National Conservation Training Center

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National Conservation Training Center

A leading center for education and training in the conservation of land and living resources.

The National Conservation Training Center provides exemplary training tailored to support Service employees and conservation partners in the accomplishment of the agency’s mission. For more information about NCTC -
Visit us on the Web: http://nctc.fws.gov
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/usfwsnctc

06/02/2026

At just 9 weeks of age, the NCTC eaglets are into their juvenile phase. They are nearly adult size but still a few weeks from their first flight or ‘fledge’ from the nest, usually at 11 -12 weeks. On breezy days they can often be seen exercising their wings and hopping about the nest. This ‘play’ helps strengthen their flight muscles and gives them the feel of the wind under their powerful wings.

Heavy rainfall last week caused the Potomac River to be high and muddy over the last few days. This makes it difficult for adult eagles to catch fish. Meals were slim, but with the river clearing, the last two days have seen plenty of food brought back to the nest.

Photo: USFWS / NCTC Eaglecam – Deb Stecyk, BE101

06/01/2026

Raise your hand if you've never actually read Silent Spring ✋.

Now is your chance to revisit (or experience for the first time) the classic that was once controversial. This June, join us in reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson as a part of the 250 Years of America’s Best Nature Writing Book Club.

Rachel Carson faced intense scrutiny and backlash after publishing Silent Spring in 1962. Despite attacks on her and her credentials, her message, both scientifically sound and eloquently delivered, overcame criticism to inspire a shift in public attitudes about pesticides and led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. Learn what everyone was talking about 64 years ago and why Silent Spring's legacy still continues today.

Photo credit: Rachel Carson 1907-1964, Una Hanbury, 1965/Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

05/29/2026

Have you ever heard of slime molds? They might sound gross, but they're fascinating!

Slime molds go through some wild lifecycles. They can look like a mushroom, behave like a tiny amoeba crawling around, swim using little tail-like structures, and even merge into a single blob that moves and pulses like one giant organism. Some of these blobs are microscopic, while others can grow to the size of a dinner plate!
These varied life stages, created a rather controversial conundrum. Is it a fungus? Is it a plant? Is it an animal? The answer is none of the above. They’re their own thing entirely.

And here's the cool part — slime molds aren't just weird, they're actually useful. Scientists are studying them to better understand how cancer cells grow, and researchers have even found compounds in them that could lead to new medicines!

Slime molds pictured: Fuligo septica, or "dog vomit" slime mold, Trichia decipiens slime mold, and Trichia decipiens slime mold. National Park Service, C. Vecchio.

05/22/2026

This special Memorial Day issue of Conservation History pays tribute to 37 colleagues across 14 National Wildlife Refuges and 2 National Fish Hatcheries who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty from 1904-2024. We invite you to read with us and remember. Link to the journal in the comments.

Since its founding in 2008, the USFWS journal Conservation History has been a platform for exploring the legacy of the American conservation movement.

Cover design by John Embrey, USFWS.

05/15/2026

America’s Wild Read Book Discussion on May 21: The Feather Wars by James McCommons

The USFWS Conservation Library's Wild Read is continuing the yearlong celebration of America’s 250th anniversary with a book that blends distinct stories of the heroes and villains of the bird conservation movement. April/May’s book was The Feather Wars and the Great Crusade to Save America's Birds by James H. McCommons.

When you wake up in the morning, do you hear birdsong? It is easy to take for granted the presence of birds in our lives. Throughout American history, though, birds were assumed to be an infinitely available natural resource- plentiful and available for hunting and fashion.

As species numbers dwindled, the cause of bird conservation was hard fought by many disparate characters, from politicians to artists to hunters to presidents. This summer, dive into the rich history of the people who crusaded to protect America’s birds.

How to Participate
Join us online May 21st at 3 PM Eastern time for our book discussion. Please register in advance. Link to register is in the comments.

Image Caption: Passenger pigeon shoot. Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. Smith Bennett. 1875.

05/14/2026

Join us for the 2026 International Fly-Fishing Film Festival (IF4™) at the National Conservation Training Center! IF4™ is the world’s leading fly-fishing film event, consisting of coveted fly-fishing films produced by filmmakers from all corners of the globe and showcases the passion, lifestyle, and culture of fly fishing. It is the gathering place of the fly-fishing community and a celebration of friendship, stories and outdoor recreation. This event is free and open to the public at the Byrd Auditorium - National Conservation Training Center, 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, WV 25443.

With shows around the globe, IF4™ is the world's leading fly-fishing film event, featuring the most anticipated annual collection of fly-fishing films from outstanding filmmakers. The National Conservation Training Center and The Friends of NCTC are happy to again host this event in the beautiful Byrd Auditorium on the NCTC campus.

Eleven featured films explore rugged and beautiful landscapes from around the world. The films run from 10 - 20 mins each. They feature a fly-fishing context, including adventure, travel, humor, conservation, natural history and human-interest topics. Preview film trailers at: https://flyfilmfest.com/films

To register for this free event, please email: [email protected]
Include the program date, the list the names of attending adults, and any questions.

Doors open at 6:30 PM.
Films begin at 7:00 PM.

Hosted by: The National Conservation Training Center. The NCTC Conservation Lecture Series is co-sponsored by The Friends of the National Conservation Training Center

05/09/2026

Happy World Migratory Bird Day! This year's theme is "Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter," celebrating the role everyday people play in tracking and protecting migratory birds.

One bird worth watching right now is the Baltimore oriole, a vibrant songbird with bold black and orange plumage found through much of the eastern U.S. and southern Canada. This time of year, they're especially active as they prepare for breeding season, building hanging nests and singing from treetops.

That flash of orange in the treetops is made possible in part by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), America's most important bird protection law, passed in 1918. The MBTA prohibits the killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization. Orioles are explicitly named among the species the Act covers. It's credited with saving numerous species from extinction and protecting millions, if not billions, of birds.

This World Migratory Bird Day, you can play a part in that legacy. Log your oriole sightings on apps like eBird and help scientists understand where these birds are thriving, because every observation matters.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Church/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/2oAdjZr

05/05/2026

The NCTC eaglets will soon be six weeks old and halfway to their fledge time in mid-June, at about twelve weeks of age. Their muscles, tendons and talons have developed very quickly during this time. In the next six weeks, we’ll see their feathers continue to grow out and their nervous system develop. The older eaglet is nearly covered in dark feathers while the younger eaglet still has grey thermal down visible. Only three days difference in age, but that is a lot of growth time for an eaglet!

Please join the NCTC on Thursday May 7 at 2:00pm ET for “Live from the Eagle’s Nest", our bi-weekly program during the bald eagle nesting season at the National Conservation Training Center. We’ll catch up on the nest action and answer your eagle questions too. Teachers, students, and anyone interested in bald eagles are welcome to join us on the USFWS YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com//streams

Photos USFWS / NCTC Eaglecam – Jennalynn

05/04/2026

Join us to learn more about a unique figure who helped create a "new deal" for American wildlife with the Federal Duck Stamp program.

This May, the 250 Years of America’s Best Nature Writing Book Club is featuring Ding: the Life of Jay Norwood Darling by David L. Lendt. In his preface, Lendt writes "Probing the record of Darling's life also showed me that he was a fascinating combination of seemingly inconsistent beliefs and attitudes. As far as I could tell, he never wrote an uninteresting letter. He was a man of strong and stubborn conviction; a man capable of tremendous human compassion; a man who enjoyed prodigious powers of expression, uncommon energy, and immense commonsense intellect." Dive into the unique story of "Ding" with us this summer.

Image credit: Des Moines Register

05/01/2026

Meet the Bee That Plays by Its OWN Rules — the Cuckoo Bumble Bee!

Did you know not all bumble bees build their own nests? The cleverly named cuckoo bumble bee has a wild survival strategy: it takes over another bee's colony entirely!

Here's how it works: A cuckoo bumble bee queen sneaks into an existing nest, defeats the resident queen, then uses chemical signals to trick the workers into raising her babies. Talk about a hostile takeover!

But here's the cool part, they're heroes for biodiversity. By keeping certain bumble bee species from dominating the ecosystem, cuckoo bumble bees act like a natural "checks and balances" system, giving less competitive bee species a fighting chance.

One tip-off that your local ecosystem is healthy? Spot a cuckoo bumble bee! Their presence means the host species they depend on, like the two-spotted bumble bee and the common eastern bumble bee, are thriving nearby.

Want to help bee populations thrive? Plant native flowers that bloom at different times throughout the season to keep pollinators fed from spring through fall:

Early season: Wild columbine, redbud, wild blueberry
Mid season: Scarlet bee balm, black-eyed Susan, purple coneflower
Late season: New York ironweed, sweet goldenrod, New England aster

Image: Lemon Cuckoo Bee in Kent Co., MD. © pcowartrickmanphoto, some rights reserved. Media by Pamela Cowart-Rickman.

Address

698 Conservation Way
Shepherdstown, WV
25443

Telephone

+13048761600

Website

http://nctc.fws.gov/

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