USFWS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the regulatory agency for this law passed in 1973.
What is the Endangered Species Act?
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge was established on August 11, 1994, making it this number refuge in the nation.
What is the 500th?
This fish is the state fish of West Virginia and the only native species of this type of fish found in the Mountain State.
What is the brook trout?
Every Earth Day weekend, volunteers help restore habitat in Canaan Valley by planting these trees. To date, the refuge has been able to plant over 170,000 trees thanks in part to volunteer efforts!
What are red spruce and balsam fir?
At most major airports, you can find U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officers (and their furry companions) fighting this form of crime.
What is wildlife trafficking?
The new storage building constructed in August 2025 by the maintenance shop is named after this restaurant, which used to sit where the current visitor center is today.
What is the Oriskany Inn?
This season refers to the mating season of white-tailed deer. During this time, deer are most active, and the bucks can be observed fighting one another over mates.
What is the rut?
You have to sign this form annually in order to volunteer on the refuge and be covered by worker's comp during volunteer activities.
What is a volunteer service agreement?
Since 1934, sales from this stamp have raised more than $1.2 billion dollars to conserve more than 6 million acres of wetland habitat. An art contest is held annually to determine next year's stamp, and it is the only art contest run by the federal government.
What is the Federal Duck Stamp?
Refuge biologists used to survey for this endangered subspecies on the refuge, which included setting up and monitoring nest boxes. Thanks to recovery efforts, it was delisted in 2013!
What is the West Virginia northern flying squirrel?
In the winter, amphibians and reptiles become inactive and go into this state until temperatures warm back up again. Their metabolism drops drastically, and they will hardly move a muscle!
What is brumation?
This category of volunteers contributes the most hours each year, accounting for nearly 60% of volunteer hours in FY25!
What are Visitor Center/Bookstore volunteers?
In December 2024, the addition of this national wildlife refuge in this state brought the total number of units in the National Wildlife Refuge System to 573.
What is Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge (in Maryland)?
This group, comprised of state and federal resource and regulatory agencies, local government representatives, business and development interests, conservation and recreation interests, landowners, and public representatives, was instrumental in gathering public support for the creation of Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
What is the Canaan Valley Task Force?
This salamander is extremely abundant in woodlands of the northeastern United States. A 2024 study published by the USGS revealed that an estimated 5,300 salamanders could be found in every patch of forest the size of a football field in the Northeast!
What is the redback salamander?
This holiday is the largest single-day volunteer event for public lands and is held on the fourth Saturday in September. Unfortunately for us, this almost always coincides with Run-for-It.
What is National Public Lands Day?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the nation's oldest conservation agency, whose origins date back to 1871 when Congress established this commission to study why the nation's food fishes were decreasing and recommend ways to reverse that decline.
What is the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries?
As a step-down of the Comprehensive Conservation Plan, this plan, completed in 2017, provides long-term vision and specific guidance on managing resources of concern on the refuge, almost down to the acre!
What is the Habitat Management Plan?
The bobolink is a songbird that spends its summers in the grasslands of Canaan. Every year, these birds travel over 12,000 miles to reach their wintering grounds as far south as this country in South America.
What is Argentina?
In Fiscal Year 2025, volunteers contributed this many hours of service on the refuge.
What is 4,184 hours?