Hermosa Beach Puts an End To a 30+ Year Drilling Rights Dispute

FACT SHEET

CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH SETTLEMENT WITH E&B NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CORP

The City of Hermosa Beach and E&B Natural Resources Management Corp. has resolved several ongoing disputes between them, putting to rest the issue of oil drilling that began with a 1984 vote to allow oil drilling in the city. Following are the specific terms of the settlement announced on March 7, 2017:

• E&B relinquishes all drilling rights in any oil project in Hermosa Beach, including the lease issued by the city in 1992 that gave Macpherson Oil Company (and later E&B, by assignment under the 2012 settlement between Macpherson, E&B, and the City) the right to drill in the city.
• E&B relinquishes all mineral and other rights in any oil project in or under Hermosa Beach, including the private leases and School District lease that E&B acquired from Macpherson.
• E&B relinquishes all other permits and approvals for oil drilling in or under Hermosa Beach, including all road agreements, state approvals and other permits and approvals E&B acquired from Macpherson.
• E&B relinquishes all future claims against the city over the oil project, including claims for interest or any other monetary compensation resulting from the 2012 settlement and the 2015 special election regarding its oil-drilling proposal, the Measure O election.
• In exchange for giving up its oil drilling rights and all current and future claims, E&B will receive $1.5 million from the city’s existing funds.

• Both sides agree not to disparage one another in their comments about the settlement. This is a common provision in settlement agreements.

BACKGROUND

Since 1984, when voters lifted a longstanding ban on oil drilling in Hermosa Beach, the city has lived with the threat of oil drilling. In 2015, Hermosa Beach voters rejected Measure O, a proposal by E&B to drill for oil at the city’s maintenance yard. The vote triggered a requirement that the city pay E&B $17.5 million-plus interest. After the vote, E&B claimed the city owed E&B interest and had violated the 2012 settlement during the Measure O election.

E&B also claimed that if the city ever overturned its ban on oil drilling, E&B would forever have the right to drill for oil in Hermosa Beach under various leases, permits and approvals E&B continued to hold. It based this claim on its assertion that the voters’ rejection of Measure O in 2015 triggered a force majeure clause in the original lease.

Such clauses refer to occurrences, such as an act of government, that are beyond the control of the parties. A force majeure clause can be used to suspend the contract for the period of time during which those occurrences prevent the parties fulfilling their obligations under the contract.

This settlement resolves these issues by providing that E&B relinquishes every lease, permit and approval it holds in Hermosa Beach. The settlement restores the city to the position it was in before Hermosa Beach ever encountered Macpherson or E&B. It also eliminates all future litigation with E&B over its oil-drilling proposal.  

Are Hermosa Beach Residents' First Amendment Rights at Risk?

E&B Natural Resources to project opponents:  Tell the Truth

Hermosa Beach, February 6, 2014 - E&B Natural Resources Management, Corp., (E&B) a California-based oil and natural gas development company urges Hermosa Beach residents to be wary of anonymous flyers and falsified-Photoshopped photos about the Maintenance Yard Oil Recovery proposal.

“Recently, a rash of anonymous flyers and Photoshopped pictures were circulated in Hermosa Beach. It is obvious that the publishers of these materials know that they are not telling the truth; otherwise they would put their name on the documents. Instead, they are littering the city with rubbish, both in the physical sense of wasting paper and in the intellectual sense of telling lies,” said Steve Layton, President of E&B.

E&B is proposing an oil production project at the city’s maintenance yard at 6th Street and Valley Drive. This proposal resulted from a settlement the city entered into in 2012 to end a 14-year legal dispute over another proposed oil production project. As part of the settlement, Hermosa Beach voters will decide if the city-wide ban on oil drilling should be modified to permit E&B’s proposed project to move forward.

If this item had already been scheduled for the ballot, these flyers would be illegal according to California law. This deceptive campaign by cowards, who are afraid to put their name on the flyers, is simply a malicious effort to mislead supporters in order to disparage E&B and impact an upcoming election.

EB is concerned that widespread circulation of false information disseminated via flyers could make its way on the Internet, email and other new media.  Unfortunately, existing local and state campaign laws might not be able to stop this troubling campaign of lies. Misinformation campaigns, such as false flyers are simply aimed at creating doubt in the minds of voters.  E&B intends to provide the voters with the facts they need to make sure they are able to cast a meaningful ballot

About the Project:

The Hermosa Beach Resource Recovery Project is a proposal to access previously developed and tapped oil resources offshore of Hermosa Beach from a single, onshore location by utilizing new, environmentally safe and tested directional drilling technology.  A project application has been filed as the next step in the process agreed upon by the City of Hermosa Beach and E&B which now enables the city to begin its public review process, including preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), review by various state and regional agencies on air and water quality, safety, noise, traffic and numerous operational elements, as well as local voter approval. For more project information, see https://ebnr-hermosa.com/eb-community/who-is-eb-natural-resources

About E&B Natural Resources:

E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation is a Bakersfield, California based independent oil and gas company. Employing a balanced approach of mature field revitalization, acquisitions, and exploration, E&B now produces approximately 8,000 boepd from 25+ oil and gas fields located in California, Louisiana, Kansas, Wyoming, and Texas. With over 300 dedicated employees focused on all areas of growth and production, E&B is one of the largest privately owned oil and gas companies in California and is a recognized leader within the exploration and production industry. For more information, visit https://ebnr-hermosa.com/eb-community/who-is-eb-natural-resources  or  www.ebresources.com

Contact:  Eric W. Rose (805) 624-0572 or eric@ekapr.com

NoBPinHB apologizes for making a mistake & falsely accusing E&B of being involved in the Huntington Beach oil rig accident

NoBPinHB would like to apologize for making a mistake & falsely accusing E&B Natural Resources of being involved in the oil derrick accident dated October 14, 2013.  We have retracted the article headlined "E&B Natural Resources Huntington Beach Oil Rig Collapses" and regret any misinformation reported.  We made this error reviewing public legal documents associated with South Coast Oil Corp and E&B.  It was an honest mistake! 

NoBPinHB always strives to ensure that all of the information presented on this web site is accurate.  Should there be any other errors or inaccuracies please contact us directly to ensure immediate correction.  

An oil derrick in Huntington Beach buckled and was tipping over Monday afternoon, prompting evacuations in an apartment building and a home, authorities said. The derrick was threatening homes near 1st Street and Pacific Coast Highway. It was reported about 1:30 p.m., said Huntington Beach Fire Capt. Bob Culhane. The derrick reportedly began buckling during routine maintenance. Officials were using a crane to stabilize the derrick. Additional details were not immediately released. This story is developing. Refresh this page for updates.

10 Examples of E&B Natural Rescources Management Incompetence & Arrogance

1)  Chairman Galesi Responsible for $100B Worldcom Bankruptcy in 2002
2)  CEO Steve Layton Was Responsible for Massive Louisiana Oil Spill in 1998

3)  No Acknowledgement of Pressurizing Plugged Oil Wells Buried Under Homes

4)  Drilling in Hermosa Beach Without Proper Permits or Residential Notifications
5)  Publishing "Half-Truth Stories" In Local Newspapers
6)  No Apology & Was Evasive To City Council & Residents About Drilling Error
7)  Claiming No Real Estate Value Impacts When It Is Already  Happening 
8)  Why Is Oil Drilling An Oil "Recovery" Project?
9)  Horrendous Track Record of Oil Spills In California (see chart below)
10)  Only $1M Liability Insurance Policy For 30 Years of Drilling Is Not Enough
11)  700 Gallon Oil Spill in Huntington Beach in 2011

E&B Natural Resources is Publishing "Half-Truths" in South Bay Newspapers

E&B Natural Resources is publishing "half-truths" in South Bay Newspapers

Former Hermosa Beach City Council Member JR Revitsky has been involved with the oil drilling issue for decades.  Steve Layton is poisoning the well and should have to wait until all the studies are done before publishing his propaganda and half truths.  Poisoning the well is not playing fair!  He asks how do we stop it? 

Is The City of Hermosa Beach Hiding Oil Related Expenses?

Howard Longacre Letter to City Council May 20, 2013 (Item 3) 

(Please excuse my typos below)

3)  Request for clarification as to where/how the City is specifically keep track of the accumulating city expenditures which are not being reimbursed by E&B Natural Resources as related to the likely 2014 oil ballot measure.  

When the settlement agreement between the parties was announced in March of 2012, it was indicated that E&B Natural Resources would be paying essentially all of the costs leading to an election for the purposed of determining if the people of Hermosa Beach would lift the City's ban on oil drilling.  

Later it was announced that city staff time utilized for all additional work related to preparation for an election would be reimbursed by E&B at an amount equal to 10% of the cost of the EIR preparation.  And further it was indicated that E&B would cover the costs of obtaining the EIR, and would pay not more than $50,000 of the actual election costs.  

Since then the Council has approved hiring (at the City expense) consultants to do such things as the City's own "Economic Study", and for a "Community Dialog" process (some or much of which "Community Dialogue" will be oil drilling related according to the RFP for that consultant.) 

There appears to be a significant amount of staff time being expended daily on various aspects of oil drilling.  Thus, if the EIR preparation costs amounted to $800,000 in total, that would mean E&B would only be reimbursing the City $80,000 for all of its cots for consultants, meetings, reports, attorney fees, staff time and on and on for the extraneous activities leading to the oil drilling election.  

The people were essentially told by the Council that the oil litigation was over and that their only costs going forward would be one of the following:  

• If the electorate approved oil drilling at an election then the City's obligation to E&B would be $3.5M, plus the City's own costs ongoing attorney and staff time indefinitely, plus essentially the giving over to E&B for their use of a parcel of City Yard land presently worth $11M or more.  In other words an approximate total city burden of $14.5M plus city expenditures of perhaps $500,000 indefinitely.  

• However, if the electorate maintains the ban on oil drilling they'd simply owe E&B $17.5M and that amount could be paid over a period of years, ie. 30 years at "mutually agreed terms". 

All need to be reminded that the settlement agreement requires an extremely valuable 1.3 acre city parcel, with a present value of $11M or more if properly zoned, to be handed over gratis to E&B, along with $3.5M cash, if the voters approve lifting the ban on oil drilling.  

Further, all need to be reminded that the city and the school district are to be receiving relatively poor share of the hypothetical oil revenue (it should be not less than 50% in total of direct oil and gas sales revenue).  This unfortunate fact indicates that past city councils really did give away the store to Macpherson.  Why they so stupidly did that is past history.  

3-a)  The question here is, how is the city keeping track of its expenses month by month, and where can the public and the Council view and be aware of the ongoing escalating expenses in a manner, ie via a spreadsheet tabulation?  Such tabulation should clearly indicate the ongoing costs being reimbursed by E&B from their deposits fund, along with the ongoing costs being reimbursed by E&B from their deposits fund, along with the ongoing city expenditures not being reimbursed by E&B from their deposits fund.

See Item 4 Brown Act

"E&B Won't Fool Hermosans" - Howard Longacre Letter

The Beach Reporter Letter February 6, 2013

Steve Layton, president of E&B Natural Resources, condescendingly portrayed 12 Hermosa residents who spoke out at a recent meeting as just those “remaining concerned” of E&B’s plan to drill 35 oil wells in city (Jan. 31 Beach Reporter letters).

Those residents and others are again having to give of their own valuable time and expenditures to challenge the insanity of drilling oil wells next to million-dollar homes in tiny Hermosa Beach. Now they’ve received this latest insulting, ignorant, and self-serving Kool-Aid response from Layton.
Why wasn’t Layton personally in attendance at the council/school board meeting when an E&B item was on the agenda? Is The Beach Reporter instead to be printing Layton propaganda responses every time Hermosa residents speak out in a public forum regarding E&B’s less than honorable deal, as made and signed secretly with Hermosa’s City Council?

E&B, with the outrageous secret help of Hermosa Councilman Michael DiVirgilio and Mayor Kit Bobko, and probably a few others behind the woodwork, has slickly weaseled its way into Hermosa Beach, a 21st-century city with stated goals fostering health, being green and carbon-neutral. And now E&B is to be drilling toxic oil wells?

E&B’s pitchman, Layton, has now moved himself into Hermosa Beach to better manipulate its 1.3 square miles of beach, ocean, residents, businesses and home-owners to E&B’s needs. E&B evidently views Hermosa’s electorate as being stupid and easily conned into returning to the 19th-century’s oil-drilling greed and ugliness.

If Layton actually believes Hermosa residents will be fooled into turning backward from a forklift pallet-full of smoke-and-mirrors documents, glossy PR and tempting elixirs to be dumped at their doorsteps and filling their mailboxes, than perhaps he needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Layton’s stuck in a dream and seems to have no clue that what he heard at the Jan. 23 meeting from those residents was merely the tip of the iceberg that E&B has so recklessly navigated into.

Howard Longacre
Beach Reporter Letter

Shame On You Hermosa Beach City Council. 13 Minutes of Shame

"Don’t Be Fooled by E&B" - Michael Keegan Beach Reporter

The Beach Reporter Letter February 13, 2013

E&B oil drilling recently placed full-page ads in this paper touting the benefits of industrializing our coastal areas. Here are some of the more informative “did you know” things about E&B and their massive oil-drilling test project.

Did you know that E&B plans to drill 35 oil well sites on 1.2 acres of land, making Hermosa Beach the home of the most densely drilled oil exploration site in the country?

Did you know that E&B’s Steve Layton and Francesco Galesi negotiated with our city council to carry a mere $1 million of liability insurance over the 30-year life of the project? This policy is to protect the city residents and government from the extraordinarily high risks associated with oil drilling and exploration. These risks include chemical, electrical and mechanical fires, intense gas pressure explosions, blowouts with fire (like the one BP had in the Gulf of Mexico), earthquakes, oil spills, truck crashes, falling power lines, lightning and tsunamis. Any of these events could produce claims in the $200 to $500 million range.

Did you know that E&B was formed primarily through acquisition of the bankrupt Equinox Oil Drilling of Louisiana, whose principal was Steve Layton?

Did you know that Mr. Layton left his creditors unpaid and changed his shirt for a new one with the label E&B on it after a record oil spill in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana? The oil spill covered approximately two square miles of wetlands — that is an area larger than the entire city of Hermosa Beach! E&B has a problem with truthfulness. These people have a well-documented history of bankruptcies and environmental disasters. Are these the type of “partners” the citizens of Hermosa Beach want for the next 30-plus years? Don’t be fooled. E&B has embarked on a very slick campaign to win votes and influence the community. They will say and promise anything for your support, but they will put nothing of relevance in writing.

This is about our health, our community and our environment.

Michael Keegan

Hermosa Beach

Editor’s note: Keegan is a former two-term city councilman and former public works commissioner.

Beach Reporter Letter

Kit Bobko Admits "Taking Heat" Over Oil Settlement

Kit Bobko and Michael Divirgilio finally admitted to the public they are "taking heat" for the settlement that THEY put together themselves without a public forum. A back room deal, without conflicts of interest disclosed and only 1 oil company participated in this process. Watch Kit admit his guilt here.  Why are they acting like victims?  The lack of insincerity is appalling.     

If you want the details of why they are taking heat read why the oil settlement is not legal.  

Capped Oil Wells Beneath Homes & Ocean Can Blowout

Capped Oil Wells That Could Blowout in Redondo Beach & Hermosa Beach

Capped oil wells are a real danger in the South Bay.  Pat Aust the Redondo Beach City Councilman and former firefighter knows first hand of the dangers.  Hermosa Beach has a handful of capped wells and some are out in the Ocean as you can see.  However, Redondo Beach has hundreds of them underneath homes and Manhattan Beach has plugged oil wells at Mira Costa High School.  Here is an explanation to help you understand the potential threat to our community if slant hydraulic pressurized oil drilling is permitted underground.

Oil drilling blowout preventers (BOPs) can be used on the drilling site itself on the surface to mitigate risk.  However, blowout preventers CANNOT be used on capped wells or adjacent wells underground & in the Ocean.   If an adjacent capped oil well were to blow on the ocean seabed it would cause a massive oil spill and mess on up and down the coast.  The ocena seabed well could be capped but would required significant emergency effort (like the BP Spill in the Gulf) and would change the integrity of life in the South Bay as we know it.  If an adjacent capped oil were to blow underground beneath homes.  Lives and homes could be lost because an explosion is highly likely.  Residents in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach who own homes over a capped underground well would never know about the problem until it is too late.  Do we really want to trust the that the integrity of the well was capped properly 30 or 40 years ago?

Crude oil is a flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Because hydrocarbons and gas are lighter than rock or water, they often migrate upward through adjacent rock layers until either reaching the surface or becoming trapped within porous rocks (known as reservoirs) by impermeable rocks above. However, the process is influenced by underground water flows, causing oil to migrate hundreds of kilometres horizontally or even short distances downward before becoming trapped in a reservoir. When hydrocarbons are concentrated in a trap, an oil field forms, from which the liquid can be extracted by drilling and pumping at high pressure. The down hole pressures experienced at the rock structures change depending upon the depth and the characteristic of the source rock.  The deeper the well the more risky the operation.  E&B is proposing deep wells.

Blowouts happen all the time and are daily occurrence in the oil industry.  Don't convince yourself it can't happen here because Steve Layton knows too well from his Blowout in Louisiana which bankrupted Equinox Oil.

Here is another conclusion that supports this argument from the Coastal Commission.

Francesco Galesi, Chairman & Steve Layton, President of E&B Natural Resources

E&B Chairman, Francesco Galesi 

Francesco Galesi is the Owner & Money Behind E&B Natural Resources.  Mr. Galesi was one of the longest-serving directors of WorldCom Inc. He is one of just four board members on the crippled company's audit committee, which signed off on years' worth of cooked books that the company now says misstated $3.9 billion in costs as revenue. Worldcom is the 2nd largest bankruptcy next to Lehman Brothers in U.S. history. Gallesi is responsible for recruiting Scott D. Sullivan, WorldCom's "whiz-kid" chief financial officer, what has become one of America's biggest corporate scandals.  Read this article "The WorldCom debale, Through one Director's Eyes".

Mr. Galesi purchased he Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after the Steve Layton's Equinox Oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resources.  In 1969, Mr. Francesco Galesi purchased and transformed surplus military depots in upstate New York and converted them into major Industrial Parks. The conversion of these properties subsequently led Mr. Galesi into the warehousing and distribution business. His visions led to further corporate growth and diversification with the acquisition and development of additional real estate holdings, including residential and commercial sites, the acquisition and restoration of the historic Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT, and ownership in E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation, an oil and gas company.  It has also been reported that Mr. Galesi and his wife recently rented a home in Hermosa Beach to promote their new investment.  

E&B President, Steve Layton

Steve Layton has served as President of E&B since 2000. During his career, Mr. Layton has been actively involved in building and managing several oil and gas companies including two that were acquired by Francesco Galesi in 2000 along with E&B Natural Resources.  In 1983, Mr. Steve Layton co-founded Alma Energy and Equinox Oil with his father and Mike Galesi. He served as President of Alma and Equinox from 1997 to 2000. In November 2000, Francesco Galesi purchased the Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after a massive Louisiana oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation. Mr. Layton was retained as President of E&B.  Mr. Layton is a member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association and the California Independent Producers Association. Mr. Layton has also served as a Director and as Governor of the Houston Region for the Independent Petroleum Association of America and as President of the National Stripper Well Association. Mr. Layton earned a BS and MBA from the University of Tulsa.  Steve Layton reportedly purchased a home on Monterrey Blvd in Hermosa Beach in the Spring of 2012 to promote his oil interests in town.  

Joyce Fahey - Currently a Manhattan Beach resident, brings to bear more than 30 years of conflict resolution experience as a judge, attorney, elected official and, most recently, as Vice President, Governmental Affairs for Blackstone Oil & Gas, Inc. Judge Fahey transitioned to a neutral practice at ARC after her second term as Mayor of Manhattan Beach, CA.  Judge Fahey was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court in 1991. After her retirement from the Superior Court in 1997, Judge Fahey continued to preside over cases on an as-needed basis and served on the Retired Judges Mediation Panel.

In her position as Mayor of Manhattan Beach, Judge Fahey was directly involved in resolving a wide variety of issues, from litigation over public works projects, construction and environmental impact matters, to negotiating employment contracts for city employees. Recently appointed as a Trustee for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, Judge Fahey has worked with school districts to resolve conflicts and has mediated disputes among neighboring cities. Judge Fahey is a recognized expert in cases involving child sexual abuse. She is also highly skilled in child custody and visitation matters. Judge Fahey is fluent in Spanish and Italian.

South Bay Residents Possibly on E&B's Payroll?
Cheryl Cross - PR C.A. Cross & Associates

An Ex-Hermosa Beach Fire Chief retired in 2007
Tiffany Rau - Consultant 

Steve Layton's Oil Spill in 1998 as CEO of Equinox Oil

Oil Blowout Covered 2 Square Miles

In 1983, Mr. Steve Layton co-founded Alma Energy and Equinox Oil with his father and Mike Galesi. He served as President of Alma and Equinox from 1997 to 2000. In November 2000, Francesco Galesi purchased the Alma and Equinox assets out of bankruptcy after an Equinox oil spill and formed E&B Natural Resource Management Corporation. Mr. Layton was retained as President of E&B.

Steve Layton was CEO of Equinox Oil when on September 22, 1998, oil blowout occurred from a well owned by Equinox into the waters of Lake Grande Ecaille, in Plaquemines Parish, coastal Louisiana. A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed.  This management failure should not be ignored by Hermosa Beach residents because it is not too dissimilar to lack of management oversight in the BP Gulf Oil Spill.   

The exact volume of oil discharged is unknown, but estimates range from less than 450 bbl to 1,500 bbl.  The oil was discharged in a jet that shot straight up approximately 200-300 feet into the air along with natural gas, produced water, and sand.  The blowout continued for approximately 11 hours, at which point the discharge was stopped.  Several thousand acres of surface water in Lake Grande Ecaille, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, were covered by slicks or sheens from the incident, and approximately 1,233 acres (2 square miles) of wetlands (Hermosa Beach is 1.3 square miles) were exposed to oil.  Soon after the massive Hurricane Georges passed near the area four days later on September 26, 1998, causing the response efforts to be suspended effectively letting the company off the "cleanup hook".  However, 33.8 discount acre years of marsh was lost.  Read about the environmental damage from Steve Layton's oil spill.

Mr. Steve Layton received a warning letter on August 13, 1997 from the Department of Public of Health & Human Services of safety violations.  Was this related to the lack of management oversight?

Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Equinox Oil Company Den norske Bank, ASA, individually and as agent for BNP Paribas and Comerica Bank - Texas (the Bank Group) loaned over $106 million to Equinox and Alma.  

Equinox Oil Company Oil Spill Damage Assessment, Restoration Plan & Environmental Assessment Prepared by:
Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office/Office of the Governor
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
United States Fish and Wildlife Service

LIST OF PREPARERS
Chris Piehler Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
John de Mond Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
Derek Hamilton Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Dick Stanek  Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Heather Finley Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Jim Hanifen Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Terry Romaire  Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Gina Muhs Saizan Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Office of the Governor
Chuck Armbruster Louisiana Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, Office of the Governor
Cheryl Brodnax National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Linda Burlington National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
John Iliff National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
John Kern National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Tony Penn National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Christy Poulos National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Buddy Goatcher United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Warren Lorentz United States Fish and Wildlife Service