Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan Guidance Under the Endangered Species Act

Post-delisting monitoring plan guidance updated jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service in July 2018.

Post-delisting monitoring (PDM) refers to activities undertaken to verify that a species delisted due to recovery remains secure from risk of extinction after the protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) no longer apply. The primary goal of PDM is to monitor the species to ensure the status does not deteriorate, and if a substantial decline in the species (numbers of individuals or populations) or an increase in threats is detected, to take measures to halt the decline so that re-proposing it as a threatened or endangered species is not needed.