Press Release
Service Announces New Process for Notifying the Public of Draft Recovery Plans Available for Review and Comment

The Service has streamlined the process for notifying conservation partners and the public of the availability of draft recovery plans. While the Service will continue to notify our conservation partners and the public of the availability of these plans, we will no longer publish a notice of availability in the Federal Register. Instead, we will now post all notices to a centralized recovery plan webpage, making it easier to review and provide comments on draft recovery plans. This streamlined process will help the Service better meet its recovery planning goals through more efficient use of resources and staff time.

Recovery plans are one of the many tools of the Endangered Species Act that support the conservation and recovery of listed species. They are non-regulatory documents that provide a transparent path to achieving recovery, including guidance on methods of minimizing threats to species, such as restoring and acquiring 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
, and conducting needed surveys or monitoring. They also include measurable and objective criteria for tracking recovery efforts.

The Service remains committed to transparency and public engagement in all of our actions under the ESA. The notices for each draft recovery plan will provide the public with everything they need to review and comment on draft recovery plans, and obtain additional information. This new process will begin on January 1, 2022. In rare cases, a parallel notice may be published in the Federal Register if, for example, publication in the Federal Register is a term of an existing ESA settlement agreement.

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Endangered and/or Threatened species