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Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Check these out!   Invasive grasses choking desert tortoise The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several partners, including U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service, are working to defend the tortoise and its Mojave Desert home from invasive grasses. Credit: USFWS   Pacific Southwest Region External Affairs July 27, 2017 The desert tortoise is fighting an aggressive invader. The invader's name is Bromus, commonly known as red brome and cheatgrass, and they threaten to consume tortoise habitat in Southern California, Nevada and parts of Arizona and Utah, often at the expense of desert tortoise survival. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several partners, including U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service, are working to defend the tortoise and its Mojave Desert home with a multi-pronged counter-attack. Continue to full story...   Protecting birds...on their own terms While the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service works with the public to mitigate risks to birds, birds have a mind of their own. They end up in places they don't belong, says biologist Jennifer Brown, which can become a problem for private landowners, public lands managers and even wildlife refuges. Here, a cliff swallow rests on a strand of barbed wire considering its next move. Credit: USFWS   By Byrhonda Lyons July 21, 2017   "This is one of the craziest calls I've ever gotten," she said with a huge smile. "A chiropractor told me he gave back adjustments to a bird he rescued and the bird enjoyed listening to Pink Floyd!" Brown is one of the bird experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regional office in Sacramento. When the telephone rings at her desk, the calls nearly always involve birds—baby birds, annoying birds and sometimes, dead birds. "People call this office for all kinds of things, from mockingbirds waking them up in the morning to birds in the chimney," she said. While the Service can't do much to help with some of those calls, when they can help, the region's bird biologists provide technical assistance and educate people about bird conservation. Continue to full story....   VIDEO: Partners program helps private landowner restore forestland Click image for video.   In 2002, the Pines fire charred nearly 62,000 acres of land, making it one of the largest fires in San Diego County. Private landowner, Cody Petterson, tells how he restored his property in northeast San Diego County with the help of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The Partners Program works with private landowners who want to do voluntary work for restoration and conservation. In November of 2016, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, Jonathan Snapp-Cook, met with Cody to talk about the restoration project, document the conditions of the property, and discuss the next steps. Here's Petterson's story. See the video here...   Stay Connected with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region     This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest Region · 2800 Cottage Way · Suite W-2606 · Sacramento, CA 95825