The Way We Worked: Surveying Our Wildlife
An agent traps and bands waterfowl on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, MD, in the 1950s.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for conservation, management and law enforcement activities on National Wildlife Refuges. Fish and Wildlife agents engage in a number of activities, including conducting annual wildlife surveys.
This 1950s photo shows agents trapping and banding waterfowl on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, MD as part of an annual survey. The survey estimates the breeding populations of key North American ducks and geese and assesses habitat conditions. It had been held every year since 1955 but was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Did You Know?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, traces its roots to 1871, when the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries was created to remedy a decline in fisheries. Learn more at https://fws.gov/.
About the Society for History in the Federal Government
PHOTO from the Records of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Archives, courtesy of the National Archives History Office, in collaboration with the Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG), bringing together government professionals, academics, consultants, students and citizens interested in understanding federal history work and the historical development of the federal government. To join, visit www.shfg.org.
The Way We Worked celebrates the past 100 years of public service through archival images.
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