The Association of Retired Fish & Wildlife Service Employees is a membership organization of former colleagues that are now retired.  The Association will also be known as the FWS Retirees Association.  Its main purpose is to recognize and preserve the rich history of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the many contributions of its present and past employees, to foster the preservation and use of the historical treasures, documents, objects and information of the Service’s unique history and values in natural resource conservation, and to involve present and past employees in the history and heritage of the Fish and Wildlife Service.  The Association (DLN 17053289033043) qualifies as an organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, meaning it has met the requirement of a tax-exempt, non-profit entity.

The Associations encourages the preservation and use of important historical treasures, documents, objects, and information to educate present and past employees of the Service and the public in understanding the heritage of the Fish and Wildlife Service.  And the process begins  at home with the present membership.  Many items accumulated during careers have been donated to the Fish & Wildlife Service archives and museum.  Also, to facilitate and foster contact, interaction, and camaraderie between retired employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is assisting in locating and maintaining connections with former colleagues with the Association and by promoting an annual reunion of Association members to renew friendships with former colleagues, develop new friendships, and participate in informative workshops that provide important information of interest to retired Fish & Wildlife Service employees.  An important aspect of the social reunions is the bringing together of current Fish & Wildlife Service employees with the rich history of the of the career employee now retired.

Who is a Retiree?  The Association counts as a retiree any person who worked for the Fish & Wildlife Service and has now retired, including their spouses.  Further, some of our colleagues were caught up in reorganizations, retired from other agencies, or taken on second careers, but still consider themselves Fish & Wildlife people.  Among these are colleagues that were formerly in Research, Animal Damage Control, or certain National Fish Hatcheries transferred to State operation.  The current membership level is just over 2,100 with 1000 of these retirees having e-mail capability for the rapid dissemination of information.

More on our Role. By supporting the identification and preservation of important historical information, materials, and objects, an understanding and appreciation of the Service’s long history and its heritage and identity are being carried forth to a new generation of Service employees.  Retirees, through their direct contributions to the Service’s archival collection, oral history projects, and annual reunions, assure that one of the Service’s most valuable resources -- its people -- are neither discarded nor forgotten and are a source of pride and motivation for future policies and actions.

The inclusion of retirees into major, ongoing events such as the fishery resources program’s 130th celebration at Spearfish, South Dakota, in 2002, and 2003’s refuge system centennial observance at Pelican Island in Florida, serve to strengthen the past–present relationships leading to subtle and credible support of the Service and its present mission.  In 2005, reunion events are being planned at Portland, Oregon

By asking the retirees to work closely with current employees at various events and conferences, we have kept our past alive in a very real sense.  Our artifact and museum collection would be much the poorer without retirees to find objects (sometimes in their own basements or attics), to identify memorabilia, and, most importantly, to explain how these things were used. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service has jettisoned far too much of its past, and is only now beginning to conserve its most valuable heritage resource -- the skilled employees who bequeathed us the world's premier conservation agency.

Jerry Grover is a retired ecological services / fisheries employee living in Tigard, Oregon.
       [Edit provided by David Klinger, NCTC]