U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

The newest episode of our Nature's Infrastructure podcast is now out! On this episode we're focusing on the incredible partnerships that are catalyzing the future of salmon conservation in Alaska through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments and projects that are healing the broader ecosystem and serving Alaska’s people and wildlife. We chat with Amber Vaska, the executive director of the Tanana Chiefs Conference and Kevin Whitworth, from the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, to talk about ways the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative is helping promote critical conservation for people, salmon and the land. Check out the latest episode here: https://ow.ly/oV5z50SFsol

Join our team as a supervisory fish biologist! Based in our Lodi Fish and Wildlife Office in California, this position will ensure that adequate resources are available to support data management of multiple large aquatic monitoring programs in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Apply by: July 26, 2024 More information: https://lnkd.in/eQNzj-bv Photo of a Chinook salmon by USFWS

Wow! A year has passed since the completion of the Little Tonsina River and Richardson Highway Mile 74 fish-passage project in Alaska. Recently, Bureau of Land Management Director, Tracy Stone-Manning and BLM Alaska joined U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) acting field supervisor of the Southern Alaska Fish and Wildlife Field Office, Trent Liebich, and acting deputy assistant regional director for fisheries, Ben Gilles at the project site. There they witnessed a lively river with fish-friendly flows for Coho and Chinook salmon seeking access to over 70 miles of upstream nursery habitat! 🌊🐟 Designed not just to help fish migrate up and downstream, but also to pass a 100-year flood, this Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded fish passage project was the first in the nation to break ground and applies USFWS guidelines for building fish-friendly road-stream crossings. Learn more about the project at the link below. 🔗⬇️ Project partners include Chugach Alaska Corporation, Copper River Watershed Project, USFWS Fisheries staff, Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management, NOAA Fisheries Alaska, and the Denali Commission. 📷 Charlie Ebbers/BLM

Adult monarchs feed on the nectar of many flowers, but they breed only where milkweeds are found. There has been a sharp decline in the monarch population and one of the contributing factors as to why, is a lack of food for them to eat. If you're thinking of planting milkweed to help regrow the monarch population, take this into consideration - not all milkweed plants are created equal. A recent study found that female monarchs will lay eggs on various milkweed species, but they prefer some over others. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and common milkweed (A. syriaca) were found to be a monarch favorite and averaged the highest number of eggs. If you've got some space in your yard, on your balcony, anywhere, plant some milkweed and help those monarchs, but make sure it's a milkweed native to your area and a variety that will help them succeed. Time-lapse video of monarch caterpillar eating milkweed, taken at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge by Volunteer Melanie Beal/USFWS

Want to help birds keep cool through the summer? Provide a shallow birdbath with one to two inches of water. Birds will use baths as a cooling oasis to splash in and drink. Keep an eye on water levels and clean out your birdbath regularly. 📷 Courtney Celley/USFWS

Sssurprise! You’re going to have 12 babies! Did you know that giant garter snakes give live birth? Yep. They do not lay eggs; they give birth to live young. Litter sizes can range from 10 - 46 individuals. This female snake recently learned that she was having 12 babies during her ultrasound! We're working with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on a project that aims to support the recovery of this threatened snake. USGS is performing surveys in giant garter snake habitat and capturing females in the hope that some are "expecting." The females will give birth in captivity and released shortly afterward in the same area where they were captured. The baby snakes will be raised in captivity until they reach a certain length and size. This “headstart” program helps get the babies past the point where they are most vulnerable to several factors, including predators and competition with other animals for prey. Giant garter snakes live in marshes, sloughs, ponds, agricultural wetlands and other waterways in Northern California. Photos by USGS #WorldSnakeDay

As far as butterflies go the queen is as regal as they get! While it resembles a monarch, queen butterflies have a unique pattern of white dots along the inner and outer wings. With darker colors and a harder exoskeleton the queen butterfly is tough. Have you seen any queen butterflies recently? Photos: Anna Blades/USFWS

This week on our fishiest #podcast, Guy gets all gussied up in his best brown trout ensemble (again), Katrina recalls a brown trout 💩 story, and the two co-hosts dig into the history of these fish making their way to the USA and how they are perceived. Maria Dosal joins from her Agdaagux homelands on the Alaska Peninsula to talk about fish regalia and respecting the whole fish. "Catch" new episodes of "Fish of the Week!" every Monday at FWS.gov or wherever you get your podcasts. We have hundreds of hours of fish conversation for you piscivores to consume and limitless fish and perspectives yet to cover. Email Katrina to let the team know what you like, what we can do better, and which fish we should cover. ✔️ A brown trout. 📷 parkermakk (CC by NC 4.0) #AllTheFish 🐟

Don't worry folks, the dragonfly handling this human is a professional. Let us introduce you to one of the biggest species of dragonfly in North America. The swamp darner is large and in charge and lives throughout the eastern United States, as well as a few states west of the Mississippi River. You can spot these magnificent dragons taking flight throughout June and July and this one was spotted at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine. Photo by BBenvenuti/USFWS

Meet Robert, the “heart and soul of Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge.” Robert Luna started working at the central Washington wildlife refuge when he was a teenager, and about three decades later the engineering equipment operator was recently named Refuge Employee of the Year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "Robert has been the heart and soul of Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge for more than three decades, and his contributions are beyond measure,” said Trevor Sheffels, the acting deputy project leader at Toppenish, an important stop for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. “I never do anything for praise,” Luna said. “I let my work speak for itself. I’m proud of what I do and I’m always happy to show anybody the kind of work I do. I see the vision of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and you know, I enjoy it.” Read the full story on Luna, who moved with his family from Los Angeles in the 1980s to Toppenish: https://lnkd.in/erkGVy2Z