| Listed species Recovery Plans prioritize research and management actions needed to support recovery, but do not identify how those actions will be funded. In contrast, species protection mechanisms, such as avoidance and minimization measures, or AMMs, and compensatory mitigation measures identified in discretionary permits, require secured funds from project applicants. The cost of implementing permit-required AMMs can be exorbitant, but the necessity of some measures is not scrutinized or reviewed for effectiveness in avoiding or minimizing take. A few commonly applied AMMs, with examples of associated implementation costs, will examine how AMM dollars might be better spent. AMMs are not conservation measures nor are they identified in any Species Recovery Plans; and yet millions of dollars are spent every year - dollars that could be funding priority actions identified in Species Recovery Plans. |