U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

We’re excited to announce our new Assistant Director for International Affairs, Dr. Hila Levy. She will lead our domestic and international efforts to protect, restore, and enhance wildlife and their habitats with a focus on international species. Before joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dr. Levy concurrently served as Assistant Director for ocean, polar, and natural security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as Director for science, technology, and workforce strategy on the National Security Council where she coordinated interagency policy recommendations for the President. In her previous role at the White House, Dr. Levy was also a co-author on a paper just published in Science Magazine. The paper discusses ways to incorporate nature into strategic policy decisions across health, economic, security, climate and equity domains and how that is both good governance and the pathway to a more sustainable, thriving planet. Check out this White House press release to learn more: https://ow.ly/Tu3150SRaqU Photo by Dr. Hila Levy/USFWS

Ever seen a salmon with a weaponized mustache? Meet the spike-toothed salmon, a prehistoric Pacific salmon species 8+ feet long. Like modern day sockeye salmon, this species was a planktivore. This giant salmon used to spawn in the Pacific Northwest as recently as 4-5 million years ago. What were the spikes for? Why did this species go extinct? And is there anything we can learn from their demise? Listen to our latest podcast episode of "Fish of the Week" to find out. Three guests to help us reflect on this prehistoric branch on the salmon family tree: Ray Troll, Kerin Claeson, and Brian Sidlauskas. New episodes every Monday at FWS.gov or wherever you get your podcasts! Spike-toothed Salmon (Oncorhynchus rastrosus)🎨 Ray Troll Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) 📷 Katrina Liebich/USFWS #AllTheFish

POV: you and all of your friends heading to celebrate the Great American Outdoors Act on its fourth anniversary. Woah! Time flies when you’re enjoying America’s public lands. Come celebrate the historic commitment to our public lands by visiting a national wildlife refuge near you. Entrance fees are free today, Sunday, Aug. 4th. #GreatAmericanOutdoorsDay Photo of yellow-headed blackbirds and red-winged blackbirds at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, by Kathy Ritter.

Rising seas are hammering the barrier islands, salt marshes, and maritime forests that protect lives, property, and rare species along the Atlantic seaboard. A recent series of studies by USFWS and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) show that Southeastern coasts are succumbing to sea level rise. At places like Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, residents who have lived in the area for decades are witnessing the disappearance of important sea turtle nesting and migratory bird habitat. The seas off Cape Romain have risen one foot over the last half century. There’s little to no accretion, or buildup of sediment to counter the rising waters. One of the sea level-vegetation studies shows that the refuge’s salt marshes are gaining less than a millimeter of elevation (sediment mostly) each year – not enough to keep up with rising waters. Check out the comments to learn more about this story and solutions that are being implemented to help protect the habitat that protects us. Photo of beach erosion at Bulls Island, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge by Steve Hillebrand/USFWS

A gentle... and a sharp... reminder that a group of porcupines is called a prickle. How many in a group? For the purposes of this post, we'll say 2 or more porcupines. This is a mama and baby piggy pork, braving the winds at Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Utah. Video by USFWS Video description: An adult and baby porcupine travel down a dirt road at night while the wind blows the vegetation around them.

Great news for salmon! A recent dam removal in southern Oregon has opened almost 40 miles of new spawning habitat for native fish! For the first time in nearly 130 years, Evans Creek, a tributary of the mighty Rogue River, is entirely free flowing at the site of the former Williams-Whalen Dam. Work crews finished demolition of the abandoned concrete dam with no fish ladder earlier this summer. “This project is exciting because it’s a three-way win – the landowners are able to maintain a viable source for irrigation water, fish passage has been restored in the stream, and the entities involved in this project enjoy a successful outcome of their collective efforts,” said CalLee Davenport, a USFWS coordinator on the project. Full list of partners: WaterWatch of Oregon; Rogue River Watershed Council; River Design Group; USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program; Staton Companies; Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; Bureau of Land Management; Rogue Basin Partnership; PacifiCorp; and M&M Services. USFWS video: Dirk Renner Video description: earth-moving machine stretches bucket arm into rushing river to remove debris during a dam deconstruction.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is a hot spot for wildlife but also a place for people to hunt, fish, reconnect with the natural world, view wildlife and so much more. We are proposing to open and expand hunting and fishing opportunities at twelve national wildlife refuges! See the comments for details on this exciting announcement. Photo of a duck hunter at Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge by USFWS.

That yappin’ grass is actually an Aleutian tern chick, eager for a food delivery from its parents. Have you ever seen a tern hover-fly over the water, then suddenly plunge into a shallow dive at the sea surface? Terns forage in marine waters for small-sized forage fish like their preferred sand lance, sometimes feasting on three-spine stickleback and crustaceans or even snagging insects from the air. Across Alaska, all those food deliveries are helping tern chicks grow, and those little fuzzballs are becoming feathered and similar in size to their parents. In just a few weeks, they’ll be ready to undertake long flights south. Video: Jill Tengeres/USFWS

Draw me like one of your French girls. Hello. Now that we have you here, you should know that there is an upcoming fee-free day at U.S. Department of the Interior public lands across the country. If you like watching wildlife pose provocatively like a character from a movie that is almost three decades old... then you should visit a public land near you. If you like wildlife period... then you should visit a public land near you. Wildlife abounds at USFWS national wildlife refuges, National Park Service sites and Bureau of Land Management areas! On August 4th, to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, all entrance fees are waived on Interior lands. Come and see us AND the posing wildlife for a fee-free day! #GreatAmericanOutdoorsDay Photo of a coastal brown bear in Alaska by Laura Romin (sharetheexperience)

Gone fishin'🎣 For a decade, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey has collaborated with the local Double V Rod and Gun Club to bring disabled veterans together to enjoy fishing on the refuge. Volunteers and refuge staff work together to assist veterans in baiting hooks, removing fish from the lines, helping them know where to cast in the water to catch a fish, and lending an ear to listen to their stories. "Seeing the smiles on the faces of people who gave so much for this country was truly a gift." 📸Karen Blakely VanDyk/USFWS https://ow.ly/QT7i50SJnbQ