About Us

The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) is part of a network of field stations located throughout the nation that works to conserve fish and aquatic resources. Biologists from Alaska to the Florida Keys restore native species, protect imperiled species and their habitats, and monitor and control invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species . We evaluate native fish stocks and provide recommendations to states, tribes, and international partners for sustaining native fisheries, including migratory fisheries. And we work with partners to restore habitat through programs such as the National Fish Passage Program and the National Fish Habitat Program.

Work at the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office is conducted through partnerships with others including the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, universities, recreational anglers, farmers and other landowners and many other partners.

We facilitate the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Management Cooperative with the VFWD and NYSDEC and Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and we are key partners in the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Our Mission

Since 1871, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been applying science-based approaches to conservation challenges. We work with our partners and engage the public to conserve, restore, and enhance fish and other aquatic resources for the continuing benefit of the American people. Conservation is at the heart of what we do, and we recognize that we do this work for the American people–both the present generation who benefit today and future generations who will inherit our legacy of conserving America’s aquatic resources.

Our History

The Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office was established through provisions in the Lake Champlain Special Designation Act of 1990 and through the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lake Champlain Basin Program Act of 2002.

Other Facilities in this Complex

We work closely - as part of the Vermont-Massachusetts Complex - with four national fish hatcheries, an aquatic resource center and another fish and wildlife conservation office in Vermont and Massachusetts, helping to restore native fish in the Lake Champlain and Connecticut River watersheds, the Great Lakes and the northeastern United States:

We also work with the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge to conserve and restore habitat on refuge lands and in the Missisquoi River watershed.

A row of white buildings amidst a mountainous forest setting
Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National Fish Hatchery is a 35-acre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Congress authorized our hatchery in 1906 and in 1909 it was constructed to produce brook trout, char and Atlantic salmon for stocking the waters of Vermont, New...
National Fish Hatchery
North Chittenden,VT
Front half of a fish showing their spotted silvery body.
White River National Fish Hatchery
The White River National Fish Hatchery (NFH) is in business after being closed for five years due to extensive storm damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Much of the hatchery's infrastructure, fish pools, and raceways were underwater and buried in a foot of mud and silt after the...
National Fish Hatchery
Bethel,VT
River Herring Returning up the Merrimack River
Cronin Aquatic Resource Center
In August 2016, the Cronin Aquatic Resource Center was reopened after closing its doors in 2014. The hatchery has been renovated into a research facility that is focused on augmenting endangered freshwater mussel species, as well as floodplain conservation and climate change work. The Richard...
National Fish Hatchery
Sunderland,MA
Adult Lake Trout
Berkshire National Fish Hatchery
The Berkshire National Fish Hatchery is a cold-water aquaculture facility that lies on 148 acres in Berkshire County, in northern New Marlborough, Massachusetts. The site is located approximately six miles east of Great Barrington and roughly six miles southwest of Tyringham.  Our primary mission...
National Fish Hatchery
New Marlborough,MA
Eastern Brook trout
North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery
Congress authorized the creation of the North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery in September, 1950, for the purpose of raising freshwater fish and stocking the rivers and lakes of New England states. Our hatchery has been raising both game and non-game species, and providing recreational...
National Fish Hatchery
North Attleboro,MA
A panoramic view of trees in the background and a marsh featuring pools of water, trees, and grasses in the foreground
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
The Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1943 to provide habitat for migratory birds. It was designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2013.
National Wildlife Refuge
Swanton,VT