Recovery credit programs measure the conservation benefit of actions taken by producers.  Producers are then compensated for that benefit, and the credits can be used to offset adverse impacts to habitats. 

A pilot project for recovery credits was started by members of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association a few years ago in the area of Fort Hood, Texas. The success of this initial effort has resulted in the service's proposal to formalize this effort pioneered by ranchers along with other partners. 

"Nearly 80 percent of listed species inhabit private lands, with 35 percent living exclusively on private lands. In the west, livestock producers with federal permits control more than 100 million acres of the most biologically diverse private land," say comments from NCBA and PLC. "A flexible mechanism such as the recovery credit system, which facilitates wildlife conservation by private landowners is essential if the Endangered Species Act is going to be successful."