About the Unit

The Nevada Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (NVCFWRU) is part of a nation-wide cooperative program, initiated in 1935, to promote research and graduate student training in the ecology and management of fish, wildlife, and their habitats. The NVCFWRU, established in 2021, brings state and federal wildlife-management resources together to provide a cooperative partnership to ensure resources are best serving Nevada’s wildlife and wild places. The partnership consists of the Nevada Department of Wildlife; the University of Nevada, Reno (University); the Wildlife Management Institute; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the U.S. Geological Survey. The focus of the NVCFWRU will be on scientific research and conservation of fish and wildlife in the state and region.

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The NVCFWRU will be staffed by a Unit Leader, two Assistant Unit Leaders, and an Administrative Assistant. Unit Scientists will hold positions as research faculty with the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, & Natural Resources, University of Nevada, Reno, and Adjunct Faculty with the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science.

Housed in the Molly Flagg Knudtsen Resource Center, the NVCFWRU program will focus on fish and wildlife research, ecology, and management, and will promote collaboration among the participating partner organizations. In addition, the program will support a focus on human dimensions and the importance of fish and wildlife conservation to Nevada.

In the News

Nevada’s first and the nation’s 41st Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is being established at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The newly formed Nevada Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit brings state and federal wildlife-management resources together, providing cooperative partnership that ensures resources are best serving Nevada’s wildlife and wild places. The partnership consists of the Nevada Department of Wildlife; the University of Nevada, Reno; the Wildlife Management Institute; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to focus on scientific research and conservation of fish and wildlife in the state and region.

Read the NevadaToday story
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History of NVCFWRU

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The Nevada Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (NVCFWRU) is part of a nationwide program dating back to 1935 when the first Units were formed under cooperative agreements between the U.S. Biological Survey [predecessor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)], state conservation agencies, land grant universities, and the Wildlife Management Institute. These Units were created to foster college-level research and graduate student training in support of science-based management of fish and wildlife and their habitats.

In 1960, Congress passed the Cooperative Units Act (P.L. 86-686), authorizing the Unit program as a line item in the budget of the FWS. By Executive action, the Units were moved from the FWS to the newly formed National Biological Service (NBS) in 1994, then to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1996 when the NBS was incorporated into the USGS as the Biological Resources Division, now known as the Ecosystems Mission Area.

The NVCFWRU was formed in 2021 and exists by cooperative agreement between the Nevada Department of Wildlife; the University of Nevada, Reno; the Wildlife Management Institute; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the U.S. Geological Survey.