U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

Can we interest you in a late-season salmon carcass? ? ? ? :) ... None for thee? More for me! A young Kodiak brown bear sits in a river, noshing on a decayed salmon. Bears across Alaska are eating as much as they can before they den, including salmon that have already spawned or are very decayed. Alaska's wildlife refuges are home to all three species of brown bears. In fact, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge in North America where you can see all three. 📷 USFWS

The latest episode of Nature's Infrastructure podcast just dropped! This month, we are focusing on the impactful work that is improving public access and recreation in the Pennsylvania portion of the Delaware River and restoring free-flowing conditions for migratory fish and other aquatic organisms in the Delaware River Basin. Join us for a conversation with Tim Schaeffer, the Executive Director for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Mike Slattery, who is the Regional Landscape Conservation Program Manager for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region. 🔊 https://ow.ly/Al1M50TgNQn

Birds are movin' and groovin', and they need our help. Let's dim those lights for birds at night as they make their way south. It's fall migration season (Aug-Oct) and our feathered friends would really appreciate a helping hand at night. Artificial lighting can attract large numbers of night-migrating birds from as far as 3 miles away. Birds can become confused and entrapped in these areas of bright lights, circling endlessly, depleting energy stores needed for migration, and even colliding with buildings and infrastructure. The simple act of turning off outdoor lighting and dimming your home lights at night, especially during peak migration in the spring and fall, can help increase a bird's chances of survival and successful migration. Graphic of bird migration movement courtesy of BirdCast

Wake up and smell the flowers 🌻 Even as fall nears, there are a ton of native wildflowers in bloom. Now is the time to watch for aster, blazing star, boneset, goldenrod, hyssop and more! 📷 USFWS

RARE SIGHTING: ORCAS VS HUMPBACKS Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Manager Gerry McChesney and Wildlife Refuge Specialist Mackenzie Cahill, along with our partners from Point Blue Conservation Science, were treated with the amazing sighting of about 15 killer whales, also known as orcas, interacting with several humpback whales just off the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge on August 22. During an exciting event watched for nearly 9 hours, the killer whales appeared to be hunting the humpbacks for a meal, much like wolves hunt elk on land. Photos and videos taken have allowed killer whale researchers to identify many of the individuals involved — members of a population of transient Bigg’s killer whales known from the California coast. Although Bigg’s killer whales hunt other marine mammals such as sea lions and gray whale calves, they were not known to hunt humpback whales. Sightings like these help us to better understand ecosystems and the predator/prey relationships of these amazing animals. Video features Bigg’s killer whales hunting humpback whales, seen from the Southeast Farallon Island on Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Calls of pigeon guillemots, western gulls and sea lions echo in the background. Footage by Frank Fabbro/Point Blue Conservation Science #conservation #nationalwildliferefuge #FarallonIslands #FarallonIslandsNationalWildifeRefuge #wildlifeconservation

Today marks the 60th anniversary of The Wilderness Act! 🏜️🗻🌼🌳🐞🦋🐢 We oversee 75 wilderness areas in 26 states, on 63 national wildlife refuges totaling more than 20 million acres within the National Wildlife Refuge System. This law was designed to keep these lands “untrammeled by man” and ensure they remained pristine for future generations. Long before this law came to pass, Indigenous peoples across North America had been the original stewards of these landscapes. Since time immemorial, Tribes like the Navajo, Sioux, Chippewa, and many others, practiced sustainable hunting, fishing, and gathering, always mindful of the balance needed to maintain the environment. When the Wilderness Act was finally signed into law in 1964, it was a landmark achievement in American conservation history. Yet, it’s essential to remember that the concept of preserving natural spaces was not new. Indigenous people have been practicing this for centuries, preserving the wild as an integral part of life. Photo of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge by Christal Steele (sharetheexperience)

Why did the tarantula cross the road? To get to the other side, where there might be a female waiting. September generally marks the start of the "tarantula migration" in the Southwest US. Male tarantulas leave their cozy burrows to seek out a mate, sometimes traveling as far as a couple miles. Photo: Andrew Loescher at Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge

Motown Birds is a great band name and the focus of the Detroit Bird City project. 🎶🐦 This project is transforming underutilized parks into beautiful community greenspaces with meadow habitat, providing a haven for birds, insect pollinators, and visitors alike. Detroit is a migration hotspot, particularly in the fall when birds funnel through the Detroit River corridor during migration. By turning unused land commonly filled with trash and invasive species into meadow habitats, these areas can support struggling birds during their migratory journeys. Discover more about the partners making this project come to life in the comments below. Photo of an indigo bunting in a meadow in Detroit, Michigan by Diane Cheklich/Detroit Bird Alliance.

Moooood: plodding, with deep thoughts. Meet the Cowcod, not to be confused with the very different/not related cowfish!🐄🐟 This big rockfish found off the coast of California has a huge mouth that can extend impressively outward. Catch all the deets on our latest episode of "Fish of the Week!" - your audio almanac of #AllTheFish. Our guest is cowcod enthusiast Milton Love. Catch new episodes every Monday at FWS.gov or wherever you get your podcasts. On deck: American Eel! A deep-dwelling Cowcod. 📷 NOAA Fisheries/SWFSC/Fisheries Research Division

A new program brings college students together to learn curriculum about wildlife biology, hunting strategy, firearm training, and animal processing. Academics Afield is a college learn-to-hunt program created by the Georgia Wildlife Federation in 2019 that aims to introduce students to shooting sports, hunting, and a better understanding of conservation. Supported in part through multistate grant funds administered by USFWS, this initiative is introducing hundreds of young adults to hunting and the outdoors. Discover more about this awesome program and great story: https://ow.ly/elci50T8IT8 Photo of Fort Valley State University students appreciating a sunrise while on an Academics Afield Program dove hunt. Photo courtesy of Academics Afield Program