The USFWS is wanting to lead by example when building new facilities. In that light, they are proud of the new facility they have built at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. It received the 2016 Federal Energy and Water Management Award. It also has the virtue of being attractive. Relatively commonsense approached were used to achieve the results mentioned, such as conserving water using only native plants that thrive without watering (seems like a no-brainer at a USFWS facility) and solar power with LED lighting. These are but a couple of examples of the approaches and technologies utilized. Read more about this at https://goo.gl/y4Y9xx.
The USFWS is trying to encourage endangered species recovery by maximizing use of federal money through Endangered Species Act Grant Program. This year about $45 million will have been paid out in grants to twenty states. One example is the states of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin will receive $1 million under the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program to develop a multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that will help researchers better understand the distribution and summer habitat use of local cave-dwelling bats, including the federally-listed Indiana and northern long-eared bats. The project will also help support sustainable forest management practices in the region, which in turn will allow public and private landowners to meet economic, ecological and social goals.
The 2016 Federal Duck Stamp winner was James Hautman. He used a painting of three Canada Geese. (See Top)