Recovery planning is an essential part of implementing the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), but conservationists and government agencies recognize challenges with the current planning process. Using data from all U.S. domestic and transboundary ESA‐listed species, we quantify the completeness, timeliness, age, and other variation among ESA recovery plans over the past 40 years. Among eligible listed taxa (n = 1,548), nearly one‐fourth lack final recovery plans; half of plans have taken >5 years to finalize after listing; half of recovery plans are more than 20 years old; and there is significant variation in planning between agencies, and among regions and taxonomic groups. These results are not unexpected given dwindling budgets and an increasing number of species requiring protection, but underscore the need for systematic improvements to recovery planning. We discuss solutions—some already underway—that may address some of the shortcomings and help improve recovery action implementation for threatened and endangered species.

中文翻译：

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丢失，延迟和过时：ESA恢复计划的状态

恢复计划是实施《美国濒危物种法》（ESA）的重要组成部分，但是环保主义者和政府机构认识到当前计划过程中的挑战。利用来自美国境内和跨境ESA列出的所有物种的数据，我们量化了过去40年中ESA恢复计划之间的完整性，及时性，年龄和其他差异。在符合条件的上市类群（ñ = 1,548），将近四分之一的人缺乏最终恢复计划；上市后一半的计划花了超过5年的时间才能完成；一半的恢复计划已超过20年；各机构之间以及各地区和生物分类群之间的计划差异很大。考虑到预算的减少以及需要保护的物种数量的增加，这些结果并非出乎意料，但是强调了对恢复计划进行系统改进的必要性。我们讨论了一些解决方案（已在实施中），这些解决方案可能会解决一些缺陷，并有助于改善对濒临灭绝的物种的恢复行动的实施。