Endangered Species Program: Information on How Funds Are Allocated and What Activities Are Emphasized
Abstract
The Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to help conserve plant and animal species facing extinction as well as their habitats. The act, as amended, requires the Department of the Interior to identify at-risk species that may be candidates for listing and work to conserve them (candidate conservation); when warranted, list species as threatened or endangered and identify their critical habitat-habitat essential to the species' conservation-that requires special management (listing); work with groups whose proposed projects could harm the listed species to mitigate such harm (consultation); and develop and implement plans to improve the status of listed species until they no longer need protection (recovery). Interior delegated its responsibility for the Endangered Species Act to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), which established an endangered species program within its ecological services program to implement the requirements of the act. The Service, a decentralized agency, is organized into seven regions, each with a regional office managing a number of field offices. Some field staff divide their time between this program and other programs, such as environmental contaminants, carried out by the ecological services field offices. In fiscal year 2001, the Service received $210 million for ecological services, of which $121 million was for the endangered species program. Of the endangered species funding, recovery received $59.8 million, or almost 50 percent, of the program's funds; consultation, $42.8 million; candidate conservation, $7.1 million; listing, $6.3 million; and landowner incentives, $5 million.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA403574
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office