U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

Did you know there are about 300 species of freshwater mussels in North America? The habitat crew at the Lower Great Lakes Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office recently participated in snorkel surveys in the Cacapon River and learned more about these fascinating creatures! These surveys are part of a monitoring grid established by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources in 2015. Participants identified seven different species of freshwater mussels and counted approximately 500 individuals. When you have a career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, you never know where the day might take you! Photo by Gwyneth Daunton/USFWS

The audacity of this orchid is off the charts. The pink lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule) is quite something. This showy orchid is found across much of the eastern half of the United States and typically blooms between May and July. Here's the best part about pink lady's slipper - they kidnap bees! Ok, it's more of a bee-nap. Various bee species are the main pollinator of this orchid. The bee is lured in by the bright color of the flower. Ooooo, the bee must think. There must be some delicious nectar inside. WRONG! There is a small opening at the front of the flower petal. Once inside, the bee is trapped, and it can't go back out. And the worst is, there's no sweet nectar reward. It's the ultimate catfish! There's only one way out for the trapped bee, and that's to go through a small opening at the top of the flower. This is a tight squeeze for the bee and as it exits, it rubs up against the pollen of the flower. After it makes its escape from the catfish orchid, it will fly off covered in its pollen and be lured in again by another pink lady's slipper to help pollinate the next generation. Photo by Keith Ramos/USFWS

Enjoy 30 seconds of American badger family time 🤎💚 With their short, powerful limbs, claws and partially webbed feet, the American badger is designed for digging. They can maintain multiple dens at once, and the mid-sized mammal predators dig to hunt rodents, too. This family was seen outside their grassland den at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Oregon. Video: Dan Streiffert Video description: Three badgers, with their short limbs, big ears and distinctive white stripe in the middle of their head, sniff each other and their immediate surroundings outside their grassland burrow.

Did you know those cute little goldfish can turn into GIANTS in the wild?! Releasing pet goldfish into the wild is NOT the “kind” option you might think it is. They grow, they multiply, and they outcompete native species, tipping the scales of our delicate ecosystem balance! HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP: 1. KEEP your finned friends well-contained. 2. DON’T release them into the wild – it’s bad for them AND the environment. 3. EDUCATE others about the not-so-golden impact of this issue. 4. ADOPT responsibly and only if you’re ready for the long-term commitment. 5. BAIT and switch. We recognize that part of the problem is also anglers who use goldfish for bait. Please properly dispose of unused bait, by NOT dumping them into waterways. Remember, it’s up to all of us to protect our local ecosystems. Let’s work together to keep our waters safe and our wildlife thriving! Together, we can keep our waterways JUST swimming! Photo of goldfish from Presque Isle, PA by Matt Basista/USFWS

The last time migratory fish swam freely between Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay and Lake Nippenicket in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Woodrow Wilson was president and women couldn’t yet vote. It was high time for a change. Until 2023, the High Street Dam stood as the first barrier to migratory fish on the Town River, but thanks to efforts by many partners, the dam is gone. Fish coming from Narragansett Bay, up the Taunton River, and into the Town River can now more easily reach historical spawning and rearing grounds upstream, and the nearby Bridgewater community is now more resilient to climate change. Read about the rewards of restoring a river: https://ow.ly/YHP750SU9AJ

We teamed up with Bureau of Land Management for their 26th annual butterfly count in Anchorage, Alaska and it was a fluttering success! 🦋🦋 With sharp eyes and swift nets we hit bog, tundra, and forest habitats. We counted 9 species, including the stunning Kodiak Blue and Margined White. This survey is part of a long-term study, and similar counts occur at almost 450 other locations across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The count supports scientists tracking butterfly abundance over time. Thank you to our volunteer butterfly seekers and to Luise Woelflein (public programs coordinator, Campbell Creek Science Center), and Sabrina Farmer (biologist, USFWS) for their dedication to educating people about butterflies and how proactive activities like this survey can help pollinator populations. 📷 1-2) Tia Vaughn/USFWS 3) Sabrina Farmer/USFWS 4) Casey Burns

A perfect photo of a national wildlife refuge doesn't exis... Photo of a sunset at Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada by Dennis Doyle (sharetheexperience)

Enjoy the ruby-throated hummingbirds while you can because some start departing as soon as early August! By late November, they'll be in wintering grounds in parts of coastal south Florida, Mexico and Central America. 📷 Courtney Celley/USFWS

Vocab lesson: chemolithoautotroph – an organism that makes energy from the chemicals in the environment around it. In other words, they are rock eaters! The Edwards Aquifer is a significant source of drinking water for Central Texas, one of the fastest growing areas in the United States. The honeycombed, water-filled aquifer provides freshwater to over 2.5 million people and is home to a variety of life. The freshwater-saline water boundary found within the aquifer allows very tiny organisms to create food, supporting a rich variety of life. “Life found within the Edwards Aquifer can be very alien-like,” said Amelia Hunter, Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the Southwest Regional Office. “These creatures are creepy crawly and fascinating.” Take a deep dive into the Edwards Aquifer and read the full article. https://lnkd.in/eC7d5_7k

We’re excited to announce our new Assistant Director for International Affairs, Dr. Hila Levy. She will lead our domestic and international efforts to protect, restore, and enhance wildlife and their habitats with a focus on international species. Before joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dr. Levy concurrently served as Assistant Director for ocean, polar, and natural security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as Director for science, technology, and workforce strategy on the National Security Council where she coordinated interagency policy recommendations for the President. In her previous role at the White House, Dr. Levy was also a co-author on a paper just published in Science Magazine. The paper discusses ways to incorporate nature into strategic policy decisions across health, economic, security, climate and equity domains and how that is both good governance and the pathway to a more sustainable, thriving planet. Check out this White House press release to learn more: https://ow.ly/Tu3150SRaqU Photo by Dr. Hila Levy/USFWS