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
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 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
Right whale #3853 swimming north offshore of South Carolina on Jan. 20, 2011 with a series of fresh propeller wounds running across its back. The whale was observed 5 days previously offshore of Georgia without propeller wounds. It is unknown whether the whale survived its wounds or not, as it has not been re-sighted since. Vessel collisions are a leading cause of right whale mortality. Credit: EcoHealth Alliance (NOAA permit #594-1759).
North Atlantic right whale Catalog #3560 ‘Snow Cone’ sighted December 2, 2021 entangled and with a new calf. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA permit 20556.
Loggerhead turtle. Credit: T. Moore (CC0 1.0)
North Pacific right whale #87 also known as “Smudgy” interacts with a log floating on the water. There are only around 30 individuals in the eastern population, so to spot a North Pacific right whale is rare and to see one interacting with a log in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. NOAA Fisheries permit 782-1719.