Achieving Recovery and Preventing Extinction
Federal agencies play a key role in the recovery of threatened and endangered species. It is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s responsibility, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to conserve and recover our nation’s rarest plant and animal species and their habitats. Recovery is the ultimate goal of the ESA.
Recovery is a process through which wildlife conservation and management actions reverse the decline of threatened and endangered species and reduce the threats to their survival to the point where protections under the ESA are no longer needed. A species is recovered once it is secure in its environment and becomes a thriving and self-sustaining member of the ecosystem.
• Recovery Champions (Our Region 8 Champions plus others)
• Endangered Species Bulletin
• Field Notes
Recovery plans are non-regulatory documents that outline a strategy for a species’ recovery.
Recovery plans serve as tools to guide in the conservation and survival of threatened and endangered species and their habitats. In other words, they serve as roadmaps for a species’ recovery and provide site-specific management actions leading up to the recovery of the species so that protections of the ESA are no longer necessary. They may be prepared by Service biologists, public and private agencies and institutions, and other qualified species experts.
Once a draft plan is developed, we post a notice in the Federal Register and request public comment. When a plan finalized is approved, we work with our partners to implement actions identified in the recovery plan. Recovery plans may be found on the Service’s Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS).
Completed recovery plans can be found through the links below:
List of Recovery Plans, sorted by species
List of Recovery Plans, sorted by date
Recovery Outlines may be prepared to help provide interim guidance regarding conservation efforts until a draft recovery plan is completed. Recovery outlines are intended primarily for internal use by the Service. These outlines typically summarize the state of our knowledge of a species, identify high priority recovery actions that may be undertaken immediately, and lay out the strategy and timing for the development of a draft recovery plan.
The conservation of species and their habitats is a Service-wide commitment. It is also a commitment among the various partners whose efforts we depend on for the benefit of our trust fish and wildlife resources.