U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's "Service Manuals"

 

 

 

(Note from RG: When searching for them on the Internet, I've found that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's  "Service Manuals" are somewhat elusive. They are useful in that they show us the rules that USFWS is supposed to be operating under. I've found that USFWS frequently breaks its own rules. Shown below are links to the Service Manual and similar documents. I think you will find them useful.)

 


Centralized Library, Directives http://www.fws.gov/policy/direct.html 

 

USFWS Service Manual http://www.fws.gov/policy/manual.html 

The Fish and Wildlife Service Manual has regulatory force and effect within the Service. It implements the Service's authorities and the Director's policies, and steps down the Service's compliance with other requirements, such as statutes, Executive Orders, Departmental directives, and regulations of other agencies. The Manual is organized into major groupings called series, and further divided into parts and chapters. If you know the number of the chapter, use the links at the top and go to the series in which the chapter falls. If you need to search by subject, you may use the search engine on the Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page or you may review the list of titles for Manual series and parts.

Search http://search.fws.gov/index.html?ul=http://policy.fws.gov 

If you are not sure what directive contains the information you need, use the Fish and Wildlife Service search engine. This search engine will search the Centralized Library of Servicewide Policies. 


Current Director's Orders http://www.fws.gov/policy/do.html

Director's Orders are limited to temporary delegations, emergency directives, special assignments, and initial policy or guidance for evolving activities. See 012 FW 1.


National Policy Issuance System (NPI) http://www.fws.gov/policy/npi.html 

This system promulgates the Director's national policies for managing the Service and its programs. A description of the system is published as NPI #89-01.


Handbooks http://www.fws.gov/policy/hbindex.html 

Handbooks are used to explain how to comply with directives.  Although they do not have regulatory effect, they may be used to convey good or acceptable practices. (010 FW 1)

 

Centralized Library of Servicewide Policies http://www.fws.gov/policy/index.html 

Contains memorandums, Federal Register documents, handbooks, bulletins and more.


Division of Policy and Directives Management Home Page http://www.fws.gov/pdm/ 

Provides additional information on directives/policies, regulatory documents, forms, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), and other administrative areas. http://policy.fws.gov/ser400.html 

 

List of Regional Directives Officers (RDOs) http://www.fws.gov/policy/rdo.html 

Names and phone numbers for the Directives Officer in each Region.

 

Electronic Library of Interior Policies (ELIPS) http://elips.doi.gov/app_home/index.cfm?fuseaction=home 

Departmental Manual, Secretarial Orders, and more.

 

Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Congressional Information http://laws.fws.gov/ 

Information on laws relating to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as links to Thomas, GPO, and other external sites.

 

If you have questions about the Directives pages, please contact Krista Holloway, Division of Policy and Directives Management krista_holloway@fws.gov or 703-358-1914. 

 

If you have questions about the specific content of a directive, please contact the originating office.

 

http://www.fws.gov