^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

GAO Reports To Congress On Endangered Species Act Amendments
Congress is considering amendments to the Endangered Species Act. Consequently, Congress asked the Government Accounting Office to report on the success of their endangered species recovery plans. Recovery plans are developed and imposed by the Fish and Wild Life Service and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service. They are the primary regulatory means to return endangered species populations to a level where they are no longer threatened with extinction. Recovery plans are supposed to include and address all the conditions necessary for the recovery of the endangered species covered by the plan..

The GAO found that endangered species recovery is as often as not significantly influenced by factors that are not included or addressed in the FWS and/or NMFS recovery plans.