Partners are valuable allies to the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and play a vital role in meeting the Service's conservation goals. We team up with private conservation organizations, state and federal agencies and tribes. Together, with the landowner, this collective shares funding, materials, equipment, labor and expertise to meet restoration goals and our conservation mission.

Partnership Categories

Great things happen when partners are matched with the right opportunities. That's why we work with many types of partners at FWS from local businesses and conservation groups to veterans and large industry partners. Here are just a few of the Partner Categories working with FWS today.

Academic Institutions

We frequently partner with academia to further the conservation of and research into the stewardship of many species.

Conservation, Science, and Land Management Organizations

We often partner with non-governmental conservation organizations on conservation projects, whether it's to conserve identified species such as the monarch butterfly or to advise on land acquisition for conservation so that it has the greatest benefit for species.

Economic, Tourism, Retail, and Industry

We partner with these groups to help them conduct their commercial activities in a way that best promotes conservation.

Icon /Federal Agencies
Federal Agencies

We work with other federal agencies to help them meet their legal responsibilities as well as their mission.

Friends Groups

Friends groups are organizations of community members committed to helping national wildlife refuges and national fish hatcheries meet conservation goals that would otherwise be out of reach. 

View Partnership Categories

Our Partners

Here are just a few of our national partners.  You can view the full list of FWS partners, along with the regions and areas of focus our work together entails.

View Full Partner List

Latest Stories About Our Partners

USFWS employee in front of decorated distribution truck
Recreation
Wolf Creek NFH Attends Annual Christmas Parade
Staff and Friends Group members at Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery decorated one of the fish distribution trucks to participate in the "Winter Wonderland" themed Christmas Parade.
A small brown animal sits on gray rocks in front of a lake and mountain background
Land Management
Snow Lakes or Bust
Eighteen miles of hiking in the mountains with 5,000 feet of elevation gain in one day – yes, please? Join Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery staff on an age-old pilgrimage into the mountains for the benefit of salmon, habitat, and people.
Mentor Autumn and Mentee Natasha at Mentored Archery Deer Hunt at Cherry Valley NWR November 2024
Recreation
From Field to Fork
The Field to Fork mentored archery deer hunt program at the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge was held in November of 2024. The program introduced participants, who were from non-hunting backgrounds, to a full hunting experience from hunting ethics and target practice to preparation of...
Bright blue crustacean, a Big Sandy crayfish
Wildlife Management
Home for the holidays
For the iconic Big Sandy crayfish, home-sweet-home is the sandy, pebbled river bottom of the McClure, the 17.9-mile-long river that flows through the heart of central Appalachia. The Service and it’s partners Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and West Liberty University are working to...
a view of a green, forested landscape with an overcast sky
History and Culture
One small step: More than 1,000 acres returned to the Onondaga Nation
Though Indigenous people cared for the land under our feet in the U.S. for thousands of years, these original caretakers suffered the seizure of their ancestral territory. To address these acts, the Service and New York State are returning more than 1,000 acres of ancestral homeland to the...
A unformed FWS employee shakes hands with another individual while holding an award. A woman stands smiling to the right of the awardee.
Habitat Restoration
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Biologist Wins Natural Resources Conservation Service (WA) Annual Partner Award
Brian Walker, a biologist with the Partners for Fish & Wildlife program, has won the NRCS Annual Partner Award.

Partnership Services

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Through our partnerships we are able to expand our capabilities through the inclusion of services in areas such as:

  • Grant opportunities
  • Sponsorship of grants
  • Cooperative Agreements

To find out more about how our partner provides services view our partner services below.

View Partner Services