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The Biological Services Program was established within the U.S. Fish <br />and Wildlife Service to supply scientific information and methodologies on <br />key environmental issues that impact fish and wildlife resources and their <br />supporting ecosystems. The mission of the program is as follows: <br />To strengthen the Fish and Wildlife Service in its role as <br />a primary source of information on national fish and wild- <br />life resources, particularly in respect to environmental <br />impact assessment. <br />• To gather, analyze, and present information that will aid <br />decisionmakers in the identification and resolution of <br />problems associated with major changes in land and water <br />use. <br />• To provide better ecological information and evaluation <br />for Department of the Interior development programs, such <br />as those relating to energy development. <br />Information developed by the Biological Services Program is intended <br />for use in the planning and decisionmaking process to prevent or minimize <br />the impact of development on fish and wildlife. Research activities and <br />technical assistance services are based on an analysis of the issues, a <br />determination of the decisionmakers involved and their information needs, <br />and an evaluation of the state of the art to identify information gaps <br />and to determine priorities. This is a strategy that will ensure that <br />the products produced and disseminated are timely and useful. <br />Projects have been initiated in the following areas: coal extraction <br />and conversion; power plants; geothermal, mineral and oil shale develop- <br />ment; water resource analysis, including stream alterations and western <br />water allocation; coastal ecosystems and Outer Continental Shelf develop- <br />ment; and systems inventory, including National Wetland Inventory, <br />habitat classification and analysis, and information transfer. <br />The Biological Services Program consists of the Office of Biological <br />Services in Washington, D.C., which is responsible for overall planning and <br />management; National Teams, which provide the Program's central scientific <br />and technical expertise and arrange for contracting biological services <br />studies with states, universities, consulting firms, and others; Regional <br />Staffs, who provide a link to problems at the operating level; and staffs at <br />certain Fish and Wildlife Service research facilities, who conduct in-house <br />research studies.