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Recovering plants and animals on the endangered species list is often a long process that involves the active management of animals and their habitat. Management activities can include improving habitat conditions, removing animals that prey on the listed species or compete with the listed species for food and shelter, and reintroducing individual animals to historic habitat. Management activities are guided by a "recovery plan," which is required under the Endangered Species Act for each listed species. Recovery plans are developed by teams of experts on particular listed species and then implemented by various natural resource agencies. Analysis of Fish and Wildlife Service data shows that species with recovery plans are more likely to be increasing in number than species without them. Currently approximately 81% of all listed species have recovery plans. Since the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973, 16 species have been declared recovered and "delisted." Delisting means that the conservation measures of the Endangered Species Act no longer pertain to a particular species. On average, these plants and animals -- including the Peregrine falcon, American alligator, and brown pelican -- spent 17 years on the list of threatened and endangered species before being delisted. This is well ahead of the 30 to 50 years that scientists who have developed species recovery plans think it will take to recover most listed species. On average, the approximately 1,000 species currently on the endangered species list have only been listed for 15.5 years. One recovery success story that demonstrates how recovery is achieved is the Aleutian Canada goose. The Aleutian Canada goose historically nested in the U.S. on islands off the Alaska Peninsula westward across the Aleutian Island Chain. Declines in the U.S. Aleutian Canada goose population began after arctic foxes were introduced to the islands by fur farmers and the species' wintering grounds in Oregon, Washington, and California were degraded by expanding agriculture and urban sprawl. The ground nesting geese were unable to defend against the foxes in spring and unable find sufficient refuge during the winter. By 1967 less than 800 Aleutian Canada geese remained. The species was listed as endangered when the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973. Listing the goose under the Act promoted the eradication of introduced foxes in historic goose habitat and the reintroduction of geese to that habitat once the foxes had been removed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies established cooperative relationships with landowners to conserve goose habitat on private property and conduct research on the species' conservation needs. By 1990, the species numbers had increased to an estimated 6,300, leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify the goose from "endangered" to the less restrictive "threatened" status. In 1991, the Netucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in Oregon, conserving some of the wintering grounds essential to the species' recovery. In 2001, more than 32,000 Aleutian Canada geese were in the wild, prompting the species delisting under the Endangered Species Act. Up to Top |
