The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service published a Director's Order in 2017 to provide incentives for landowners to conserve candidate species, which are not listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The policy provides a mechanism for landowners, government agencies, and others to obtain credits for current conservation efforts benefiting declining species. These conservation credits can be redeemed later or sold to a third party to offset or mitigate detrimental actions to a species if it later gains ESA protection. Credits can be earned only before a species becomes listed and only for actions that are not mandated by federal, state, or local law. This policy will help us further our efforts to protect species and their ecosystems to prevent their further decline and ultimately the need to list them under the ESA. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding the prelisting conservation policy.
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