Written by: Patrick Cooney
Have you ever noticed that across the United States of America there is little consistency in the naming of the State agencies responsible for managing fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and invertebrates?
They go by many names: Department, Division, Commission, Service, Agency, or Bureau.
They are responsible for many things: Fish, Fisheries, Game, Wildlife, Parks, Boats, Natural Resources, Conservation, Heritage, Tourism, Land, Freshwater, Saltwater, and/or Inland.
This diversity of naming gave rise to diverse logos that display some very unique animals.
Quiz
Write down the answers to these questions then look for the answers below. Let us know how many you got correct:
- Which fish appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bass (largemouth, smallmouth, or Kentucky spotted), Salmonid (salmon or trout), Pickerel\Pike, Walleye, Snapper, Spotted Sea Trout, Striped Bass, or Weakfish
- Which mammal appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bear (brown or black), Deer (whitetail, blacktail, or mule), Elk, Caribou, Bighorn Sheep, Raccoon, or Pronghorn
- Which bird appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bald Eagle, Cardinal, Grouse, Gull, Hawk, Great Blue Heron, Duck, Goose, Iiwi, Swallow-tailed Kite, Quail, or Pheasant
- Overall, what appears most frequently: a Fish, Mammal, or Bird?
- How many states feature all three types of animals: a Fish, a Mammal, and a Bird?
- What is the only state to feature an invertebrate in their logo and what is the invertebrate?
- One logo features a drawing of a single animal that was harvested by agency biologists while out surveying moose? What animal and State does this refer to?
- What state agency logo features an extinct subspecies of animal and what is the animal?
- What two State agencies feature a raccoon and a smallmouth bass on their logo?
- What two State agencies feature a bird that was introduced to North America from Asia and what is the bird?
- How many states feature a bear in their logo?
- Which agency features a depiction of the farthest migrating land mammal (up to 3,000 miles)?
- How many states feature animals with horns?
- What state features a non-native fish that was purposely selected by the state hatchery system for a mutation that makes it a yellowish-golden color?
- What animal was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in 1995 and is featured on six State agency logos?
- Which two agencies feature a boat in their logo?
- How many agencies feature the shape of their State in their logo?
- Is “Wildlife” or “Game” used more frequently in the agency names?
- Is “Fish” or “Fisheries” used more frequently in the agency names?
- Which of the following titles is used the most in the names of the State agencies: Agency, Division, Department, Commission, Service, or Bureau
Here is a table of all of the names and the frequency of their use of the State agencies, after eliminating the name of each State. As you can see, there are 37 names used among the agencies. Please note that Pennsylvania is split into two agencies, and the agency for Washington, DC was also included, for a total of 52. Names were used from this website.
| Agency Name | Frequency |
| Bureau of Natural Resources | 1 |
| Department of Conservation | 1 |
| Department of Environmental Management | 1 |
| Department of Fish and Game | 2 |
| Department of Fish and Wildlife | 4 |
| Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources | 1 |
| Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks | 1 |
| Department of Game and Inland Fisheries | 1 |
| Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife | 1 |
| Department of Land and Natural Resources | 1 |
| Department of Natural Resources | 5 |
| Department of Wildlife | 1 |
| Department of Wildlife and Fisheries | 1 |
| Department of Wildlife Conservation | 1 |
| Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks | 1 |
| Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism | 1 |
| Division of Fish and Wildlife | 5 |
| Division of Fisheries & Wildlife | 1 |
| Division of Natural Resources | 1 |
| Division of Parks and Wildlife | 1 |
| Division of Wildlife | 1 |
| Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries | 1 |
| Division of Wildlife Resources | 1 |
| Fish and Boat Commission | 1 |
| Fish and Game Department | 1 |
| Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission | 1 |
| Fisheries/Wildlife Division | 1 |
| Game and Fish Commission | 1 |
| Game and Fish Department | 4 |
| Game and Parks Commission | 1 |
| Game Commission | 1 |
| Game, Fish and Parks Department | 1 |
| Parks and Wildlife Department | 1 |
| Wildlife and Heritage Service | 1 |
| Wildlife Resources Agency | 1 |
| Wildlife Resources Commission | 1 |
| Wildlife Resources Division | 1 |
Logos of each of the State fish and wildlife agencies of the United States of America
Answers to the Quiz
- Which fish appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bass (7) (largemouth, smallmouth, or Kentucky spotted), Salmonid (11) (salmon or trout), Pickerel\Pike (2), Walleye (1), Snapper (1), Spotted Sea Trout (1), Striped Bass (1), or Weakfish (1)
- Which mammal appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bear (3) (brown or black), Deer (19) (whitetail, blacktail, or mule), Elk (2), Caribou (1), Bighorn Sheep (2), Raccoon (2), Pronghorn (1)
- Which bird appears most frequently in the logos of the 50 state agencies: Bald Eagle (6), Cardinal (1), Grouse (7), Gull (2), Hawk (1), Great Blue Heron (1), Duck (3), Goose (3), Iiwi (1), Swallow-tailed Kite (1), Quail (1), or Pheasant (2)
- Overall, what appears most frequently: Fish, Mammal, or Bird? Bird 34; Mammal 31; Fish 30
- How many states feature a Fish, a Mammal, and a Bird (all three)? 18
- What is the only state to feature an invertebrate in their logo and what is the invertebrate? Washington; Crab
- One logo features a drawing of an animal that was harvested by agency biologists while out surveying moose. What animal and State are they? Montana; Grizzly Bear
- What state agency logo features an extinct subspecies of animal and what is the animal? California; California Grizzly Bear
- What two State agencies feature a raccoon and a smallmouth bass on their logo? Missouri and Tennessee
- What two State agencies feature a bird that was introduced to North America from Asia and what is the bird? South Dakota, Nebraska; Pheasant
- How many states feature a bear in their logo? 3; California, New Mexico, Montana
- Which agency features a depiction of farthest migrating land mammal (up to 3,000 miles)? Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Caribou
- How many states feature animals with horns? 3; Nevada (bighorn sheep), Colorado (bighorn sheep), and Wyoming (Pronghorn…the only mammal that sheds its horns)
- What state features a non-native fish that was purposely selected by the state hatchery system for a mutation that makes it a yellowish-golden color? West Virginia Golden Rainbow Trout
- What animal was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in 1995 and is featured on six State agency logos? Bald Eagle
- Which two agencies feature a boat in their logo? South Carolina and Mississippi
- How many agencies feature the shape of their State in their logo? 13
- Is “Wildlife” or “Game” used more frequently in the agency names? Wildlife is used 29 times, whereas Game is used 12 times
- Is “Fish” or “Fisheries” used more frequently in the agency names? Fish is used 22 times, whereas Fisheries is used 7 times
- Which of the following is used the most: Agency, Division, Department, Commission, Service, or Bureau; Department is the most used word (30 times), followed by Division (13), Commission (6), Service (1), Bureau (1), and Agency (1)
Let us know how you did on the quiz in the comments. Also, let us know if you come up with any questions of your own, or find any issues with our answers.
The Fisheries Blog 
An interesting blog post, thanks! One question: How many states have bifurcated fisheries management? For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia has both DGIF for freshwater fisheries and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) for saltwater. Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries is a similar division, I believe.
“Have you ever noticed that across the United States of America there is little consistency in the naming of the State agencies responsible for managing fish, mammals, and birds?”
In your opening statement, you fail to note that nearly every state agency is also responsible for reptiles and amphibians. It is interesting that only one agency logo even has a reptile on it (and it’s not the logo of a US state).