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, particularly with 

 respect to environmental impact assessment. 



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

 in the identification and resolution of problems associated 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 decision- 

 makers 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, DC, 

 which is responsible for overall planning and management; National Teams which 

 provide the Program's central, scientific, and technical expertise, and which ar- 

 range for contracting of Biological Services studies with States, universities, con- 

 sulting 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. 



