The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal agency that deals with the conservation of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats in the United States. It was created by an act of Congress on 4 March 1903 to regulate commercial fishing interests. The mission of the USFW is to conserve threatened and endangered species as well as provide relief from natural disasters such as floods or fires, which may cause loss of animal life or habitat. In order to achieve this goal, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has established partnerships with state agencies that are responsible for protecting land resources within their jurisdiction. So how do you recover endangered species? And what are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's role in this process? A recovery plan is developed by the USFW based on a scientific study that has been conducted to recover threatened or endangered types of wildlife. It outlines the steps that must be taken to increase the population numbers of an animal until it can thrive without human intervention. Once a decline in population has been arrested, the next step is to increase the number of animals so that they are distributed throughout their natural habitat. The ultimate goal is to have enough animals that they can survive on their own and not rely on human intervention for survival. In some cases, captive breeding may be necessary where there are too few wild specimens available. In 2004, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed a recovery plan which was implemented from 2005 - to 2010. To gather additional information on US fish and wildlife service please click here This involved a review of how successfully other programs had increased certain types of snail darters in the past so that this could be applied to the current problem. Studies were conducted using radio-telemetry equipment to monitor progress, while field studies were also performed to determine if any threats existed which would affect the recovery of the population. One such study found that a fish disease known as a whirling disease was affecting the fish and this had to be addressed before any progress could be made on increasing their numbers. A Recovery Plan is only successful if there are enough resources available to implement it. This means having enough staff members who have the necessary expertise and experience in handling wildlife, especially endangered species. The plan also requires funding for such things as research, habitat protection and management so that animal populations can thrive again. For instance, for every $1 million spent on wetland conservation projects, you get $4 million back in improved water quality and more than $30 million in economic benefits from recreation and other sources.
Spending money wisely on protecting and restoring habitats where threatened species exist will eventually return more money to the U.S. economy. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have a five-year plan for funding recovery projects. They are committed to conserving, protecting and restoring habitats not only in the interests of saving endangered species but also because it saves taxpayers money in the long run since these habitats act as buffers against flooding and drought while providing clean water sources, erosion control and providing recreational opportunities.
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