The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) oversees several divisions and programs related to the conservation of Massachusetts' inland and marine wildlife, fisheries, habitats, and recreational access sites. Key responsibilities include restoring and protecting ecosystems, managing fish and wildlife populations, regulating commercial and recreational fishing, and acquiring and stewarding over 200,000 acres of protected open space. The DFG involves citizens in its work through volunteer programs, citizen science initiatives, and public hearings on regulatory issues.

1. Department
of
Fish
and
Game

2. Overview
of
DFG
Programs
&
Responsibili;es
• Commissioner’s
Office
-­‐
Policy
guidance
and
coordina0on;
work
with
other
agencies,
the
legislature,
the
public;
administra0ve,
legal,
human
resources
and
fiscal
support.
• Division
of
Ecological
Restora;on
(DER)
-­‐
Restore
and
protect
the
Commonwealth’s
rivers,
wetlands
and
watersheds
for
the
benefit
of
people
and
the
environment.
• Division
of
Fisheries
and
Wildlife
(DFW)
-­‐
Conserva0on
and
management
of
MassachuseCs'
inland
fauna
and
flora,
including
stewardship
of
all
wild
amphibians,
rep0les,
birds,
mammals,
and
freshwater
fishes,
as
well
as
endangered,
threatened,
and
special
concern
species,
including
na0ve
wild
plants.
• Division
of
Marine
Fisheries
(DMF)
-­‐
Development
and
promulga0on
of
the
Commonwealth’s
regula0ons
governing
commercial
and
recrea0onal
fishing
ac0vity
conducted
in
the
marine
environment.
• Office
of
Fishing
and
Boa;ng
Access
(OFBA)
–
Provides
and
maintains
boat
and
canoe
access
sites
at
approximately
275
loca0ons
on
coastal
waters,
great
ponds,
and
rivers
throughout
the
state.

3.
Examples
of
Restora0on
Projects
• Over
1,000
acres
of
coastal
wetlands
restored
• Over
200
miles
of
stream
con0nuity
restored
• 73
ac0ve
projects
• Over
75
restora0on
projects
completed
• Over
30
dam
removal
projects
in
design
and
permiRng
• 5
ac0ve
urban
river
revitaliza0on
projects
• Assis0ng
on
largest
salt
marsh
restora0on
project
on
eastern
seaboard
(1,110
acres-­‐
Herring
River,
Wellfleet)

4. Herring
River
Estuary

5. Muddy
Creek
Restora0on,
Harwich
&
Chatham,
MA
Exis;ng
Condi;on
Proposed
Condi;on

6. LAND
AND
HABITAT
PROTECTION
PROGRAM
• DFG
and
DFW
jointly
administer
a
land
and
habitat
protec0on
program.
Tradi0onal,
yet
highly
effec0ve
tool
to
promote
biodiversity.
• Protected
over
200,000
acres
of
open
space
chosen
for
ecological
value,
presence
of
state-­‐listed
species,
exemplary
natural
communi0es
and
recrea0onal
opportuni0es.
• Example
-­‐
Acquisi0on
of
the
largest
conserva0on
restric0on
on
private
land
every
purchased
by
MA
(3,500
acres)
at
Brushy
Mountain
in
LevereC
and
Shutesbury.
Home
to
many
wildlife
species,
including
black
bear,
moose,
and
bobcat,
as
well
as
forest
birds
such
as
scarlet
tanagers
and
warblers.
• Land
Stewardship
Ini0a0ve
–
Habitat
management,
boundaries,
signage,
baseline
monitoring.

7. Paul
C.
Jones
Working
Forest
(Brushy
Mountain)

8. Regulatory
Ac0ons
to
Protect
Fish
&
Wildlife
Recent
or
proposed
regulatory
ac0ons:
•
DMF
holds
public
hearings
to
set
marine
fisheries
seasons
and
quotas.
• Marine
fisheries
regula0ons
and
management
is
ofen
complex
and
controversial,
and
necessitates
interstate
and
regional
approach.
• DFW
works
with
DEP
to
develop
streamflow
criteria
under
the
Water
Management
Act.
• Proposed
WMA
regula0ons
will
beCer
protect
aqua0c
life
from
low
flows
condi0ons.

9. OPPORTUNITIES
FOR
CITIZEN
INVOLVEMENT
–
WILDLIFE
hCp://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/
• Ci0zen
science
opportuni0es
– Help
with
wild
turkey
surveys
from
June
1-­‐August
31st
– Report
rare
wildlife,
plants
and
vernal
pool
observa0ons
• Volunteer
educa0on
and
outdoors
skills
opportuni0es
– Angler
Educa0on
Program
– Hunter
Educa0on
Program
– Linking
Landscapes
for
MA
Wildlife.
Report
wildlife
roadway
sigh0ngs
and
mortali0es.
hCp://www.linkinglandscapes.info/

10. OPPORTUNITIES
FOR
CITIZEN
INVOLVEMENT
-­‐
MARINE
FISHERIES
hCp://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/
• DMF
works
with
volunteers
to
collect
biological
informa0on
and
fish
scale
samples
for
recrea0onal
finfish
like
striped
bass,
summer
flounder,
scup
and
black
seabass.
Used
in
age
studies
and
stock
assessments.
For
more
info
contact
kimberly.trull@state.ma.us
• DMF
works
with
watershed
groups
to
collect
info.
on
river
herring.
Volunteers
conduct
10
minute
visual
counts
of
passing
river
herring
during
spring
runs.
Data
is
processed
using
sofware
to
provide
es0mates
of
spawning
popula0on
size.
For
more
info
contact
john.sheppard@state.ma.us

11. OPPORTUNITIES
FOR
CITIZEN
INVOLVEMENT
-­‐
RIVERS
hCp://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/
• DER
works
with
local
watershed
groups
to
establish
flow
monitoring
sites
where
volunteers
are
trained
to
read
a
flow
gage
and
enter
weekly
readings
into
the
on-­‐line
database.
hCp://www.rifls.org/
• Contact
your
local
watershed
associa0on
for
more
info.
hCp://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/technical-­‐
assistance/watershed-­‐contacts.html

12. PARTICIPATE
IN
THE
LEGAL
PROCESS
• ACend
public
hearings
on
proposed
regula0ons.
Comment
during
the
public
comment
period!
We
appreciate
public
input.
• Upcoming
hearings
and
open
public
comment
periods
are
found
on
our
website,
usually
on
the
homepage
of
the
applicable
division
or
program
• hCp://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/

13. COMMONWEALTH
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
WEBSITE
h"ps://jobs.hrd.state.ma.us/
Mary
Griffin,
MA
Dept.
of
Fish
and
Game
mary.griffin@state.ma.us