Species recovery

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State environmental policy
U.S. environmental policy
Endangered species policy
State endangered species
Federal land policy
Environmental terms

Species recovery is the elimination of or reduction in threats to an animal or plant species' survival as required under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Once a species has recovered, it is removed from the federal list of endangered species.^[1][2][3]

Background

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "The goal of the Endangered Species Act is the recovery of listed species to levels where protection under the Act is no longer necessary." Recovery is the process of stopping the decline of an endangered or threatened species by removing or reducing threats. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service coordinates with states and local governments to implement programs aimed at preventing the extinction of species. A species is delisted when threats to its survival have been reduced or eliminated.^[2]

Recovery program

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's species recovery program involves other federal agencies, states, and local governments preparing and implementing species-specific recovery programs. A federal recovery plan is prepared for newly listed endangered or threatened species unless the government determines a plan is unnecessary, which occurs in cases where a recovery plan would not promote a species' conservation. Federal recovery plans are not legally binding and provide guidelines for the government to improve a species' recovery. As of August 2016, 1,157 species—73 percent of U.S.-listed species—had active recovery plans.^[2][4]

Three subspecies of island fox were bred in captivity as part of the federal recovery program. After 12 years, the species were delisted in August 2016.

In the 1990s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced the Safe Harbor program as a way to provide incentives for private landowners to recover listed species. A safe harbor agreement permits private landowners to implement voluntary conservation measures for listed species. In return, landowners do not face additional regulations or restrictions on their private property. One example of a safe harbor agreement involved private landowners conducting controlled burnings to reduce undergrowth and installing nest boxes for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.^[2]

Some listed species are put into captive breeding recovery programs. After a certain length of time, species bred in captivity are released into the wild. Fish and Wildlife Service officials also remove potential threats to the species' survival in the wild before a species' members are released. One example is the California island fox; three subspecies of the fox were delisted in August 2016. In 2000, two groups of 15 foxes each inhabited the San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands while 55 foxes inhabited Santa Cruz Island. As of August 2016, the fox population was estimated at 700 foxes on the San Miguel Island and 2,100 foxes on the Santa Cruz Island. The species’ recovery was attributed to the relocation of predators and the federal captive breeding program. Federal officials estimated that the rearing of foxes in captivity cost approximately $20 million over the 12-year period. Wildlife officials killed roughly thousands of pigs to force golden eagles—the main predator of the island foxes—to forage in other areas, an action that aided the foxes’ recovery according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[5]

Recovered species

See also: Delisting a species

As of August 2016, 66 species were delisted nationally. Of those species, 37 were delisted due to recovery, 19 species were listed in error (for scientific reasons or because new information about a species was discovered), and 10 species went extinct. The table below shows the names of the 37 recovered species as of August 2016.^[6]

See also

• 

  Success rate of the ESA

• 

  Glossary of ESA terms

• 

  Endangered species policy in the U.S.

• 

  Delisting a species

Footnotes

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