Administrative site refers to any U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)-managed facility that is not located on National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) or National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) lands. The term “administrative site” excludes Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices and Ecological Services Offices as well as all leased office space. Congress authorizes, and typically names, most administrative sites outside the State of Alaska. Section 1306 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act authorizes the Service to establish administrative sites in Alaska to ensure the preservation, protection, and proper management of Alaska refuges.
Administratively named unit or site refers to any NWRS or NFHS unit, or administrative site, named by an Executive Order, a Presidential Proclamation, a Secretary’s Order, a Public Land Order, or by the Service Director in writing. The term ‘administratively named unit or site’ excludes units and sites that only Congress or the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission may name or rename.
Coordination areas are NWRS lands administered by states under cooperative agreements between the Service and state fish and wildlife agencies. Congress authorizes, and typically names, coordination areas.
Management complex is a group of national wildlife refuges, national monuments, waterfowl production area waterfowl production area
Waterfowl production areas are small natural wetlands and grasslands within the National Wildlife Refuge System that provide breeding, resting and nesting habitat for millions of waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds and other wildlife. Virtually all waterfowl production areas are in the Prairie Pothole Region states of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Learn more about waterfowl production area counties, or NFHS facilities that a Regional Director (or their designee) creates to facilitate administration. Examples include the North Louisiana Refuges Complex and the Fergus Falls Wetland Management District.
Management unit is any area of land or water within a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge or a wetland management district wetland management district
A wetland management district is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office that manages waterfowl production areas in one or more counties. Waterfowl production areas are small natural wetlands and grasslands that provide breeding, resting and nesting habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, grassland birds and other wildlife. The Fish and Wildlife Service acquires waterfowl production areas under the authority of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, primarily using funds from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps. The Refuge System’s 38 wetland management districts comprise thousands of waterfowl production areas – almost all in the Prairie Pothole Region of the Northern Great Plains.
Learn more about wetland management district that a Regional Director (or their designee) names to distinguish it from other Federal and state units, administrative sites, management complexes, and management units. For example, a Region may choose to split a refuge into multiple management units or “divisions” based on how the Service manages them, or how the public uses them (e.g., Pondicherry Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge).
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission is an independent body that the Migratory Bird Conservation Act created in 1929. For more information, see 106 FW 1, Migratory Bird Conservation Commission.
National fish hatcheries are NFHS units that work with states and tribes to produce and distribute fish for recreational and conservation purposes. Congress authorizes and names national fish hatcheries.
National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) units include national fish hatcheries, a historic national fish hatchery, fish health centers, fish technology centers, and the Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership Program. Congress authorizes, and typically names, all NFHS units.
National wildlife refuges include wildlife refuges, wildlife ranges, wildlife management areas, game preserves, conservation areas, and all other NWRS units, except that the term does not include coordination areas, waterfowl production areas, and national monuments (some national monuments include national wildlife refuges within their boundaries).
Stakeholders include individuals and organizations in the local community and their regional governmental officials. Stakeholders also include individuals, organizations, and Native American tribes who have ancestral, cultural, or historical associations with the region, but no longer live in the area.
Unit is any proposed or existing national wildlife refuge, waterfowl production area, coordination area, national monument national monument
A national monument is established by executive order of the president or by Congressional legislation. The Antiquities Act authorizes the president to proclaim “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments. The National Wildlife Refuge System helps manage two national monuments: Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington state and World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in Hawaii, Alaska and California.
Learn more about national monument , national fish hatchery, historic national fish hatchery, fish health center, or fish technology center, as well as all other NWRS and NFHS units authorized by Congress, an Executive Order, a Presidential Proclamation, a Secretary’s Order, a Public Land Order, the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, or by the Service Director in writing.
Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) are small, natural wetlands and associated grasslands acquired in fee title or easement under the authority of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act. The Director approves each county where the Service may acquire WPAs. To facilitate administration, Project Leaders for wetland management districts may group fee-title WPAs within a county into a management unit and name it.
Wetland Management Districts (WMDs) are a type of management complex that administers WPAs in a group of Director-approved WPA counties. Regional Directors create WMDs as needed to administer WPAs.