January 1998
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Endangered Species
Recovery Program
Working with partners, the U. S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (FWS) uses a
range of conservation tools to “recover”
endangered and threatened species—to
ensure that they are able to survive
on their own in the wild. These tools
include restoring and acquiring habitat,
removing invasive species, conducting
surveys, monitoring individual
populations, and breeding species in
captivity to release them into their
historic range.
Collaborative efforts are critical to
recovery success. Our partners include
Federal, State, and local agencies,
Tribal governments, conservation
organizations, the business community,
landowners, and other concerned
citizens.
As a result of these efforts, the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) has
been credited with saving species
such as the California condor, black-footed
ferret, peregrine falcon, and our
Nation’s symbol, the bald eagle, from
extinction.
What do we mean by recovery?
Recovery is the process that stops the
decline of an endangered or threatened
species by removing or reducing
threats. Recovery ensures the long-term
survival of the species in the wild.
At that point, the species is recovered,
and protection of the ESA is no longer
necessary.
How does the Recovery Program
work?
The FWS Recovery Program staff
works with our partners at other
agencies, States and local governments,
and FWS programs to implement
actions that help prevent the extinction
of species, and prepares, coordinates,
and implements recovery plans.
Recovery plans provide a road map
with detailed site-specific management
actions for private, Federal, and State
cooperation in conserving listed species
and their ecosystems. A recovery plan
is a non-regulatory document, but it
provides guidance on how best to help
listed species achieve recovery.
How is species recovery achieved?
Recovering listed species cannot be
accomplished solely on our national
wildlife refuges, national forests,
national parks, and other Federal lands
because many species occur primarily
or solely on private land. Achieving
recovery for most species typically
requires cooperative conservation with
private landowners.
To stabilize, recover, and ultimately
delist endangered and threatened
species, the FWS engages a range of
stakeholders.
Flexible management of
threatened species
Section 4(d) of the ESA enables us to
establish special regulations specifically
for threatened species.
These “4(d)” or “special rules” allow us
to customize the protections of the ESA
to match the conservation needs of the
species.
For example, the FWS developed a
special rule to benefit the Apache trout,
a species that anglers may catch while
attempting to catch other fish. To
accommodate the accidental capture,
the rule allows Apache trout to be
caught as long as they are returned to
the water. Revenue generated from
fishing in waters that the trout inhabits
helps conserve habitat.
Safe Harbor Agreements for
private landowners
The FWS provides opportunities for
private landowners to participate in
conserving and recovering imperiled
species by offering incentives. One
example is the Safe Harbor program,
available to non-Federal landowners
who voluntarily implement conservation
measures for listed species. Safe
Harbor Agreements allow landowners
to do good things for endangered and
threatened species without concern
about additional restrictions or
regulations.
In the Southeast, landowners who
participate in Safe Harbor Agreements
for red-cockaded woodpeckers have
been removing hardwoods in longleaf
Nelson’s checkermallow is a threatened species that has been reintroduced to the Baskett Slough
National Wildlife Refuge pictured here.
Chris Seal / USFWS
to manage their lands without concern
about breaking the law by inadvertently
harming a ferret.
Through the captive-breeding program
and the creation of 19 new populations,
the number of black-footed ferrets
has increased from only 18 ferrets in a
captive-breeding program to more than
1000 animals in the wild.
Recovery efforts occur
throughout the FWS
FWS programs are leading recovery
efforts for species. For example,
many of our national fish hatcheries
are raising endangered or threatened
species such as Higgins’ eye pearly
mussels at the Genoa National Fish
Hatchery in Wisconsin. Many national
wildlife refuges such as Florida’s Hobe
Sound were established to protect listed
species such as green sea turtles and
loggerhead turtles but also benefit a
range of bird and plant species. The
Partners for Fish and Wildlife program
offers technical and financial assistance
to private landowners to voluntarily
restore wetlands and other habitat.
The Partners program emphasizes the
reestablishment of native vegetation and
ecological communities for the benefit
of fish and wildlife in concert with the
needs and desires of private landowners.
Our Law Enforcement program focuses
on potentially devastating threats to
wildlife by investigating wildlife crimes,
regulating wildlife trade, helping us
understand and obey wildlife protection
laws, and working in partnership
with international, State, and Tribal
counterparts.
Who else helps to recover species?
Recovery cannot be completed without
partners from all areas of land and
species management. We rely on
private landowners, Federal agencies,
pine stands, conducting controlled
burns to remove undergrowth, and
installing nest boxes. These activities
help address the loss of habitat and
promote breeding success since the
endangered birds would otherwise need
years to excavate nesting cavities in
living longleaf pine trees. Safe Harbor
Agreements assure landowners that
the FWS will not require them to do
more for the woodpeckers, including
those attracted to the improved habitat,
thereby alleviating concern about future
land use restrictions under the ESA.
Grants to States, Territories, and
private landowners
The FWS also annually offers millions of
dollars in grants for endangered species
conservation and recovery. Cooperative
Endangered Species Conservation
Fund grants are offered to States and
Territories for an array of projects to
benefit species that are listed, proposed,
or candidates for listing.
In turn, these funds may be awarded
to private landowners and groups for
conservation projects. For more on our
grants programs, visit http://www.fws.
gov/endangered/grants/.
Reintroducing species into their
historic range
Re-establishing a threatened or
endangered species in its former range
is often necessary so that there are
enough populations to sustain recovery.
To relieve concern that reintroductions
may result in restrictions on the use of
private, tribal, or public land, Congress
added the provision for experimental
populations under section 10(j) of the
ESA.
An experimental population is a group
of reintroduced plants or animals that
is geographically isolated from other
populations of the species and is not
considered essential to the survival of
the species as a whole. Experimental
populations are afforded additional
regulatory flexibility regarding
management of the species.
For example, the 10(j) rules for black-footed
ferrets makes certain incidental
harm to ferrets legal when it happens
as a result of otherwise lawful activities
including traditional management or
land use.
This flexibility has allowed FWS
biologists to introduce ferrets into a
number of sites on public and private
lands from Mexico to Canada. With
the special allowances afforded under
the 10(j) rule, landowners can continue
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Program
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 420
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-2171
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
what-we-do/recovery-overview.html
June 2011
state and local governments, Tribes, and
non-profit organizations to complete our
recovery tasks.
We work with land managers to create
management plans that accomplish
their objectives while benefiting listed
plants and animals. We engage private
landowners through our Partners for
Fish and Wildlife and Grant programs.
Our state counterparts are pivotal
in sharing location information and
lessons learned. Captive breeding is
often completed with the help of zoos or
plant materials centers. And we rely on
members of the academic community to
share valuable new information that aids
in our conservation of listed species.
The recovery of each listed species
is a collaborative effort that involves
numerous partners.
What are some examples of
recovery efforts?
The Aleutian Canada goose has
benefited from both habitat restoration
and reintroduction into formerly
occupied habitat. Translocating young
bald eagles into formerly occupied
habitat was one factor in recovering the
species to the point of delisting. Captive
propagation has increased the numbers
of whooping cranes and red wolves.
Land acquisition and cooperation among
the FWS and the States have protected
important habitats for Houston toads
and other amphibians.
Do recovery programs work?
Yes, Since 1969, 99 percent of listed
species have been prevented from
going extinct through the efforts of the
FWS Recovery program and our many
partners. But the task of recovery
can be very challenging for many
species. We are attempting to halt or
reverse declines that in some instances
have been more than 200 years in the
making. Even in the face of a substantial
increase in the number of species listed
during the past decade, recovery efforts
have allowed rare species to survive
and, in some cases, thrive.
Paul Marinari / USFWS
The black-footed ferret has been bred in
captivity and reintroduced into its natural
habitat.
