges, parks or other federally preserved area from each state, U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia.

“The new quarter program recognizes that public places of inspiration and recreation have always been important to Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “The quarters highlight the diversity and magnificence of 48 National Park Service sites and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges cared for by the Department of the Interior as well as six national forests administered by the Department of Agriculture. Hopefully the coins will encourage people to learn more about each area and its significance to our heritage.”

Block Island NWR News Release (Dept. of Treasury)

Bombay Hook NWR News Release (Dept. of Treasury)

Where Do Our Ducks Come From? The Answer May Shock Many Hunters

BISMARCK, N.D.—Lost in the euphoria over the 2009 breeding-population survey was the sobering confirmation that prairie Canada is no longer the continent’s leading producer of ducks. This spring, for the first time ever, more total ducks, more pudd…

Mussel Traffickers to Serve Prison Terms, Pay Restitution

Three individuals who were involved in a conspiracy to illegally harvest and export undersized freshwater mussels taken from U.S. rivers have been sentenced to pay $65,000 in restitution and serve Federal prison terms of 12, 20 and 24 months. The three were successfully prosecuted on Lacey Act charges as the result of a multi-year undercover investigation of large-scale mussel trafficking conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. During the case, investigators linked at least 17 individuals to the conspiracy and discovered that as many as 240,000 individual mussels were unlawfully taken, sold and exported to Japan and other countries over a two-year period.

Salazar Announces Guidelines to Protect Indiana Bat from Surface Coal Mining Impacts

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the availability of coal mining guidelines developed to conserve and protect the endangered Indiana bat. The bat’s habitat stretches from the eastern United States through the Midwest, including 13 states with coal mining operations.

View the Guidelines

Secretary Salazar Performs Honorary Swearing-in Ceremony for Service Director Sam Hamilton.

Secretary Salazar performed the honorary swearing-in of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Sam Hamilton. Hamilton will lead the nation’s principal federal agency dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats, overseeing nearly 9,000 employees located in all 50 states and U.S. territories. “We’ve got a great team, and I’m ready to hit the ground running,” said Hamilton at the conclusion of his swearing-in.

Delta’s Mentored Hunting Program Restoring Canadian Waterfowling Culture – More Than 40 Hunts Slated for 2009

Winnipeg, Manitoba—As the days get shorter and the evenings cooler, Delta Waterfowl President Rob Olson gets that unmistakable itch that the waterfowl-hunting season is right around the bend. “It happens every year,” says Olson. “I get that itch.” As…