The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the Department of the Interior (DOI), is the principal federal agency tasked with the conservation, protection, and restoration of fish and wildlife resources across the United States and insular areas. The service's history dates to 1871, when the Office of the Commission of Fish and Fisheries—a predecessor to FWS—was established. FWS manages both regional and national programs, which are carried out by FWS staff at headquarters, regional offices, and field offices. FWS functions include administering the National Wildlife Refuge System, managing migratory bird species, protecting endangered and threatened species, and restoring fish species and aquatic habitats, as well as enforcing fish, wildlife, and conservation laws and conducting international conservation efforts. FWS also is responsible for the disbursement of fish and wildlife conservation and restoration funds to states, territories, and tribal governments. This report summarizes the history, organizational structure, and selected functions of FWS and provides an overview of the agency's appropriations structure. The report describes the actions Congress has taken to shape the structure and functions of FWS over time and notes selected issues of interest to Congress. The origins of FWS date back to the formation of two agencies in the late 1800s. In 1871, the first of FWS's predecessor agencies, the Office of the Commission of Fish and Fisheries (an independent agency), was established. In 1885, the second agency that later would become part of FWS, the Section of Economic Ornithology, was formed within the Department of Agriculture (USDA). After several administrative and legislative reorganizations to these agencies, FWS took its current form in DOI in the second half of the 20 th century. (See Figure 1 for a timeline of selected events that helped to structure the agency.) Additional details on the administrative and congressional actions that have shaped the agency are provided below. On February 9, 1871, Congress created the Office of the Commission of Fish and Fisheries, commonly referred to as the Fish Commission, to respond to a perceived decline in marine and freshwater fish stocks in American waters. The Fish Commission was established as an independent agency and tasked with investigating the cause of the decline and providing recommendations to mitigate it. In this role, the Fish Commission analyzed and reported on the commercial fishing industry and actively propagated species of interest to bolster populations. The Fish Commission remained an independent agency until February 1903, after which the office was integrated into the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor and renamed the Bureau of Fisheries. In addition to the responsibilities held by the Fish Commission, the Bureau of Fisheries assumed responsibility for several additional activities, including management of the salmon fishery and fur-bearing animals in Alaska. In 1913, the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into two separate departments, the newly created Department of Labor and the renamed Department of Commerce (DOC). After the division, the Bureau of Fisheries, which remained in DOC, again was tasked with additional responsibilities, including the enforcement of the Federal Black Bass Act and the Whaling Treaty Act, as well as increased responsibilities in Alaska. In addition to these and other activities, the Bureau of Fisheries continued to work to mitigate threats to fisheries and bolster fish stocks, including through the operation of fish hatcheries. The Bureau of Fisheries remained within DOC through June 1939. In 1885, USDA established the Section of Economic Ornithology within the Division of Entomology, using funds appropriated to the division. The section was tasked with investigating the food habits, distribution, and migrations of birds in relation to agriculture, including insects and plants. In 1886, the section became a stand-alone division within USDA, known as the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy, and its responsibilities were expanded to include mammals. The mandate for the division continued to expand over the next several years to include mammals and birds as they related to agriculture, horticulture, and forestry, as well as the general geographic distribution of animals and plants. The Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy later was renamed the Division of Biological Survey in 1896. The renaming recognized the expansion of the division's responsibilities to broadly investigate America's wildlife and plants, including their geographic distribution. The division was renamed again in 1905 as the Bureau of Biological Survey. Over the next 34 years, the bureau's responsibilities broadened to include various conservation and regulatory activities. During this time, several sections and divisions were created within the bureau. Each of these divisions had specific responsibilities, including habitat loss, non-native species, species endangerment, and control of predatory and injurious wildlife. In addition, the bureau was tasked with the enforcement of conservation laws and the administration of wildlife refuge lands, which were designated by Administrations and Congress for the conservation of wildlife and birds. These wildlife refuges ultimately would be consolidated into the National Wildlife Refuge System (see " National Wildlife Refuge System "). The Bureau of Biological Survey remained within USDA through June 1939. The Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey were transferred from their respective homes within DOC and USDA by Reorganization Plan Number II of 1939. To consolidate conservation and wildlife resource activities, the reorganization plan moved the bureaus to DOI, effective July 1, 1939. The plan transferred all of the bureaus' associated responsibilities and authorities with them, including the regulatory authorities over fisheries and the whaling industry for the Bureau of Fisheries and the conservation of wildlife, game, and migratory birds and conservation law enforcement for the Bureau of Biological Survey. In a message regarding Reorganization Plan Number II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt provided justification for the transfer: The plan provides for the transfer to the Department of the Interior of the Bureau of Fisheries from the Department of Commerce and of the Bureau of Biological Survey from the Department of Agriculture. These two Bureaus have to do with conservation and utilization of the wildlife resources of the country, terrestrial and aquatic. Therefore, they should be grouped under the same departmental administration, and in that Department which, more than any other, is directly responsible for the administration and conservation of the public domain. One year after the bureaus were transferred to DOI, the President proposed a further consolidation as part of Reorganization Plan Number III of 1940. Effective June 30, 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries and the Bureau of Biological Survey were combined to form the Fish and Wildlife Service. In establishing the Fish and Wildlife Service, the plan also created the position of director within the agency and abolished the former positions heading the two original bureaus. In his attached message, President Roosevelt explained the further consolidation: Reorganization Plan II transferred the Bureau of Fisheries of the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Interior and thus concentrated in one department the two bureaus responsible for the conservation and utilization of the wildlife resources of the Nation. On the basis of experience gained since this transfer, I find it necessary and desirable to consolidate these units into a single bureau to be known as the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Bureau of Biological Survey administers Federal laws relating to birds, land mammals, and amphibians whereas the Bureau of Fisheries deals with fishes, marine mammals, and other aquatic animals. The natural areas of operation of these two bureaus frequently coincide, and their activities are interrelated and similar in character. Consolidation will eliminate duplication of work, facilitate coordination of programs, and improve service to the public. Shortly after the consolidation, the Fish and Wildlife Service's headquarters was temporarily relocated from Washington, DC, to Chicago, IL, in 1942 due to World War II. The service returned to Washington, DC, in 1947. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (as opposed to its earlier moniker, the Fish and Wildlife Service), or FWS, was established as a result of legislation passed in 1956. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 both established FWS and created the position of Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife to lead the agency. The act also created the position of Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife within DOI and established that FWS would be comprised of two bureaus—the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife—each headed by its own director. The Fish and Wildlife Act further specified the division of the existing responsibilities held within the predecessor agency between the two new bureaus. Specifically, the act states (1) The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries shall be responsible for those matters to which this Act applies relating primarily to commercial fisheries, whales, seals, and sea-lions, and related matters; (2) The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife shall be responsible for those matters to which this Act applies relating primarily to migratory birds, game management, wildlife refuges, sport fisheries, sea mammals (except whales, seals and sea-lions), and related matters.... In addition to renaming and reorganizing FWS, the act declared as policy that fish and wildlife resources "make a material contribution to our national economy and food supply, as well as a material contribution to the health, recreation, and well-being of our citizens." The act also stipulated that all functions related to fisheries, wildlife management, and conservation previously administered by DOC and USDA were to be transferred to DOI. Reorganization Plan Number IV of 1970 restructured FWS by transferring the responsibilities entrusted to the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; also created by the reorganization plan), housed within DOC. This reorganization shifted back much of the responsibility that had grown out of the original Bureau of Fisheries, which had been housed in DOC prior to being transferred to DOI in 1939. (See " Fish and Fisheries ," above.) Since its passage, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 has been amended multiple times. In particular, P.L.