Providing Incentives for Endangered Species Recovery

Abstract

Although the Endangered Species Act (ESA) explicitly designates the rights of individuals with regard to the protection of listed species, recovery efforts are left largely to the landowner's discretion. Numerous obstacles or barriers to private landowner participation in species recovery exist. Incentives, both monetary and nonmonetary, provide a means of removing, reducing, or offsetting the obstacles inhibiting private landowners from voluntarily moving from species protection to species recovery. Incentives can be used to motivate landowners who question the distributional equity of the situation or cannot afford recovery efforts on their own. They can also address issues of procedural justice, information needs, and trust. Incentive programs must be flexible, in order to effectively address the mix of impediments faced by different landowners. Incentives can foster an environment in which landowners and wildlife agencies can collaborate in species recovery efforts.