Wildlife
The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency employs wildlife biologists to help manage our national forests to ensure that we provide quality habitat for diverse wildlife species that occur on national forests, from microscopic mollusks all the way to grizzly bears and bighorn sheep!
Our biologists help design habitat restoration projects to benefit wildlife populations and maintain biodiversity, as well as, establish and maintain vital partnerships with Universities, collaboratives, non-governmental organizations, and federal and state agencies. We use the best scientific information to inform our habitat restoration work, and monitor the effects of our action to inform future projects.
Our annual reports highlight the work our biologists accomplish across the Pacific Northwest.
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Wildlife biologists monitor changes in our environment and are often the first to recognize changes in the environment.
Wildlife Resources - Forest Service
- USFS Washington Office Wildlife Web Site - 'Wildlife' includes the National Wildlife Program and the National Wildlife Ecology Unit. The National Wildlife Program assists field biologists in attaining the Chief's wildlife priorities and manage wildlife habitat resources from a healthy ecosystem perspective.
TRACS - Terrestrial Restoration and Conservation Strategy
- TRACS is a comprehensive planning tool that identifies the most important terrestrial species, habitats and watersheds by R6 ecoregion. The TRACS vision of strategic conservation, restoration, and enhancement aims to safeguard high-quality habitat and improve less-healthy ecosystems: Protect the best and restore the rest.
Landbird Conservation Program
- Partners in Flight - Partners in Flight was launched in 1990 in response to growing concerns about declines in the populations of many land bird species, and in order to emphasize the conservation of birds not covered by existing conservation initiatives.
Dead Wood Management
- DecAID Advisor - DecAID is an advisory tool to help managers evaluate effects,of forest conditions and existing or proposed management activities on organisms that use snags and down wood. DecAID also can help managers decide on snag and down wood sizes and levels needed to help meet wildlife management objectives.
- Guide to the Interpretation and Use of DecAID - The purpose of this Guide is to provide options and examples for using the data in DecAID, to help determine appropriate scale for analysis, appropriate use of the available data and assistance in meeting wildlife and decayed wood related objectives.
FIRE-BIRD: Habitat Model Application Tools for Disturbance-associated Woodpeckers
- FIRE-BIRD Tool - The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and USDA Forest Service Region 6 are developing a series of tools operable in ArcGIS 10 that facilitate application of models to generate maps of relative habitat suitability for woodpecker species of conservation concern. The maps can be used to inform locations of forest management actions to improve habitat (e.g., dry forest restoration activities) or for habitat conservation (e.g., design criteria for post-fire salvage logging). The tool series is accompanied by a General Technical Report (GTR-391) that describes the ecological basis for each tool, operational instructions, and guidelines for applying habitat maps to inform planning. This project represents a collaboration with FS Regions 1, 4, 5, and 6, and with Point Blue Conservation Science.
White-headed Woodpecker Monitoring
- WHWO - The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) and Pacific Northwest Region (R6) are leading the effort to examine habitat suitability for nesting White-headed Woodpeckers, a regional endemic species of the Pacific Northwest and California.
Watchable Wildlife
- Nature Watch - Your 190 million acres of National Forest Lands offer thousands of NatureWatch Viewing Sites across the country. Finding these sites has just been made easy to do with our new NatureWatch Viewing Site Inventory. The inventory allows you to search for places to view wildlife, fish, and wildflowers, while providing you a complete description of the sites, with maps and photographs.
Environmental Education Information
- Wolftree - Wolftree, Inc. is a 501(c) 3 charitable non-profit corporation that was established in 1994. Our mission is to serve people and their communities through innovative science education, ecosystem restoration, and ecological research. Wolftree's administrative offices are located in Portland and Sisters, Oregon from which we serve many communities across Oregon and SW Washington. These offices support ten field sites, including our acclaimed Cascade Streamwatch education facility located on the Salmon River near the base of Mt. Hood.
Wildlife Resources - Other Federal and State Agencies
- USFWS Refuge System - The National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the world's premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants. Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida's Pelican Island as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the System has grown to more than 150 million acres, 550 national wildlife refuges and other units of the Refuge System, plus 37 wetland management districts.
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife - The mission of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is to protect and enhance Oregon's fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations. Oregon has rich and varied landscapes which are home to a diversity of wildlife providing unlimited opportunities for fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing.
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is dedicated to preserving, protecting and perpetuating the state's fish and wildlife resources. The department operates under a dual mandate from the Washington Legislature to protect and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats, and to provide sustainable, fish- and wildlife-related recreational and commercial opportunities.
Other Wildlife Resources - External
- Bat Conservation International - Bat Conservation International (BCI), based in Austin, Texas, is devoted to conservation, education, and research initiatives involving bats and the ecosystems they serve. It was founded in 1982, as scientists around the world became concerned that bats essential to the balance of nature and human economies were in alarming decline.
Spotlights
Bats White Nose Syndrome
In March 2016, Washington’s first case of white-nose syndrome was confirmed in a Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) near North Bend, 30 miles east of Seattle.
Fungal Pathogens; a New Threat to Salamanders
Salamanders are at risk from an number of threats, including fungal pathogens. Bsal, a chytrid fungus, is a potential new threat from Europe.