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IDNR's Species Recovery Process
Recovery includes assessing and managing State-listed species and other Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) to maintain populations and improve their conservation status in Illinois.
What is the recovery process?
The IDNR has developed a recovery process to deliberately and strategically engage in species management to maintain or enhance wildlife and plant populations in Illinois. This approach is a recursive framework that assesses species and identifies, implements, and evaluates conservation actions for key species. The recovery process has three phases:
- Species Status Assessment - Species distribution, abundance, and demographic information is used to develop a contemporary assessment of condition and identify trends in status.
- Species Planning - Approaches are developed to address information needs, threats, stressors, and limiting factors based on the Status Assessment. These are summarized in a Planning Document.
- Action Implementation - Actions are selected from those identified in the Planning Document, and an implementation schedule is developed. Monitoring is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions. This information is then used to update and revise the Species Status Assessment.
What is the goal of the recovery process?
The goal of the recovery process is to maintain or improve populations of native species in Illinois. The process uses an adaptive management approach to assess species, identify conservation actions, prioritize resources, and communicate with partners. The recovery process facilitates coordination between IDNR and conservation partners and identifies responsibilities and standards for those engaged in species recovery.
Who is engaged in the recovery process?
Species Lead
An IDNR staff person will be designated as Species Lead for each species (or group of species) that has moved to the planning stage of the recovery process. A Species Lead serves as a point of contact for activities related to the species, manages the Recovery Team, facilitates communication and collaboration with those engaged in recovery actions, and provides progress reports to the IDNR Endangered Species Program.
Endangered Species Program
The Endangered Species Program coordinates the various steps of the Recovery process. They develop and revise the guidance for the Recovery documents and provide training and assistance as needed to Species Leads. The Endangered Species Program also tracks the success of conservation actions.
Recovery Executive Team
A leadership team composed of the Office of Resource Conservation Director and Division Chiefs. This team reviews and approves all Recovery conservation actions and allocates staff resources and/or funding.
The Steps of the Recovery Process
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Contact Information
Illinois Department Natural Resources
The Division of Natural Heritage
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702-1271
