Executive Office Of The Government Of The Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning & Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) is a territorial government entity responsible for wildlife conservation, fisheries management, and natural resource stewardship across the U.S. Virgin Islands. Operating as a local government agency with a registered SAM.gov profile since 2004, the Division provides comprehensive natural resource management services that support the ecological integrity and economic vitality of the territory. Through federal grant funding mechanisms, DFW serves as the primary administrator for wildlife restoration, fisheries management, endangered species recovery, and recreational boating infrastructure programs that benefit both residents and visitors to the territory.

The Division has received substantial federal grant awards totaling approximately $12.3 million across multiple programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of the Interior's Insular Affairs office. DFW's primary service delivery areas include wildlife habitat restoration and management through the Wildlife Restoration program (CFDA 15.611); sport fish restoration and recreational fishery data collection through the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605); endangered and threatened species recovery coordination, monitoring, and reintroduction efforts; nongame wildlife conservation through the State Wildlife Grants program (CFDA 15.634); recreational boating infrastructure planning and maintenance through the Boating Infrastructure Grant program and the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act (CFDA 15.622); vessel pollution prevention and marina facility education through the Clean Vessel Act (CFDA 15.616); and hunter education programming. Additionally, DFW administers cooperative agreements with NOAA for fishery-independent data collection through the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP-C), maintains a cooperative statistics program for commercial fisheries landings, participates in ropeless gillnet gear redesign initiatives, and coordinates wetland inventory mapping in partnership with the EPA and organizations such as Ducks Unlimited. The Division's work encompasses facility operations and maintenance, habitat assessment and improvement activities, public outreach and education programs, technical guidance to government agencies and private stakeholders, species reintroduction and monitoring on offshore cays and main islands, and coordination with multiple local and federal partners including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, and various local organizations focused on sea turtle protection and wildlife conservation. Current projects address species of greatest conservation need such as the St. Croix ground lizard, leatherback sea turtles, West Indian whistling ducks, and various freshwater fish species, while also supporting the territory's significant recreational fishing and boating economy.