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Species Recovery

The Endangered Species Protection Board (ESPB/Board) and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR/Department) work together on endangered and threatened species recovery planning and while the ESPB may assist, the IDNR is the lead agency responsible for implementing recovery actions.

It is the Board’s authority to determine whether, based on scientific evidence, animal and plant species are Illinois endangered or threatened. The Board is required to review and revise the Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Species (Illinois List) as warranted, but no less often than every five years. Relative to this duty, Illinois Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Plans (ESPB E&T Recovery Plans) require Board approval. Other parties may elect to develop recovery plans without Board approval; however, in conducting any of its business, the Board may not consider described recovery activities and status review measures contained in plans other than those approved by the Board. 

ESPB Endangered and Threatened Animal Translocation Policy

Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, ESPB, and IDNR Illinois Plant Translocation and Restoration Policy

Available below for download are all species recovery plans that have been approved by the ESPB and other informational documents. Because digital versions of some documents are not available, the PDFs of some plans were produced by scanning hard-copy documents, so the resolution and print quality varies. Additional recovery plans and other documents will be posted as they become available.

SPECIES RECOVERY INFORMATION

BIRDS

MAMMALS

INVERTEBRATES

BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

PLANTS