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

 and Wildlife Service to supply scientific information and methodologies on 

 key environmental issues which have an impact on fish and wildlife 

 resources and their supporting ecosystems. The mission of the Program is 

 as follows: 



1. To strengthen the Fish and Wildlife Service in its role as a primary 

 source of information on natural fish and wildlife resources, par- 

 ticularly with respect to environmental impact assessment. 



2. To gather, analyze, and present information that will aid decision- 

 makers in the identification and resolution of problems asso- 

 ciated with major land and water use changes. 



3. To provide better ecological information and evaluation for 

 Department of the Interior development programs, such as those 

 relating to energy development. 



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. Biological Services 

 research activities and technical assistance services are based on an 

 analysis of the issues, 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 to assure that the products 

 produced and disseminated will be timely and useful. 



Biological Services projects have been initiated in the following areas: 



Coal extraction and conversion 



Power plants 



Geothermal, mineral, and oil shale development 



Water resource analysis, including stream alterations and western 

 water allocation 



Coastal ecosystems and Outer Continental Shelf development 



Systems and inventory, including National Wetlands Inventory, 

 habitat classification and analysis, and information transfer 



The 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 which arrange for contracting of 

 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 inhouse research studies. 



