What We Do
With a service area centered on western North Carolina, field office staff work with federal, tribal, state, local, and private partners to:
- Compile and analyze data for decisions regarding which plants and animals receive Endangered Species Act protection, as obligated in section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
- Develop and implement recovery plans for species protected under the Endangered Species Act as called for the section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
- Review the status of species protected by the Endangered Species Act to determine if such protections remain warranted, as called for in section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
- Work with federal agencies to identify and minimize or eliminate negative plant, fish, and wildlife impacts from projects they fund or authorize to fulfill the requirements of and ensure compliance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act
- Manage grants to the state of North Carolina to conserve imperiled species, fulfilling responsibilities found in section 6 of the Endangered Species Act
- Work with landowners to improve fish and wildlife habitat on private lands, in fulfillment of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act
Our Services
We offer a handful of services to support plant, fish, and wildlife conservation - especially federal threatened or endangered species. Different services are tailored to different groups and situations, so if you want to proactively support imperiled species conservation on your property or if you wonder how federally-protected plants and animals may factor into your situation, explore the services we offer.
Our Projects and Research
Working with others is at the core of how we operate, and through those partnerships, we develop a number of conservation projects across the southern Appalachians, from conserving Carolina northern flying squirrels on the tops of the highest mountains in the eastern United States, to working to improve stream health for the Appalachian elktoe mussel. Learn more about some of the key efforts we have underway.
Laws and Regulations
Under several federal laws, Congress has directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be stewards of our nation's plant, fish, and wildlife resources - particularly animals like birds and fishes that cross state and even international borders; federal threatened and endangered species; and the National Wildlife Refuge system - the system of federal lands dedicated to wildlife conservation. Congress has similarly directed the Fish and Wildlife Service to work with other federal agencies to minimize or eliminate negative impacts to plants, fishes, and wildlife from projects they fund or authorize. Learn more about the laws that direct our work.