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Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Check out our latest stories! K-9's bark more powerful than their bite "A warehouse that I can clear in 30 minutes with her, would take me a year by myself," said Raymond Hernandez, of his dog Lockett. Pictured here is artifacts from Papua New Guinea including swords and shields made from animal parts, and reptile products discovered in a warehouse by Lockett. Credit: USFWS   Service K-9 program, started in California 17 years ago for refuges, now has teams across five regions of the country serving in a variety of detection roles By John Heil December 7, 2017 Whether it is on a national wildlife refuge or a warehouse at an international airport, "man's best friend," is making a difference for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. The K-9 program for refuges, which started in the Pacific Southwest Region in California 17 years ago, now has teams across five regions of the country doing everything from detection of wildlife and drugs to protection, sometimes serving a dual purpose. "When I started working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a law enforcement officer, I thought a dog would be tremendously helpful finding evidence and contraband due to their unbelievable ability to smell," said Anthony Merrill, regional chief of refuge law enforcement for the Pacific Southwest Region in California who did a full year of research and was approved for the first ever fully accredited police dogs put in service in 2000. "It was definitely a new frontier." See full story...   Bringing back the Southern California steelhead Similar to the the famous steelhead runs of the Pacific Northwest, tens of thousands of these silvery fish once graced the streams and rivers of southern California. Credit: BLM See the full story...     Flood survivors make a comeback "After a dramatic decline of the riparian brush rabbit in the late 1990s, the state and federally listed rabbit has recovered to the point where it's realistic to consider downlisting the species from endangered to threatened, and eventually delisting it entirely", said Kim Forrest, refuge manager for the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is the site of a propagation and reintroduction project for North America's most endangered lagomorph. Credit: Brian Hansen/USFWS   Tiny riparian brush rabbits rescued during the winter 2016-17 floods are being saved from extinction by state and federal habitat restoration efforts By Steve Martarano January 30, 2018 Wielding a hiking stick because of an old injury, Dr. Patrick Kelly, head of the Endangered Species Recovery Program at Stanislaus State University, wades through a tall mass of brush and weedy vegetation on Christman Island, part of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge about 15 miles west of Modesto, California. He and student assistant Antonio Garcia, on this clear early January day, are headed to two infrared trail cameras that were deployed the previous week to monitor the endangered riparian brush rabbit, a species Kelly knows well. He's been studying the elusive small critters since the early part of the century. See the full story... Fishers flourish in former forest home A fisher peers from a trap box, where it was lured in by a chicken leg the night before. During the last month of the Stirling study, 61 fishers were trapped one last time to remove radio collars and collect final data. Credit: Aaron Facka/Oregon State University   Long-term collaborative study successfully concludes as fishers thrive on managed forest in northern Sierra By Susan Sawyer February 6, 2018 A sleek, grizzled brown cat-sized fisher is huddled in a wooden box attached to the back of a wire trap in the bottom of a forest drainage. A shiny chicken bone hanging from twine inside is a reminder of how the 2 year-old female was lured inside the night before. Dr. Aaron Facka of Oregon State University approached the trap quietly as others aimed cameras toward the presumed fisher escape path. See the full story...         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