7619

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7619
• Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Title: Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Program
• USFW Year: 1990.
• USFW - Doc Type: Report to Congress.
• Copyright Material: NO

ever, deteriorating water quality and
impacts from introduced fishes elimi-
nated the Gila trout from most of its
former range. When it was listed as
endangered in 1967, it survived in
only five small New Mexico streams.
The habitat of the five populations is
secure and biologists have restored
seven other populations on protected
land. Habitat conservation played a
vital role in the recovery. Ten of the
eleven streams that contain popula-
tions of this species are in designated
wilderness areas within Gila National
Forest, New Mexico and Prescott
National Forest, Arizona. The species
is also benefiting from control of
non-native trouts. Recently, though, a
serious fire occurred in the area. The
fire was followed by record rainfall a
month later washing large amounts of
ash into two of the main streams and
destroying two populations. As a re-
sult of this setback, the status of the
species is being reevaluated.
A primary goal in recovery is to stabi-
lize populations and begin to reverse
the downward trend. A major com-
mitment of time and resources is
needed to allow that to happen.
Downlisting or reclassification of
species has occurred (e.g., the Arctic
peregrine falcon, the cutthroat trouts,
Greenback, Lahontan and Paiute, and
the Utah prairie dog), indicating
strides towards recovery through im-
plementation of recovery plan tasks
and intensive management activities.
Some species that are candidates for
listing receive assistance to prevent
them from declining to a point to
warrant listing, such as the slab-side
pearly mussel (Lexintonia dolabel-
loides) and the rough rabbit's foot
pearly mussel (Quadrula cylindrica
strigillata), which have been reintro-
duced into their historical habitat in
the Duck River in south-central
Tennessee, and the Bruneau Hot
Springs snail in southwestern Idaho.
Recovery Policy
Recovery is the process by which the
decline of an endangered or threat-
ened species is arrested or reversed,
and threats to its survival are neutral-
ized, so that its long-term survival in
nature can be ensured. The goal of
this process is the maintenance of se-
cure, self-sustaining wild populations
of species with the minimum neces-
sary investment of resources.
The goal of the Service's recovery
program is to: (1) identify those
ecosystems and organisms that face
the highest degree of threat, (2) deter-
mine tasks necessary to reduce or
eliminate the threats, and (3) apply
the resources available to the highest
priority recovery tasks. The ultimate
goal is to restore listed species to a
point where they are viable self-sus-
taining components of their ecosys-
tem, so as to allow "delisting."
The first step in the recovery process
is the development of species-specific
recovery goals and the identification
and ranking of species information
and management needs in terms of
their relative importance and timing
for recovery. This information is typi-
cally set forth in a recovery plan. A
recovery plan delineates, justifies,
and schedules the research and man-
agement actions necessary to support
recovery of a species, including those
that, if successfully undertaken, are
likely to permit reclassification or
delisting of the species. Recovery
plans are prepared to help organize
species information and management
needs. These plans are comprehen-
sive documents that identify all
known recovery actions for a species
and associated costs by all cooperat-
ing agencies. They serve as a
blueprint for private, Federal, and
State interagency cooperation in the
implementation of recovery actions.
A recovery plan is a document that
sets forth the information base and
management needs to allow the
species a chance at recovery so that
protection under the Endangered
Species Act may no longer be
required. Ecosystem-based recovery
plans have been prepared to address
multiple listed species recovery needs
in a single ecosystem. Examples in-
clude the Ash Meadows Recovery
Plan (5 animals and 7 plants), the
Maui-Molokai Forest Birds Plan (7
species), and the California Channel
Island Species Plan (4 plants and 3
animals).
The recovery planning process pro-
vides for public participation to en-
hance coordination and acceptance,
which are vital to species' survival
and eventual recovery. The Service
recognizes the need to develop recov-
ery plans for listed species and has
increased efforts in this area, particu-
larly by increasing the number of
multi-species recovery plans, coordi-
nating plan preparation, and identify-
ing plans where other conservation
agencies can participate in order to
accelerate critical recovery task im-
plementation. Not all species, how-
ever, will have recovery plans
associated with their management.
Some listed species, such as, the
Little Kern golden trout, already have
recovery objectives outlined in State
management plans that, in effect,
double as a recovery plan. The
Service uses the plans in lieu of ac-
tual recovery plans. Other species,
such as Bachman's warbler and
Scioto madtom, are believed to be
extinct; therefore, until
representatives of these species are
found in the wild, recovery plan
preparation is curtailed.
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