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<br />..I.L.' L' <br /> <br />'..-..':'~:..._;-':"'........_._._.'~....,._. <br /> <br />0023:;5 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />B. RECOVERY OF ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES <br /> <br />The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not developed recovery plans for <br />many of the plants and animals listed as endangered species. It also <br />does not have a uniform system for tracking recovery plan development or <br />implementation of recovery plan tasks. The Endangered Species Act <br />requires the Department of the Interior to develop a recovery plan for <br />all officially listed endangered and threatened species which can benefit <br />from these plans. Although the Service effectively provided viability <br />and protection to about 550 listed plant and animal species. it has yet <br />to develop many required recovery plans or consider any of these species <br />fully recovered on the basis of the systematic completion of a recovery <br />plan. We believe that a lack of adequate resources allocated for <br />recovery, insufficient priotity given to recovery planning in some <br />regions, and the lack of effective management oversight are the causes <br />for the lack of recovery progress on these endangeted species. We <br />concluded that because of insufficient resources to accomplish recovery <br />of known endangered species, the Service has diluted its overall effort <br />so that few species have received sufficient attention to allow their <br />full recoverability. The estimate to recover all presently known <br />endangered species could be as high as $4.6 billion verses current annual <br />resources available for this task of $8.4 million. <br /> <br />Potential costs to recover species are substantial. The cost to recover <br />listed species is difficult to estimate because of changing ecological <br />and development variables. However, a Service fiscal year 1985 survey of <br />120 species then listed indicated that it would take over 10 years and <br />cost between $1 million and $2 million (including habitat protection) to <br />recover a single species. Employing the high-range estimate of <br />$2 million, it would cost approximately $770 million to recover 70 <br />percent of the approximate 550 currently listed species, assuming that <br />the Service has made sufficient progress to effectively recover 30 <br />percent of currently listed species. Again, using the Service's <br />high-range estimate of $2 million per species. it would cost another <br />$1.2 billion to recover the 601 Category 1 candidate species currently <br />meriting listing. Also, an additional $2.6 billion would be needed to <br />recover the minimum of 1,300 species estimated to eventually merit <br />listing from among the current Category 2 candidate species. This total <br />potential recovery cOst of $4.6 billion is, in our opinion. reasonably <br />indicative of the significant future costs of recovery for species <br />currently known or expected to warrant protection. <br /> <br />, <br />i <br />i <br />1 <br /> <br />Develooment of Recoverv Plans <br /> <br />The Service does not maintain uniform control listings showing the status <br />of recovery plan development for all species officially listed as <br />endangered or threatened. At Region 1, for example, information was <br />available in report format to show the number of recovery plans developed <br />and the status of plans currently being developed, However, in reviewing <br />this information, we could not determine the total number of specific <br />Regional species actually covered by these plans or the current status of <br />recovery plan development for all listed species under the Region's <br />responsibility. Based on information provided by the Regional recovery <br />planning coordinator. as of October 6, 1989. the Region was responsible <br /> <br />11 <br />