Recovery | Overview
Photo credit: George Gentry/USFWS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service implements the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by working with others to conserve the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend, and by developing and maintaining conservation programs for these species to improve their status to the point that protection under the ESA is no longer necessary. This process is called recovery.
A listed species begins the process of recovery as soon as it is listed. Recovering a species can be challenging and time consuming. In some cases, we are undertaking the challenges associated with population declines of species more than 200 years in the making. Achieving recovery for threatened and endangered species requires cooperative conservation efforts and is most successful when communities come together and are committed to solving these challenges and creating extraordinary results. We collaborate with federal, state, and local agencies; tribal governments; conservation organizations; institutions of higher education; the business community; landowners; and other concerned citizens. Collaborative efforts with our many partners have resulted in saving numerous species, such as the American alligator, Louisiana black bear, Kirtland's warbler, peregrine falcon, Oregon chub, and our nation's symbol, the bald eagle, from extinction.
For all the details about recovery, download the Recovery fact sheet. [200KB]
Access the full library of documents related to Recovery.
Read the Service's policies regarding recovery.
Learn about our national workplans for developing recovery plans and completing five-year reviews.
Learn about our national workplan for addressing downlisting and delisting recommendations.
Recovery Plans
In order to promote and support the conservation and survival of endangered species and threatened species, and provide a transparent path to achieving recovery, we and our partners develop and implement recovery plans. Recovery plans are unique to each species, and serve as central organizing tools that provide important guidance on methods of minimizing threats to listed species, such as restoring and acquiring habitat, removing introduced predators or invasive species, conducting surveys, monitoring individual populations, and breeding species in captivity and releasing them into their historical range. Recovery plans identify measurable and objective criteria against which progress toward recovery of a species can be tracked over time. Recovery plans are guidance and not regulatory documents, and no agency or entity is required by the ESA to implement actions in a recovery plan.
Learn more about recovery planning and implementation [308KB].
Search the endangered species database for available recovery plans.
Five-year Reviews
In order to assess ongoing conservation efforts and ensure that species protectionare appropriately classified under the ESA, we conduct periodic status reviews of each listed species at least once every five years. A five-year review evaluates available information to determine whether a species status has changed since the time of its listing or its last status review and assess its progress toward recovery. These reviews assist us and our partners in identifying conservation needs and better targeting and prioritizing conservation efforts for federally listed species.
Upon completion of a five-year review, we can make four possible recommendations:
- reclassify the species from threatened to endangered (uplist),
- reclassify the species from endangered to threatened (downlist),
- remove the species from the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (delist), or
- maintain the species' current classification.
Learn more about five-year reviews. [715KB]
Learn more about the process used in determining a species' status under the ESA.
A five-year review does not automatically change a species' protections or status, it only presents recommendations. Any change to a species' status requires a separate rulemaking process that includes public review and comment, as defined in the ESA. We engage in rulemaking based on the results of five-year reviews as our priorities dictate and our resources allow.
Species
What We Do
For Landowners
- Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs)
- Safe Harbor Agreements
- Candidate Conservation Agreements
- Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances
- Recovery Credits and Tax Deductions
- Conservation Banking
- Conservation Plans Database
- Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC)
- Recovery Online Activity Reporting System (ROAR)
Permits
Grants
News
- News Stories
- Featured Species
- Recovery Success Stories
- Endangered Species Bulletin
- Partnership Stories