Latest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News

US will keep protecting more than 2,000 Rocky Mountain grizzly bears

Jan. 08, 2025 21:03 PM EST

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday it will continue protecting about 2,000 grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains despite opposition from Republican-led states. Federal officials also said they would ease some restrictions as conflicts between bears and...

A drop in groundwater could mean big trouble for a tiny snail as Nevada lithium project presses on

Jan. 02, 2025 08:06 AM EST

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Opponents of the nation's largest lithium mine under construction want U.S. officials to investigate whether the project in Nevada already has caused a drop in groundwater levels that could lead to extinction of a tiny snail being considered for endangered species protection. ...

Feds propose protection for giant salamanders devastated by Hurricane Helene

Dec. 13, 2024 12:27 PM EST

You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill. He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first eastern hellbender. The salamander stretched 2...

New approach to Rocky Mountain grizzlies sought ahead of the second Trump presidency

Dec. 11, 2024 14:33 PM EST

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Environmental groups are asking the U.S. government to do more to protect Rocky Mountain grizzly bears before the next Trump administration decides the big bruins’ future. The groups petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday to take steps to...

Monarch butterflies to be listed as a threatened species in US

Dec. 10, 2024 16:42 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials announced a decision Tuesday to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies after years of warnings from environmentalists that populations are shrinking and the beloved pollinator may not survive climate change. The U.S. Fish and...

Canada lynx proposed for new habitat protections in US southern Rockies

Nov. 27, 2024 18:29 PM EST

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials finalized a recovery plan for imperiled populations of Canada lynx on Wednesday and proposed new habitat protections in the southern Rocky Mountains for the forest-dwelling wildcats that are threatened by climate change. The fate of...

Federal wildlife officials review the removal of a bald eagle nest in Alabama

Nov. 19, 2024 19:17 PM EST

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Federal wildlife officials are reviewing the removal of a bald eagle nest at the site of a planned subdivision in the east Alabama city of Auburn following an outcry by some local residents, the agency announced Tuesday. Agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife...

Environmentalists concerned after protected Mexican wolf dies in Arizona

Nov. 15, 2024 21:23 PM EST

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federally protected female Mexican wolf was found dead in an area near the northern Arizona city of Flagstaff, alarming environmentalists who worry someone may have deliberately killed the animal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and...