The Virginia Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office works to protect, restore, and enhance migratory and inland resident fishes in the rivers of Virginia, and to prevent the spread of harmful invasive species.

We also work with partners and landowners to restore aquatic connectivity, remove barriers to fish passage that are also safety hazards, and restore habitat for migratory and inland fishes, and other aquatic species.

Most of our work focuses on restoring Atlantic sturgeon, American shad, alewife and blueback herring, Eastern brook trout and American eel, and freshwater mussels. However, all fish and wildlife benefit from the work we do.

What We Do

Our Organization

Juvenile Northern Pike in aquarium at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery, South Dakota
The Fish and Aquatic Conservation program leads aquatic conservation efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are committed to tackling the nation’s highest priority aquatic conservation and recreational challenges to conserve, restore, and enhance fisheries for future generations.
Program
Falls Church,VA
Silver Carp Jumping
Aquatic invasive species cause tremendous harm to our environment, our economy, and our health. They can drive out and eat native plants and wildlife, spread diseases, and damage infrastructure. We work to protect our waterways and the communities that depend on them from the threat of invasive...
Program
A person is walks through a large wide culvert that passes under a gravel road. A small river runs through the culvert.
Across the country, millions of barriers are fragmenting rivers, blocking fish migration, and putting communities at higher risk to flooding. Improving fish passage is one of the most effective ways to help conserve vulnerable species while building safer infrastructure for communities and...
Program
A view of the Sacramento River. Its flat, blue water is lined by bright green trees and vegetation. Blue skies are overhead.
The National Fish Habitat Partnership is a comprehensive effort to treat the causes of fish habitat decline, not just the symptoms. The Partnership is a national investment strategy to maximize the impact of conservation dollars on the ground. Funds are leveraged through regional partnerships to...
Program

Projects and Research

People standing around a table filled with gravel, miniature trees, and miniature sheds
Image Details
Stream Smart Training Program

Across the landscape, undersized, aging and improperly placed road-stream crossings create barriers in our rivers, streams, and tidal wetlands. These structures fragment aquatic habitat and prevent or greatly reduce the ability of aquatic species to move freely to migrate, feed, and reproduce. These poorly designed structures are also more prone to clogging, causing flooding, and washing out...

Stream Smart Training Program

Latest News

Three images of the dam. 1. Full dam on a rocky stream, 2. Partial dam, part of the structure is gone, 3. open river bed and earthen streambanks held in place with canvas and rock.
Land Management
Little River Dam Removal — Virginia
Thanks to the seventh generation of private landowners in Maiden Spring, Virginia, a 200-year-old dam, standing 130-feet-wide and 14-feet-tall, has reached the end of its time as a barrier to fish passage.
Cluster of James spiny mussels resting on a blue backdrop
Endangered Species Act
The road to recovering the endangered James spinymussel
After it had disappeared from almost 95% of its historic range, the Service declared the James spinymussel endangered in 1988.  In the upper reaches of the James River watershed in West Virginia and Virginia and in parts of the Dan River watershed in North Carolina near the Virginia border, however...
A blue, white, and red-orange fish hiding in between rocks
Endangered Species Act
Critical Habitat Designation for Candy Darter
Following listing as an endangered species in 2018, the freshwater candy darter has now also been designated critical habitat protections.
A dam crosses a river, but a portion has been removed to that water can flow through. People stand on an overlook that crosses the open section of the river.
Habitat Restoration
Securing Healthy Rivers for Healthy Communities
While it’s been about 80 years since the last sawmill on Maine’s Sheepscot River closed, the dams that powered the iconic 66-mile river’s sawmills had remained intact — until recently.
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Location and Contact Information