Partners are valuable allies to the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and play a vital role in meeting the Service's conservation goals. We team up with private conservation organizations, state and federal agencies and tribes. Together, with the landowner, this collective shares funding, materials, equipment, labor and expertise to meet restoration goals and our conservation mission.

Partnership Categories

Great things happen when partners are matched with the right opportunities. That's why we work with many types of partners at FWS from local businesses and conservation groups to veterans and large industry partners. Here are just a few of the Partner Categories working with FWS today.

Academic Institutions

We frequently partner with academia to further the conservation of and research into the stewardship of many species.

Conservation, Science, and Land Management Organizations

We often partner with non-governmental conservation organizations on conservation projects, whether it's to conserve identified species such as the monarch butterfly or to advise on land acquisition for conservation so that it has the greatest benefit for species.

Economic, Tourism, Retail, and Industry

We partner with these groups to help them conduct their commercial activities in a way that best promotes conservation.

Icon /Federal Agencies
Federal Agencies

We work with other federal agencies to help them meet their legal responsibilities as well as their mission.

Friends Groups

Friends groups are organizations of community members committed to helping national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries meet conservation goals that would otherwise be out of reach. 

View Partnership Categories

Our Partners

Here are just a few of our national partners.  You can view the full list of FWS partners, along with the regions and areas of focus our work together entails.

View Full Partner List

Latest Stories About Our Partners

a hooded merganser, type of duck, swimming in the water
Trustee Agencies Seek Public Input on Draft Plan for the Blue Line Transportation Spill in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. 鈥� The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (Trustees) have released a draft plan to restore natural resources impacted by an oil spill that occurred near Toledo, Oregon in 2001. The draft Damage...
Cages atop one of the new Boat lifts for Norfork National Fish Hatchery Mussel Propagation.
Major Equipment Upgrade for Norfork National Fish Hatchery Mussel Propagation
Norfork National Fish Hatchery received two new boat lifts to house mussel cages. Mussel work requires a lot less muscle now.
New England Cottontail in clearing
Helping a rare rabbit multiply
Researchers had limited success breeding rare New England cottontails for release into the wild ... until they let females choose their mates. Funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supported this and other discoveries by our state partners and the University of Rhode Island.
Biologist in waders holds a large adult sturgeon.
Wildlife Management
Restoring Lake Sturgeon with Partnerships and Patience
Six feet in length and tipping the scales at over 200 pounds, adult lake sturgeon once swam the tributaries of the Great Lakes in great seasonal spawning migrations鈥攑rehistoric giants returning home. A century ago, rivers ran thick with them. But their numbers fell as water fouled, dams rose, and...
Bunch of brown speckled pocketbook mussels.
Endangered Species Act
Advancing Freshwater Mussel Conservation
Since 2018, a collaborative initiative involving the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery, the Arkansas Ecological Service Field Office, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has focused on the conservation of the endangered speckled pocketbook mussel.
Service employee in refuge browns watches as young boy casts fishing pole into pond.
Recreation
On the Water in the Great Outdoors
Given the significant time and money invested in angling, the Service鈥檚 commitment to providing Americans with clean, accessible waters for recreation is crucial. Across the Northeast region, employees at hatcheries and conservation offices are doing exactly that.

Partnership Services

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Through our partnerships we are able to expand our capabilities through the inclusion of services in areas such as:

  • Grant opportunities
  • Sponsorship of grants
  • Cooperative Agreements

To find out more about how our partner provides services view our partner services below.

View Partner Services