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

Endangered and
Threatened Species
Recovery Program
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
On October 7, 1988, President
Reagan signed into law a bill amend-
ing the Endangered Species Act (Act)
and authorizing increased appropria-
tions to implement the Act through
fiscal year 1992 (Public Law 100-
478). One of the major amendments
made more specific the general
requirement that the Secretaries of
the Interior and Commerce develop
and implement recovery plans.
The amendment further directs the
Secretary to report every two years
on the status of efforts to develop
and implement recovery plans for
all listed species and on the status
of all species for which recovery
plans have been developed.
This report is the first Report to
Congress on the status of the
Recovery Program for federally listed
endangered and threatened species
under the Secretary of the Interior's
jurisdiction.
Recovery
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 Fish and Wildlife
Service's (Service) recovery program
is to: (1) identify those ecosystems
and organisms that face the highest
degree of threat, (2) determine tasks
necessary to reduce or eliminate the
threats, and (3) apply the resources
available to the highest priority recov-
ery tasks. The ultimate goal is to re-
store listed species to a point where
they are viable self-sustaining com-
ponents of their ecosystem, 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
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