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Fish and Wildlife Service
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is a federal agency responsible for fish and wildlife management in the United States. It is responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act and listing animal and plant species as endangered or threatened.[1]
The Fish and Wildlife Service employed the equivalent of 7,382 full-time employees in fiscal year 2014. The agency's enacted budget for fiscal year 2014 totaled $2.79 billion.[2]
History
The service began when the Bureaus of Fisheries and Biological Survey merged to become the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1940. Programs for migratory birds and fisheries were established and managed by the service during the 1950s and 1960s. The management of fisheries was then transferred to the National Marine Fisheries Service in the 1970s. In 1966, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act allowed the agency to manage all national wildlife refuges. After Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the service assumed the role of listing and managing endangered and threatened species.[3][4]
Structure
Mission
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission is as follows:[3]
| “ | Our mission is to work with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.[5] | ” |
| —U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | ||
Responsibilities
The Fish and Wildlife Service's chief responsibilities include enforcing federal wildlife laws, listing and managing endangered species, protecting migratory birds, and conserving wildlife habitats, such as wetlands.[3]
Budget and finance
The table below summarizes FWS appropriations and the agency's equivalent of full-time employees for fiscal years 2014 (enacted) and 2015 (requested).[2]
| FWS appropriations and FTEs, FY 2014 and 2015 ($ in thousands) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 2014 (enacted) | 2015 (requested) | Percent difference | |||
| Appropriations amount | FTEs | Appropriations amount | FTEs | Appropriations amount | FTEs | |
| Current | $1,427,367 | 7,382 | $1,476,202 | 7,493 | 3.42% | 1.50% |
| Permanent | $1,363,046 | 252 | $1,342,091 | 308 | -1.53% | 22.22% |
| Reimbursable and other | $0 | 1,573 | $0 | 1,585 | 0% | 0.07% |
| Total | $2,790,413 | 9,207 | $2,818,293 | 9,386 | 0.09% | 1.94% |
| Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, "Fiscal Year 2015: The Interior Budget in Brief," March 2014 | ||||||
See also
- Endangered Species Act
- Endangered species
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- Glossary of environmental terms
- State environmental policy
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Overview," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Department of the Interior, "Fiscal Year 2015: The Interior Budget in Brief," March 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "History," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ All Gov, "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service History," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
