Recovery Planning

What is a Recovery

Plan?

Recovery is the process by which listed species and their ecosystems are

restored and their future safeguarded to the point that protections under the

Endangered Species Act (ESA) are no longer needed. A variety of actions

are necessary to achieve the goal of recovery, from ecological restoration of

habitat to the development of conservation agreements with stakeholders.

However, without a plan to organize and coordinate the many possible

recovery actions, the effort(s) may be misguided. It is important to note that

although the focus of parts of the ESA is on the individual species, the

purpose of the ESA is to conserve the ecosystems upon which listed species

depend.

A recovery plan is the road map to recovery:

--It delineates those aspects of the species’ biology, life history, and

threats that are pertinent to its endangerment and recovery.

--It outlines and justifies a recovery strategy.

--It identifies site-specific management actions necessary to support

recovery of thespecies.

--It identifies objective, measurable goals and criteria that, when met,

would result in a determination that the species be removed from the List of

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

--It estimates the time frame required for accomplishing recovery.

--It estimates the cost of complete recovery of the species.

What does a

Recovery Plan

include?

Identification of, and strategies for dealing with, the factors that lead to listing

or continue to threaten the species should be addressed in the recovery plan.

Merely returning a species to widespread abundance does not ensure its longterm sustainability; it is only by alleviating threats that lasting recovery can be

possible. The reasons for a species’ decline often comprise an interrelated

suite of factors, rather than a linear cause-and-effect of a single factor. A

recovery plan must identify, analyze, and determine the relationships among

threats so that a recovery strategy can be designed that effectively reduces

these threats. A recovery plan must also outline the characteristics of a

population that make it vulnerable to, and that allow it to recover from,

environment, demographic, and human-caused threats.

Although most of the actions included in the recovery plan should be those

that are expected to be carried out in the near future, all tasks necessary to

achieve full recovery of the species should be identified. Limiting actions to

those that are expected to be carried out in the near future will sacrifice longterm planning for short-term goals and will not give an accurate assessment

of what is necessary to achieve the stated recovery objective. All actions

are assigned numerical priorities according to the relative contribution they

may make to the species’ recovery.
What is a Recovery

Team?

Under the Federal Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service may procure the services of appropriate public and private agencies

and institutions, and other qualified persons in developing recovery plans.

Recovery teams are often used to write recovery plans, especially when

various parties have expertise or interest in the species or the factors that

affect it. Recovery teams can bring together the diversity of expertise most

appropriate to understanding a particular species’ endangerment and devising

an effective program for its recovery.

Why have a

Recovery Team?

Recovery teams can provide stakeholders with the opportunity to participate

in the planning and implementation of actions necessary to sustain and

recover the listed species; ensure that a diversity of options for the recovery

strategy are considered; and help to develop plans that are practical and

feasible.

What are the limits

of a Recovery

Team’s role?

Recovery teams are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Recovery teams are convened at the discretion, and work under the

authorization, of the Service’s Regional Director. A recovery team provides

biological advice to the Regional Director and serves only in an advisory

capacity to the Service, which must balance sound science with management

considerations. The Regional Director, not the recovery team, exercises the

Service’s authority and responsibility with respect to all recovery actions.

Lines of communication between the team and the Service are direct and will

be thoroughly reviewed with the team during the initial stages of recovery

planning.

How will the public

be involved?

Section 4(f) of the Endangered Species Act requires public review of all new

or revised recovery plans prior to approval. Our intent is to inform the public,

promote public involvement in the recovery planning process, and increase the

information available to all involved Federal agencies. We will issue a press

release to the appropriate newspapers and publish a notice in the Federal

Register notifying the public of the availability of a draft recovery plan and

opening a formal public comment period. We will, however, accept written

comments and information at any time during recovery plan preparation.

Need More

Information?

For additional information, contact:

Mail: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1208-B Main Street

Daphne, AL 36526

Phone: (251) 441-5181

Web: http://www.fws.gov/daphne