Recovery

The Listed Species Recovery Process

While threatened species and endangered species may have different needs that require different conservation strategies to achieve recovery, the Service generally follows the recovery process below to ensure we are meeting our ESA recovery planning and implementation statutory requirements for listed species in a streamlined manner.

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The listed species recovery process begins as soon as it is listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. The process is defined by four phases:

1. Pre-planning
2. Planning
3. Implementation and Monitoring
4. Post-delisting Monitoring 

Phase 1: Pre-planning

The pre-planning phase includes early considerations for organizing the recovery planning process, as well as identifying urgent actions that need to happen right away to prevent further species decline. 

For newly listed species, this often means creating a recovery outline—a short-term guide that highlights these urgent needs until a full recovery plan is ready.

Phase 2: Planning

The planning phase is about completing the recovery plan requirements for listed species under ESA section 4(f), to effectively communicate the desired recovered state for the listed species and our chosen approach for achieving that state. Recovery planning can require varying degrees of coordination and collaboration with recovery partners. In this phase we execute the Service’s 3-part Recovery Planning Framework that produces three documents:

1. A Species Status Assessment (SSA),
2. A recovery plan, and
3. Recovery Implementation Strategy (RIS)

View the report for species with recovery plans.

Recovery planning documents are available on the species profiles in the Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS).

Phase 3: Implementation and Monitoring

The implementation and monitoring phase includes conducting on-the-ground recovery actions and activities in collaboration with our recovery partners and monitoring their effectiveness. Depending on the species needs, recovery implementation actions and activities can include, but are not limited to:

• Restoring and protecting habitat, 
• Removing introduced predators or invasive species invasive species
  An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
  
  Learn more about invasive species ,
• Monitoring individual populations,
• Conducting scientific research,
• Breeding species in captivity for reintroduction,
• Reintroducing species, including by designating experimental populations, and
• Establishing voluntary conservation agreementsand plans with Federal and non-Federal recovery partners.

During this phase, the Service also assesses the status of the species at least once every five years via a five-year status review as required under ESA section 4(c)(2). The hope is that after targeted recovery implementation, a five-year status review (or other assessment) will recommend delisting the species and removing it from the Lists of Threatened and Endangered Species. 

Learn more about five-year status reviews.

As new information becomes available during implementation and monitoring, the Service may choose to periodically update our recovery planning documents that were produced during phase 2. 

Phase 4: Post-delisting Monitoring

Once a listed species is recovered (it no longer meets the ESA definitions of a threatened species or endangered species, nor needs of the protections of the ESA), the Service must finalize a delisting rule to remove it from the Lists of Threatened and Endangered Species. Once delisting occurs, ESA section 4(g) requires the Service, in cooperation with States, to conduct post-delisting monitoring for the species for at least five-years to ensure its status remains recovered after ESA protections are removed. 

Find a list of the species delisted due to recovery.