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The feds convened the recovery team shortly after these imperiled corals were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2006, and the team completed its work on the plan not long after. But the recovery plan still hasn't been released because it's awaiting internal review. The delay in issuing the recovery plan is blocking important conservation actions as well as funding for elkhorn and staghorn corals.
Frustratingly, it's tremendously difficult to get the feds to reveal any details about the waylaid plan. What we do know is that coral recovery has been put on a back burner, and we suspect it's because the plan recommends that we take action to curb global warming.
Corals are continuing to suffer in the meantime — there has even been a proposal to reclassify them from "threatened" to "endangered" status.
The release of the coral recovery plan will not only help struggling elkhorn and staghorn corals, but also the coral reef ecosystems they inhabit.
Please take action now: Sign the petition and ask the government to publish the coral recovery plan and put it to work.
We urge the federal government to publicly disclose the recovery plan for elkhorn and staghorn corals.
These corals were once the dominant reef-building corals of Florida and the Caribbean, but they have declined by up to 90 percent since the 1970s. Now that they are protected under the Endangered Species Act, they need the full protections afforded by that law. Despite the hard work done on the coral recovery plan a few years ago, it has been waiting in internal review for far too long.
A recovery plan is an important step in establishing conservation goals and providing the management actions needed to bring these corals back from the brink of extinction. Endangered species with dedicated recovery plans are more likely to move toward recovery than those without a plan. We believe that the delay in issuing the recovery plan is impeding important conservation actions and funding for these imperiled corals.
Please show us the plan.