Duck plague, also known as duck virus enteritis (DVE) is a highly contagious, extremely deadly epizootic virus with a potential for devastating continental waterfowl resources to mere vestiges of today's population levels. In the first known/n major outbreak among wild waterfowl in the United States, DVE destroyed 40 percent of a 100,000 bird flock of ducks and geese centered in and around Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota, during the winter of 1972-73. Because the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife has the ultimate responsibility for discharging this Nation's commitments to the welfare and management of migratory wildlife resources, and especially since the first major incidence of DVE occurred on a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, this Bureau must take the lead in promulgating policies and plans to be supported by aggressive, positive actions for dealing with this menacing disease and its attendant problems. The Lake Andes incident caught us unaware and ill-prepared to deal with an unprecedented situation. Scientific history will record that our Bureau acted expediently and adequately in the face of extreme adversity, especially since there was essentially no experience on which to base our actions. Now that Lake Andes is behind us—although the incident raised more questions than it provided answers—we at least have the benefit of some experience, and we do know some of the questions to be addressed. Accordingly, the scientific and social communities from this point forward will be far less amiable to any actions we undertake if they are not commensurate with the scope of the problem. It is the responsibility of each employee to shoulder his share of the Bureau's commitment to this challenging and far-reaching endeavor.