The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that for the second time in recorded history an endangered short-tailed albatross chick has hatched at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The chick hatched Jan 12, just hours after oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and marine life artist Wyland visited the nest. [...]

Tallahassee.com reports that the Operation Migration pilots are being allowed to continue assisting endangered whooping cranes as they migrate south.
As this blog reported on January 6, the FAA had grounded the migration operation in Alabama while the federal agency looked into whether the pilots were flying for hire or for the benefit of a [...]

The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the pilots with Operation Migration — the volunteers who help train endangered whooping cranes to migrate annually from Wisconsin to Florida, specifically St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in the Florida Panhandle and the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.

Sakrison reported that the FAA issue concerns [...]

San Antonio Express News reports that a retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expert has been required to testify in a lawsuit brought by The Aransas Project, which claims that the state of Texas has failed to keep enough fresh water flowing into bays and estuaries to allow endangered whooping cranes to survive.
The Justice Department [...]

The Montreal Gazette reports that two Gulf Coast teenagers thoughtlessly shot and killed two endangered whooping cranes that were part of a reintroduction program maintained by the U.S. and Canada:

A major bi-national conservation effort linking the endangered whooping crane’s Canadian breeding grounds to a new experimental colony in Louisiana has suffered a “profound setback” after [...]

The Center for Biological Diversity has sent a notice of intent to sue to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act regarding logging of endangered red-cockaded woodpecker habitat on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi.
According to CBD:

The Fish and Wildlife Service prepared a “comprehensive conservation plan” for the refuge [...]

The U.S. Postal Service has issued a special semipostal stamp to benefit elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, great apes, and marine turtles under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Wildlife Without Borders” Multinational Species Conservation Funds.
Only the fourth of its kind, this stamp is now available in post offices nationwide and will remain on sale for at [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that efforts are underway to establish a second population of the endangered Nihoa Millerbird on Laysan Island within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to prevent the bird’s extinction. Nihoa and Laysan Islands are part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which comprise the majority of the atolls [...]

The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently made some of his first public comments since assuming his new position. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Director Dan Ashe, who was attending the Outdoor Writers Association of America Conference at Snowbird, expressed concerns over the budget cutting proposals put forth by House [...]

The Monitor in Texas reports that Rio Grande waterholes have dried up and are creating a tough climate for wildlife at places like Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in southern Texas:

Jody Mays is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Los Fresnos. She has witnessed the drought’s effect [...]

The Arizona Daily Star reports that refuge management at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona has stated it will begin issuing permits to “street legal” motorcycles and ATVs in July for use at the refuge.

Cabeza Prieta Manager Sid Slone said a 2007 management plan that authorized these vehicles meant that “I had [...]

Republican senators continue to uphold the nomination of long-time U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Dan Ashe to become director of the Service — which has been without a designated leader since February 2010, when former director Sam Hamilton had a fatal heart attack while skiing.
Despite widespread support for Dan Ashe, Republican Senators David Vitter [...]