NWRC Institutional Records --

The National Wildlife Research Center can trace its beginning to July 1, 1885 and the establishment of the USDA/Division of Entomology/Section of Economic Ornithology. The Economic Ornithologist was tasked with studying the food habits of birds and their migration in relation to insects and plants. A year later the section expanded to include mammal research and became the Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy still within the USDA. After a decade it was believed a name change would better reflect the research being conducted, so in 1896, the Division became the Division of Biological Survey which was upgraded to the rank of Bureau in 1905 with three Divisions: Economic Investigations, Geographic Distribution, and Game Preservation.

Over the next 35 years, The Bureau of Biological Survey (BBS) expanded the original mission to include not only studying and controlling wildlife in relation to agriculture and horticulture in America. The BBS had several research districts throughout the United States where local scientists furthered its mission.

In 1921, the Predatory Animal Research Laboratory was moved to Denver, CO, brought under the BBS Division of Economic Investigations (later the Division of Predatory Animal and Rodent Control), and renamed Control Methods Research Laboratory (CMRL). The laboratory investigated poisons and their preparation and use to control predators and rodents. An additional laboratory was established in Denver in 1931 under the Division of Food Habits Research to study food habits and bird control.

As part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, federal agencies were reorganized and consolidated in 1939 and 1940. The USDA/BBS and USDI/Bureau of Fisheries were merged to form the USDI/Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS). In Denver, the Control Methods and Food Habits units and laboratories were merged to become the Denver Wildlife Research Laboratory (DWRL). In the 1950s, FWS was reorganized again, the Branch of Predator and Rodent Control was renamed the Division of Wildlife Services, and the DWRL was renamed the Denver Wildlife Research Center (DWRC). In 1967, DWRC was assigned international research programs to aide in protecting world food crops from pests. Several name changes, reorganizations, abolishments, and creations in the 1970s caused the DWRC to be shifted several times, finally settling in the Division of Animal Damage Control (ADC).

Because ADC and DWRC research was closely related to agriculture, livestock, and food production, attempts were made to move ADC back to the USDA through the mid-1980s. Finally, in April 1986 legislation was passed that transferred the DWRC to USDA/APHIS/ADC.

DWRC built Building 16 at the Denver Federal Center (DFC) in Lakewood, CO in 1964 to be its headquarters. Evaluation of the DWRC in the mid -1980s found the facilities to be inadequate, substandard, and in need of total renovation. General Service Administration (GSA) restriction of animals housed at the DFC meant DWRC would need to relocate its animal facilities. Colorado State University (CSU), which had been considered as a location for DWRC headquarters back in 1964, was chosen for the relocation and a lease for 43 acres at the foothills campus was signed in 1990. Construction began in 1993 and was completed in the early 2000s. The 1990s also saw two final name changes to reflect changes in mission and location: ADC became Wildlife Services (WS) and DWRC became the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC). In addition to NWRC headquarters, several field stations across the US are a part of WS.

Today the work of the NWRC supports WS’s mission to provide Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist. Partnerships with other government agencies, stakeholders, and cooperators in the US and internationally further NWRC’s research into avian conflicts with livestock and aviation, invasive species, and wildlife diseases such as rabies.

The Institutional Records Collection captures the NWRC’s transitions, research, and operations throughout its long history. This collection captures the institutional history of the Center through records created and/or collected in the course of doing business at the NWRC. These records reflect daily operations at the NWRC, research and outreach done, and the history of the Center and originated in the Director’s Office, budget office, human resources, facilities, safety officer, laboratories, and field stations.

Records at NWRC are managed according to the APHIS Records Management Schedule in the offices they originate. On a regular basis records are reviewed and removed according to retention guidelines. At the time of review, records of lasting historical significance or those with permanent retention are accessioned into the NWRC Archive.