USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program

01/20/2023

12/23/2022

Desert Wetland Restoration: How Hunting Plays a Role

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK_IeFCoLO8

12/13/2022

12/02/2022

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Provides $10 Million to Sagebrush Projects in the West | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-11/president-bidens-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-provides-10-million-sagebrush?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com&fbclid=IwAR3hd73-JxBi56hYI71RWcNGO-lbOOL4VpvI6gn3iLJT0ldjn1UA0GGKkYQ

Sacramento, Calif. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced $10 million in fiscal year 2023 funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

12/01/2022

Don’t throw the baby out with the flood irrigation water

With so many agriculture operation going to sprinklers and pivots in an effort to be more water efficient in the West, we still may need to consider flood irrigation as a conservation tool. Flood irrigation in the right place can benefit watersheds, people, and wildlife. This article highlights when and how flood irrigation is beneficial and features a landowner friend of the Program and Dave Kimball, Wyoming Partners for Fish and Wildlife Biologist.
Western Landowners Alliance

The voice of stewardship in the American West

11/29/2022

America’s Billion-Dollar Tree Problem Is Spreading

https://www.wired.com/story/billion-dollar-encroaching-tree-problem/

Grasslands are being overrun by drought-resistant invaders that wreck animal habitats, suck up water supplies, and can cost landowners a fortune.

11/15/2022

Congratulations Gwen Kolb! The DOI Meritorious Service Award is the highest honorary recognition an employee can receive within DOI. It is granted for an outstanding contribution to science, outstanding skill or ability in the performance of duty, outstanding contribution made during an eminent career in the Department, or any other exceptional contribution to the public service.Making us look good, as always!

We want to extend our Congratulations to Gwen Kolb, a veteran of the Woman’s Army Corps and recent recipient of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Honor Award for Meritorious Service. During her 14 years as a Partners for Fish and Wildlife biologist in Illinois, Gwen helped landowners restore a lot of historic wildlands, developing partnerships and lifelong friendships. In 2016, she moved to Albuquerque to work as the state coordinator for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Although Gwen’s tenure with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ends officially on December 31, 2022, she has no plans to retire from her work in conservation partnerships with landowners. We thank you for your service and wish you only the best. http://ow.ly/64cB50LBCpa
Photo USFWS Gwen Colb

11/13/2022

Timeline photos

Partners for Fish and Wildlife Biologist Gwen Kolb while looking back on her career says “I haven't varied from my own mission statement since I’ve been with the Fish and Wildlife Service. ‘We are stewards of this land, and we're responsible to restore and preserve for future generations. Honestly, I think everyone should have their own personal mission statement. We are all a part of the big picture.” https://www.fws.gov/story/2022-11/gwen-kolbs-mission-statement

What’s your personal mission statement?

Photo: USFWS

11/01/2022

10/31/2022

Fish and Wildlife Biologist

Job opportunity! GS-9/11 Biologist position open in Elko, Nevada! https://www.usajobs.gov/job/686230700

The person in this position will serve as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist (Private Lands), responsible for independently identifying and engaging key stakeholders, developing and implementing strategic communication, understanding diverse human values and interests in relation to habitat restoration, and carrying out all field-level financial and technical assistance and habitat restoration aspects of the PFW program. They are actively involved with PFW on the ground habitat restoration and enhancement projects in the Great Basin, responsible for delivery of technical assistance related to program activities benefitting Federal Trust Resources, and implementation of the 1985 Food Security Act, as amended (Farm Bill). Our work in the sagebrush ecosystem involves projects to reduce and eliminate threats of fire and invasive species and to enhance and restore sagebrush upland, wetland, and stream habitats for Federal Trust Species. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is also actively implementing sagebrush ecosystem restoration projects funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which will increase opportunities (and budgets) through 2026.

In Nevada, the Partners program consists of staff in Reno (1), Winnemucca (1), Elko (two positions including this one), and Las Vegas (1). Partners staff in Elko are co-located with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and collaborate with a diverse assemblage of federal, state, local government, tribal, and private landowner partners. Elko is in the heart of the Great Basin, and our conservation work focuses on restoration of the sagebrush ecosystem which is home to over 300 sagebrush dependent species. While Nevada is predominantly managed by federal land management agencies, private lands play a crucial role in wildlife conservation because they are largely centered around areas containing spring and river systems which are disproportionately important to fish, wildlife, and plants in the Great Basin.

The population of Elko is 20,564 (2020), and the town sits at an elevation of 5,060 feet. This high desert community experiences four annual seasons. Fall is spectacular, heralding in warm days and cool evenings. Winter months bring average high temperatures between 37-43 degrees with lows averaging between 25-31 degrees. Spring months bring warmer temperatures accompanied by cool nights. During the warm summer months the average high falls between 80-90 degrees. Much of Elko County's precipitation comes in the form of snowfall with the annual average being less than 10 inches. Elko is an ideal spot to experience a variety of recreations and outdoor sports. People travel from across the world annually to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

This position is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist, GS- 0401-9/11 working in Elko, NV for the R8-Reno Fish and Wildlife Office. This position is also open to status candidates under announcement R8-23-11704581-CU-MP. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered un...

10/21/2022

Taking to the Sky to Defend the Sage — Partners in the Sage

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has created opportunities for protecting sagebrush steppe habitat. Read how the Colorado Partners Program is taking an aerial approach.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has brought a unique opportunity to implement landscape-scale conservation projects across the vast sagebrush biome. Partners in Colorado have already hit the ground running.

10/12/2022

Partnerscapes Private Lands Partners Day 2022 (Fayetteville, Arkansas)

10/04/2022

In many of our western states, fall is when habitat restoration implementation goes into hyper-drive. Sometimes it is a mad dash to get everything done before the snow pushes us out. This morning a helicopter lifted off at dawn to fly on a diverse mix of grasses, flowering plants, and shrubs - making it rain seed from the broadcast seeder attached below the chopper. This is going on the ground prior to contractors shredding some juniper trees invading shrub and grassland rangelands in Utah. Project work is occurring on private, state, and federal lands and will support many sagebrush obligate species of wildlife as well as provide more management options for local livestock producers.

Speaking of contractors... the same goes for them. It's a mad dash to finish out their habitat restoration contracts before the snow comes. Habitat restoration supports local economies, families, and culture. This local helicopter pilot many years ago saw a niche market for working in the habitat and agriculture market. He went and got a pilots license, starting bidding on projects, and now has a successful small business providing jobs and boosting rural economics in Utah. Our contractors deserve a big shout out for what they do in implementing projects.

This gets to the core of what the Partners Program is all about. Yea we care about habitat and wildlife but we also really care about the people. The people working on the land, local communities, local culture, local business owners providing for their families, and the relationships with our many partners.

Funding partners include: private landowners, Utah Partners Program, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, Utah Wild Sheep Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Safari Club International, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Utah Archery Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

08/16/2022

DYK? Grasslands are important habitat for numerous species of greatest conservation need across the United States. Check out the Grasslands Roadmap for more information: https://www.grasslandsroadmap.org/

Illustration by Jessica French

08/04/2022

The Partners Program in WI restoring historic prairie. Read below and follow some of the interactive links.

07/28/2022

A follow-up video to our last post about native grass versus non-native grass for wildlife and livestock producers. See our last post for more info but in the video green = native warm season grass, and brown = non-native fescue.

07/25/2022

Byron Mitchell, MO Partners Biologist, has been working with landowners on drought resilience projects benefitting their operations and wildlife.

Native grass is a powerful tool for cattle farmers especially during drought conditions. No measurable rainfall has occurred on this farm in over a month. It’s been rotated through with 52 cows and 48 calves twice this summer and going back in for third time this week - 2 weeks on and 3 weeks of rest. Photos show dormant fescue on right and natives warm season grasses on the left. The green side also is full of life with birds and insects galore! A win for livestock operators and a win for wildlife.

07/14/2022

Clover Creek Ranch | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Clover Creek Ranch | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

By Josh White, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Biologist

07/05/2022

Region 6 sent a great one out to pasture last week. Heather Johnson, Region 6 Partners Program Regional Chief, retired from her duties as a leader of the Partners Program in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. Her enthusiasm, laughter, and love for the people will be felt for a long time throughout the rural communities she impacted in Region 6. Under her leadership Region 6 has routinely lead the nation in acres restored and enhanced and always did what was right for the resource, right for the Program, and strongly advocated for her people - the landowners in the region and her staff.

Congratulation Heather on your retirement.

06/23/2022

Bringing Back Native Prairie at a Washington Tree Farm

Bringing Back Native Prairie at a Washington Tree Farm

05/25/2022

Restoration project at Bukolt Park plants more than 2,000 native species

Partners Program making the news in Wisconsin.

North Central Conservancy Trust (NCCT) recently received a $5,000 grant from American Transmission Co.’s (ATC) Pollinator Habitat Program and $400 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to help support a restoration project to revegetate a nearly one-acre area with native, pollinator-friendly plants on Bukolt Island during the spring and summer of 2022.

Bukolt Island, also known as Annabel Lee or Kulas Island, is located west of Bukolt Park in the Wisconsin River. NCCT purchased the 2-acre island, along with their 5-acre mainland property located just north of Bukolt Park in 2019 through a partnership with the Green Circle Trail and the City of Stevens Point.

During the fall of 2021, ATC cut and cleared brush from a 0.96-acre area beneath the ATC electric transmission line that runs through the southern half of the island to comply with vegetation management safety guidelines. As part of its management goals for the island property, NCCT seeks to complement ATC’s work by revegetating the area with low-growing, native plant species starting in the spring of 2022. Low-growing perennials and grasses can thrive within transmission line rights-of-way and won’t interfere with overhead transmission lines.

Planting native, perennial plant species in this area will attract a diversity of pollinators and reduce future vegetation management requirements for ATC and NCCT. In addition, native plants will help to prevent the spread of harmful invasive species and slow the reestablishment of incompatible, tall-growing vegetation. Native plants will also help to reduce negative impacts to water and site quality.

Through grants, the North Central Conservancy Trust is restoring the island by promoting native species

05/20/2022

PFW101 is wrapping up in Seeley Lake, Montana! Special thanks to Partnerscapes, Blackfoot Challenge and landowners for joining and hosting us. Congrats to the class of 2022!

05/08/2022

Life Cycle and Biology

Happy Mother’s Day!
In the spring, young bumble bee queens emerge from their winter slumber and venture out into the world for food and shelter. To begin their families, the queens collect nectar and pollen from spring flowers like dandelions, hyacinths, and bluebells. Once they are satisfied with their collections, they will find a suitable nest location and lay their first set of female worker bee eggs. Over the course of a few weeks, the queens will brood over their eggs, forage for food, and defend their nests. After the first set of eggs hatch, the queens will remain in the nest, producing anywhere from 30 to over 400 eggs in the course of the summer. By fall, new queens have hatched and will mate with male drones before finding a secure place to overwinter. The queens from the previous year pass away in winter, while the new queens are in a state of hibernation called diapause. In the spring, the young queens will emerge, and the cycle will begin again! (Source: https://wisconsinbumblebees.entomology.wisc.edu/about-bumble-bees/life-cycle-and-development/)
To protect these lovely bee families, the interagency Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Pollinator Task Force has been brought together, utilizing the knowledge of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Bumble Bee Colony Lifecycle Bees have an impressive array of different life histories – from the highly complex and industrious colonies of honey bees, to lonesome solitary bees that play the role of queen, nurse, and defender of the nest. Bumble bees fall close to honey bees and are classified as...

05/04/2022

Congrats Tim Anderson!

The Victoria Soil & Water Conservation District would like to share their nomination for this year's Wildlife Conservationist, Tim Anderson with U.S. Fish & Wildlife. He is a dedicated individual to promoting and practicing preservation of our Coastal Prairies and their wildlife. Thank You for all you do!

04/28/2022

Stevens Point Students Collaborate on Wetland Restoration Efforts

...the steam of freshly brewed coffee slowly rising from the BHA Stanley mug mimicked that of a freshly stoked campfire in the backcountry as we sat awaiting the arrival of our crew in the crisp Wisconsin air...

Read the rest of this article below and learn about an awesome wetland effort between UWSP’s collegiate chapters of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Wisconsin state chapter of DU and USFWS Partners Program.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.

04/12/2022

It's always nice to see (and hear) the positive results of collaborative refuge and PFW grassland restoration and enhancement efforts. Performing their springtime ritual, multiple Greater prairie chicken leks can be found on a number of PFW restoration project sites adjacent to Kirwin NWR in northcentral Kansas

04/11/2022

Photos from North Central Conservancy Trust's post

03/31/2022

Celebrating the Wildlife Women of PFW (2022)

03/28/2022

Photos from Pheasants Forever Wisconsin's post

03/25/2022

Happy Friday! Each year more than 600,000 sandhill cranes gather within the central Platte river valley of Nebraska to rest and refuel on their journey north to the breeding grounds. Our goal in Nebraska is to restore important in-channel and riverine floodplain habitats along biologically important riverine systems. The central Platte River has been a priority Focus Area for nearly three decades. More than 300 Landowner Agreements have been signed, with restoration and management work completed along the central Platte since 1992. Photo by Joe Milmoe / USFWS.

03/23/2022

One of Earth's greatest migrations is underway along the Platte River in Nebraska!

Looking on radar, you can see all the cranes along the Platte River! It’s crane season in Nebraska!!

03/22/2022

Newly confirmed USFWS Director Martha Williams tours with private landowners and PFW biologists in the Willammette Valley of Oregon. Here, native prairie restoration on private lands is critical for the recovery of seven listed species — two of these are the Fenders Blue Butterfly and Bradshaw’s lomatium, also known as Bradshaw’s desert parsley.

More on PFW's work with landowners in the Willammette Valley at: https://usfwspacificnw.medium.com/jarod-jebousek-partnerships-make-conservation-possible-in-oregons-treasured-willamette-valley-2b09068c0fd

03/21/2022

The Upper Manoa Valley Rare Plant Protection Project reached a milestone this month. The Upper Manoa Valley (UMV) is a privately owned, remote 200-acre valley on the north shore of Kauaʻi only accessible by helicopter. The valley is home to several endangered plants including the largest population of Schiedea kauaiensis, an extremely rare plant in the Caryophyllaceae (carnation) family and Kadua fluviatilis, a member of the Rubiaceae (coffee) family. Ric Berry's (the landowner) first and foremost goal for the UMV is to facilitate the long term conservation, protection and enhancement of habitat for the wildlife and botanical resources of the UMV. Drawing from a rare plant management plan which was developed by the Kauaʻi Plant Extinction Prevention Program, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office and National Tropical Botanical Garden, we have implemented actions in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife. The rare plant management plan consists of; 1) protecting the identified rare plant populations listed above with small ungulate exclusion fences 2) collecting propagules from these species and growing them at nurseries; and 3) planting the plants back into fenced areas. Implementation of the plan began in 2018 with funding from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Small exclusion fences were installed around the rare plant populations in September of 2019. Last week staff from DOFAW and Partners Biologist, Michelle Clark, helicoptered into the UMV to reintroduce about 100 native Hawaiian plants, including 76 Kadua fluviatilis and three Schiedea kauaiensis into the fenced areas. We applaud Ric Berry for conserving our native species and his willingness to work with federal, state and non-profit organizations to get the job done.

03/21/2022

Photos from Blackfoot Challenge's post

03/18/2022

Newly confirmed USFWS Director Martha Williams visiting the Mapes Creek project, which replaced an undersized culvert with a 32-foot-long bridge to dramatically improve fish passage, part of the “Salmon SuperHwy” along the Oregon Coast.

PFW biologist Amy Horstman (pictured right) provides technical and funding assistance for habitat restoration projects in Oregon on the northern coast and along the Lower Columbia River. Go Amy!

Martha Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, and Tommy Beaudreau, Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary, both center, recently visited a fish passage improvement project on the northern Oregon Coast.

The Mapes Creek project, which replaced an undersized culvert with a 32-foot-long bridge to dramatically improve fish passage, is one part of a much larger effort to create a “Salmon SuperHwy”, as it is dubbed, on the Oregon Coast.

As of 2022, Salmon SuperHwy projects have reconnected 115 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat on the northern coast, thanks to over a dozen federal, state and local partners.

Projects like these are part of the America the Beautiful initiative, a decade-long campaign to conserve, connect and restore 30% of our lands and waters by 2030.

USFWS photo: Paul Henson

- More on the salmon superhighway: http://ow.ly/e4kL50IkWfj
- Martha Williams bio: https://go.usa.gov/xzPg3
- More on America the Beautiful: http://ow.ly/kmgb50IlbtP



Photo description: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees join Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, second from left, and USFWS Director Martha Williams, second from right, at an improved fish passage project on the northern Oregon Coast, March 16, 2022.

03/10/2022

Cooperating for Woods and Wildlife: Brendan Woodall Interview

Brendan Woodall, Partners biologist, talks about the Wisconsin Partners Program and partnering with landowners and other partners in this interview.

03/04/2022

Photos from USFWS Southeast Region's post

03/03/2022

Oʻahu MVP 2022

Our partners at Protect and Preserve Hawaiʻi, received the Oʻahu MVP 2022 award as part of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month!

We have a project with Protect and Preserve Hawaiʻi and the Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership (http://koolauwatershed.org) to improve native habitat over 214 acres in Pia Valley.

Senator Mike Gabbard presents the Oʻahu MVP award as part of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month. Protect & Preserve Hawai'i is a non-profit organizatio...

02/18/2022

The central Platte River in Nebraska is well known for the awe and spectacle of the spring migration. Not as well-known is the fall migration through Nebraska where sandhill cranes, waterfowl, whooping cranes and other migratory waterbirds call the Platte River and its associated floodplain wetland habitats home as part of their journey southward. The migration was in full swing this past fall and a record number of whooping cranes roosted within the central Platte River and foraged along its associated wetlands, wet meadows and croplands. A goal of the Nebraska PFW Program is to restore important in-channel and riverine floodplain habitats along biologically important riverine systems in Nebraska. More than 300 Landowners Agreements have been signed, and the restoration and management work completed along the central Platte since 1992.

As we look forward the spring migration take a moment to look back at these incredible photos from the fall migration.

02/14/2022

2021 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award - Lazy KT Ranch

Congrats to the Lazy KT Ranch, recipient of the 2021 Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award. Owned and operated by Dr. Katie Blunk and her family, Lazy KT Ranch is located in the mixed grass prairie region of northwestern Oklahoma. While working with a number of conservation organizations over the years, Katie has worked with USFWS Partners Program while serving on the Comanche Pool board of directors to deliver outreach/education events and private land restoration.

Hear and see how Katie uses fire and cattle on the landscape to reinvigorate ecosystem function and resilience in the video below.

Lazy KT Ranch - Katie Blunk, DVM & Michael Horntvedt - Freedom, Oklahoma

Lazy KT Ranch’s story is one of resilience. A mother and daughter’s land ethic has revived the native grasslands of a ranch located a few miles east of the D...