Is the recovery plan part of the Services’ other regulatory activities, such as section 7 consultations with Federal agencies?
A7: A recovery plan is a guidance document; not a regulatory document. The ESA clearly envisions a recovery plan as the central organizing tool for guiding the Services and their partners in efforts to recover a species. While the regulatory actions the Services may pursue are independent of the recovery plan, they do serve as management tools in implementing the actions set forth in the plan.