What We Do

Facts About the Pacific Southwest Region

 

Two people stand on an observation deck and peer out over a wetland through binoculars.
Image Details
Viewing wildlife from the observation deck overlooking a wetland at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge in California, part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Credit: USFWS
Two young women use binoculars to view birds at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in California.
Image Details
Two young birders at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in California. Credit: Kyle Christensen/Wildlands Conservancy
  • More than 900 employees.
  • 48 National Wildlife Refuges, comprising more than 2.8 million acres (more than 470,000 in California, 2.3 million in Nevada and more than 23,800 acres in the Klamath Basin of Oregon).
  • 3 Wildlife Management Areas in California, encompassing more than 104,000 acres.
  • Largest National Wildlife Refuge: Desert NWR near Las Vegas, Nevada: 1.6 million acres.
  • Smallest National Wildlife Refuge: Castle Rock NWR, an island one-half mile off the coast of California near Crescent City: 13.89 acres.
  • 3 National Fish Hatcheries and 1 Fish Health Center.
  • 11 Fish and Wildlife Offices (Ecological Services).
  • More than 2.2 million people visited refuges in California, in 2014, spending more than $39 million on activities ranging from observing wildlife and birding to hunting and fishing
  • 127 Federally-recognized Native American tribes within the region: 107 in California, 19 in Nevada and 1 in the Klamath Basin.
  • 346 Federally-listed threatened or endangered species occur in California (309) and Nevada (37). Our region has lead management responsibility for 292 of these species. Lead management responsibility for the remaining 54 listed species is assigned to either the Pacific, Southwest, or Mountain-Prairie Regions of the Service.