Each year, millions of migratory species, like mule deer, elk and pronghorn, traverse the vast landscape of the American West. These species use areas known as migration corridors to travel between winter and summer habitats, but human encroachment threatens their survival.

Have you heard? It's National Siblings' Day! Whoo is your favorite sibling? Great horned owlets may grow up with 2-3 siblings and as they grow, things often get crowded!

📷 courtesy of Gordon Garcia

Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery & Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery run gopher tortoise head-start programs to prevent them from becoming endangered.

Once past their vulnerable first year, hatchlings are released into the wild!

#GopherTortoiseDay

📸Jessica Radich/USFWS

Sculpin Challenge: Clean your house with your mouth.

During spring spawning season male sculpin will build a nest under a rock or log by clearing out pebbles with their mouths and brushing away debris with their fins.

Video by Ryan Hagerty / USFWS.

Signs you may be a Phoebe:
• You perch on low trees, catch insects and wag your tail feathers
• You're an early migrant, bringing the hope of spring to the land
• You're the quirky one in your friend group

Happy National Sibling Day! These month-old red fox siblings are excited to play outside of their den.

Remember to never feed or pet a fox (or other wildlife). This can cause them act tame and make bold decisions, leading to conflict with humans.

📷Jennifer Cross/USFWS

A big shout out to volunteer extraordinaire, Carol Maude!

In 2022, she began volunteering for Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuges as a trail steward. Carol loves showing visitors the amazing birds and wildlife that call Oregon Islands home. 📸: USFWS

#NationalVolunteerMonth

You in the back! Stop snickering. This is science and it's important.

As waters begin to warm, so do the hearts of snapping turtles.

Muskrats are native to wetlands throughout much of North America. Despite their name and rat-like tails, these rodents aren’t closely related to rats. Have you seen any muskrats lately?

📷 Jim Hudgins/USFWS

Check out some of the ways the BIL is benefitting species, ecosystems and communities in the 2023 Annual Report and be sure to tune into the new Nature’s Infrastructure podcast, featuring Director Williams as the first guest!: ow.ly/KbM150Ra1k8

Eligible people in 12 states, including #TX , #CA and other monarch favorites, can use Direct File to do their taxes online for free, directly with #IRS . And there’s no need to be a social butterfly to find answers - get support from a live chat feature. directfile.irs.gov

WE HAVE BREAKING SNAIL NEWS! Scientists found a living population of an assumed extinct Big Black rocksnail!

Photo of Big Black rocksnails in the river, courtesy of Calvin Rezac/Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.

You know when you clean out your hatchery pond and find a bunch of bluegill nests. No? Just us?

Every once in a while, we like to revisit this amazing trail camera capture and ask the question, can you spot the lurking mountain lion?

It’s scorpion season in Nevada and you can find them with a black light! There are more than 50 species in the deserts of the southwest. They are an important food source for many species, including owls, bats, lizards, tarantulas, and centipedes!
Credit: Timothy Parker/USFWS.

Cliff swallow: Resident bridge inspector Cliff swallows nest in colonies where they build mud nests under overhangs, often under bridges. Each nest requires 900 to 1,200 trips from a mud source back to the nest location where pellets are molded together.

📷 Mike Budd/USFWS

Big news for African elephant conservation! 🐘 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues changes under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to better conserve this threatened species: ow.ly/q9YU50R5XyR

Photo of an African elephant by Cyndi Perry/USFWS