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Endangered Species Act Section 6 Program: Cooperation with States

Cooperative conservation partnerships between NOAA Fisheries and States can be formalized by entering into agreements under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act.

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Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) provides a mechanism for cooperation between NOAA Fisheries and States in the conservation of threatened, endangered, and candidate species.

Under section 6, NOAA Fisheries is authorized to enter into agreements with any State that establishes and maintains an "adequate and active" program for the conservation of endangered and threatened species. Once a State enters into such an agreement, NOAA Fisheries is authorized to assist in, and provide Federal funding for, implementation of the State's conservation program.

Federal funding, provided in the form of Species Recovery Grants, can be used to support management, research, monitoring and outreach projects that have direct conservation benefits for listed species, recently delisted species, and candidate species that reside within that State. To be eligible for funding through the Species Recovery Grants program, species listed under the ESA must be covered by the State's section 6 agreement. Proposed, candidate, and recently delisted species that occur in the State do not need to be listed on the agreement to be eligible for funding.

For more information, please contact us:

Maggie Miller
Office of Protected Resources

Carrie Upite
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office

Calusa Horn
Southeast Regional Office

Justin Greenman
West Coast Regional Office

Danielle Jayewardene
Pacific Islands Regional Office

Julie Scheurer
Alaska Regional Office

 

Agreements

The following States, through their appropriate state agencies, currently hold section 6 agreements with NOAA Fisheries:

Alabama (2010)

State Agency: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: November 8, 2010 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended October 25, 2019

Alabama's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Alaska (2009)

State Agency: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G)

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 3, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended January 2017; September 2017; August 2018; October 24, 2019; July 26, 2022  

Alaska's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

California (2009) 

State Agency: California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)

Cooperative Agreement signed: November 19, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended February 24, 2016; November 13, 2019

California's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (2009) 

State Agency: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife (CNMI DLNR-DFW)

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 3, 2009 (PDF, 6 pages)

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Connecticut (2015) 

State Agency: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)

Cooperative Agreement signed: May 12, 2015 (PDF, 8 pages)

Connecticut's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

  • Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus):
    » New York Bight DPS
    » Chesapeake Bay DPS
    » Carolina DPS
    » South Atlantic DPS
  • Shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum)

Threatened

Delaware (2007) 

State Agency: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Fish and Wildlife (DEDFW)

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 11, 2007 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 28, 2012; December 27, 2019

Delaware's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Non-Listed Species of Special Concern in Delaware

Florida (2003)

State Agency: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

Cooperative Agreement signed: July 1, 2003 (PDF, 9 pages)
Amended December 4, 2009; November 6, 2012; March 16, 2017; October 27, 2020

Florida's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Georgia (1990)

State Agency: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: August 6, 1990 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 29, 2005; May 6, 2013; November 18, 2019; October 1, 2020

Georgia's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Guam (2014)

State Agency: Guam Department of Agriculture (DOAg)

Cooperative Agreement signed: March 26, 2014 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended March 30, 2016; April 4, 2017; November 5, 2020; October 1, 2021

Guam's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Hawaii (2006)

State Agency: Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: August 29, 2006 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended June 18, 2014; August 12, 2019; November 4, 2020

Hawaii's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Louisiana (2009)

State Agency: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 4, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 25, 2019; October 5, 2020 

Louisiana's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Maine (2005)

State Agency: Maine Department of Marine Resources (MDMR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: May 16, 2005 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended October 14, 2009; October 24, 2012; October 25, 2019

Maine's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Maryland (1998)

State Agency: State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) 

Cooperative Agreement signed: July 20, 1998 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended August 19, 2004; November 16, 2012; October 17, 2019

Maryland's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Massachusetts (1996)

State Agency: Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game: Division of Marine Fisheries and Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

Cooperative Agreement signed: July 8, 1996 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended August 3, 2004; November 21, 2012; October 17, 2019

Massachusetts's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Mississippi (2009)

State Agency: Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: November 30, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 5, 2019; October 15, 2020; November 28, 2022

Mississippi's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

New Jersey (2004)

State Agency: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJ DEP)

Cooperative Agreement signed: July 28, 2004 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 7, 2012; October 29, 2019

New Jersey's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

» Gulf of Maine DPS

New York (1992)

State Agency: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)

Cooperative Agreement signed: April 20, 1992 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended April 7, 2015; December 5, 2019

New York's program addresses the following listed species:

Endangered

Threatened

North Carolina (2000)

State Agency: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC)

Cooperative Agreement signed: April 7, 2000 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 25, 2003; April 25, 2014; November 4, 2019

North Carolina's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Oregon (2009)

State Agency: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 22, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended November 14, 2010; November 15, 2019

Oregon's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Puerto Rico (2003)

State Agency: Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER)

Cooperative Agreement signed: May 21, 2003 (PDF, 9 pages)
Amended August 13, 2008; May 15, 2017; August 7, 2018; October 14, 2020

Puerto Rico's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

South Carolina (1984)

State Agency: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: October 1, 1984 (PDF, 9 pages)
Amended: October 22, 2012; November 5, 2019; September 30, 2020

South Carolina's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Texas (2009)

State Agency: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

Cooperative Agreement signed: October 23, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)

Amended: November 14, 2019

Texas's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

U.S. Virgin Islands (2003)

State Agency: Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (VIDPNR)

Cooperative Agreement signed: July 11, 2003 (PDF, 7 pages)
Amended: September 14, 2018

USVI's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Virginia (2009)

State Agency: Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR); formerly known as Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF)

Cooperative Agreement signed: December 1, 2009 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended: December 10, 2012; October 18, 2019

Virginia's agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Washington (2008)

State Agency: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)

Cooperative Agreement signed: January 25, 2008 (PDF, 8 pages)
Amended February 24, 2017; November 20, 2019

Washington's Agreement lists the following species:

Endangered

Threatened

Last updated by Office of Protected Resources on 11/09/2023

Endangered Species Act