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Send comments on our web site or general questions to northflorida@fws.gov If you need special assistance please contact the Public Affairs Officer at chuck_underwood@fws.gov |
Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle Recovery Team Stakeholder Meeting April 8-9, 2003 Silver Spring, Maryland (NOAA Headquarters - Science Center) RECOVERY PLANNING OVERVIEW Presented by Sandy MacPherson The ultimate goal of the Endangered Species Act is the recovery of endangered and threatened species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Recovery is the process by which the decline of a species is halted or reversed, and the threats impacting it are removed or reduced to such an extent that its survival in the wild can be ensured. Therefore, the goal of recovery is to restore listed species and their ecosystems and to safeguard their future so they can be removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. A variety of actions are necessary to achieve the goal of recovery, from restoration of habitat to the development of conservation agreements with stakeholders. However, without a plan to organize and coordinate the many possible recovery actions, the effort may be misguided.For this reason, recovery plans fulfill several primary, as well as secondary, roles. They:
Specifically, recovery plans structure and organize the recovery effort by laying out a strategy for reaching recovery goals, summarizing the species biology and threats, identifying a series of actions necessary to recover the species, and clarifying the species’ biological needs and constraints. Recovery plans are guidance documents that serve as blueprints for private and Federal, State, and local government cooperation in the conservation of species and their habitats. They must include three components, which include a description of the site-specific recovery actions that need to be undertaken; objective, measurable criteria for delisting, and estimates of the time and cost for carrying out each of the identified recovery actions. For newly listed species, the Services are required to complete a recovery plan within 30 months of listing. For species with existing recovery plans, like the loggerhead, it is recommended that we periodically evaluate whether the existing plan needs to be revised or updated. Since approval of the first revised plan for the loggerhead in 1991, significant research has been accomplished and important conservation and recovery activities have been undertaken. As a result, we have a greater knowledge of the species and its status. These advances in our understanding of the loggerhead make a second revision of the Atlantic loggerhead recovery plan necessary. Recovery plans include three key sections or parts. Part 1 provides background information on the biology of the species. The purpose of the background section of a recovery plan is to acquaint the reader with the species, describe the reasons the species was listed, identify the species’ biological needs and constraints, and highlight all relevant research and management efforts that have been accomplished or are ongoing. Part 2 gets to the heart of the plan and outlines the recovery strategy, criteria for delisting, and specific recovery actions necessary to recover the species. The recovery strategy presents and justifies the recommended recovery program for the species. It provides a preamble to the Recovery Goals, Objectives, and Criteria that immediately follow it, and allows the reader, in a few short paragraphs, to grasp the species’ current situation and the logic of the recommended approach to its recovery. The Recovery Goal is almost always delisting of the species. However, if a species is listed as endangered, an interim goal of reclassification to threatened, is also appropriate. Goals are then subdivided into Recovery Objectives that collectively describe the conditions for achieving the goal of delisting. An example of a Recovery Objective might be to protect, identify, evaluate, and monitor loggerhead nesting beach habitat. The Recovery Criteria are the objective and measurable measures by which we identify whether the Recovery Objectives have been met. An example of a Recovery Criterion might be to ensure that an identified percentage of all available nesting beaches are protected in public ownership and distributed throughout the entire nesting range. Determining Recovery Criteria is a statutory requirement of the Endangered Species Act. The Act states that each recovery plan shall incorporate, to the maximum extent practicable, "objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would result in a determination… that the species be removed from the list." Recovery Criteria can also be viewed as targets, or values, by which progress toward achievement of Recovery Objectives can be measured. Recovery Criteria may include population numbers and sizes, management or elimination of threats by specific mechanisms, specific habitat conditions, and so on. And it is acceptable to identify confidence limits or other means to account for uncertainty in predictions and measurements. Evaluating a species for potential delisting requires an analysis of the five factors considered in the listing package for the species. As a result, there is a need to frame Recovery Criteria in terms of both population parameters and in terms of the five listing factors. By doing this, the recovery program for a species is more likely to ensure that the underlying causes of a species decline have been addressed and mitigated prior to considering a species for delisting. A delisting analysis requires relevant arguments addressing all factors referred to in the listing package for the species. Building Recovery Criteria in this way makes delisting and reclassification more straightforward and defensible. In some cases, an important option in developing Recovery Objectives and Criteria involves identifying whether the listed species comprises multiple Recovery Units. A Recovery Unit is a special form of management unit. Establishment of Recovery Units can be a useful recovery tool, especially for species occurring across wide ranges with multiple populations like the loggerhead. Part 2 of the recovery plan is where the narrative outline of recovery actions can be found. In general, recovery actions fall within certain familiar categories, such as habitat conservation and restoration, research, surveys and monitoring, population management such as predator control, and compliance with regulatory actions that are identified as being needed. The recovery narrative outline section of Part 2 describes all actions necessary to achieve full recovery of the species. Recovery actions should be concise and action oriented. Recovery actions should be broken down into discrete actions that can be funded, permitted, or carried out independently. Part 3 is the Implementation Schedule, which lists the recovery actions identified in Part 2 and assigns priorities to each of them. It also identifies estimated costs for each recovery action, as well as identifies who might be responsible for accomplishing each action. The Implementation Schedule satisfies the Endangered Species Act requirement that recovery plans must contain "estimates of the time required and the cost to carry out those measures needed to achieve the plan’s goal..." The Implementation Schedule also identifies a priority for each identified recovery action and recommends a responsible party for carrying out each recovery action. The Implementation Schedule can be used to help secure and obligate funds, and it provides the basis for tracking plan implementation performance. |
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service, provides this information to keep Stakeholders in the loggerhead recovery planning effort up-to-date on the status of the plan's revision. This site will be updated frequently, so please check back often to see what's new. |
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Updated: June 17, 2004
