The Biological Services Program was established within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 to supply scientific information and methodologies on key environmental issues that 

 impact fish and wildlife resources and their supporting ecosystems. The mission of the 

 program is as follows: 



• To strengthen the Fish and Wildlife Service in its role as a primary source of 



information on national fish and wildlfe resources, particularly in respect to 

 environmental impact assessment. 



• To gather, analyze, and present information that will aid decisionmakers in 

 the identification and resolution of problems associated with major changes in 

 land and water use. 



• To provide better ecological information and evaluation for Department of 

 the Interior development programs, such as those relating to energy deve- 

 lopment. 



Information developed by the Biological Services Program is intended for use 

 in the planning and decisionmaking process to prevent or minimize the impact of 

 development on fish and wildlife. Research activities and technical assistance services are 

 based on anaysis of the issues, a determination of the decisionmakers involved and their 

 information needs, and an evaluation of the state of the art to identify information gaps 

 and determine priorities. This is a strategy that will ensure that the products produced 

 and disseminated are timely and useful. 



Projects have been initiated in the following areas: coal extraction and conver- 

 sion; power plants; geothermal, mineral, and oil-shale development; water resource 

 analysis, including stream alterations and western water allocation; coastal ecosys- 

 tems and Outer Continental Shelf development; and systems inventory, including 

 National Wetland Inventory, habitat classification and analysis, and information transfer. 



The Biological Services Program consists of the Office of Biological Services in 

 Washington, D.C., which is responsible for overall planning and management; National 

 Teams, which provide the Program's central scientific and technical expertise and arrange 

 for contracting biological services studies with states, universities, consulting firms, and 

 others; Regional Staff, who provide a link to problems at the operating level; and staff at 

 certain Fish and Wildlife Service research facilities, who conduct in-house research 

 studies. 



Cover photo: Lloyd Poissenot. Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries Commission. 



