Activities to identify, establish or expand legally protected areas and ecological processes. This includes all actions designed to directly protect the ecosystem through parks, reserves, easements (on public lands or private property), or other similar means. These are primarily on-the-ground.

Activities to build the institutional capacity to do better conservation, restoration or protection. Includes activities to finance actions and programs related to ecosystem recovery, and processes that facilitate decision making, including coordination, organization, and communication among groups.

Activities addressing enforcing compliance with laws, policies and regulations, and standards and codes at all levels. This category is about implementing and enforcing laws and regulations and increasing capacity to enforce compliance, not about creating or revising laws and policies.

Activities to develop/revise ecosystem recovery plans at multiple scales (local, regional, statewide). Includes project prioritization and funding planning; but not plan implementation. Planning and design for individual protection or restoration projects should use ‘Project Planning and Design’.

Activities to restore sites, habitats, ecological processes and the wider environment, reducing or removing a stressor, and maintaining/improving intact or restored sites. Includes all actions to directly manage restoration/stewardship of habitats, and stormwater abatement using natural processes.

Outreach and communications activities designed to make people aware of key issues and best practices through informal education. This does not include formal education or training targeted at professionals.

Activities to assess impacts of recovery activities and programs, to gauge if planned outcomes occurred as a direct result of implementation efforts. For tracking implementation efforts themselves use ‘Implementation Monitoring’, or ‘Status and Trends Monitoring’ for tracking ecosystem conditions.

Activities to track execution of recovery plans. These are often ongoing or repeated processes, not one-off research. This does not include assessment of species or environment status or trends, or of other non-species status and trends indicators (use Status and Trends Monitoring).

Activities focused on developing and providing livelihood, economic, social and other incentives to help people overcome barriers (financial, technical, social, etc.) and ultimately change behaviors. These actions can target individuals, institutions or groups. Does not include easements.

All activities to fund, plan funding, or prioritize funding for any element of recovery.

Activities to develop, change, influence, and help implement formal legislation, regulations, and voluntary standards. This includes strategies and actions aimed at using government powers at all levels to protect and manage species, habitats and natural resources; enacting or changing policy.

Activities to plan and design individual protection/restoration projects. Includes feasibility studies, plan design, development, and funding. Does not include plan implementation or recovery of larger systems, like watersheds or large ecosystems (e.g., Puget Sound; use Ecosystem Recovery Planning).

These activities focus on filling research needs. These are often one-time efforts, not ongoing or repeated monitoring efforts (use Status & Trends Monitoring). This includes pilot programs and development of recommendations or prioritization based on research.

Activities to manage/restore species by directly addressing species populations. Includes on-the-ground projects to recover populations (e.g. species reintroductions), and harvest and hatchery programs. Does not include activities related to species monitoring (use Status and Trends Monitoring).

Activities to track changes in conditions including data collection, analysis, mapping, modeling, reporting, and sharing – ongoing/repeated processes, not one-off research. For project/program monitoring use ‘Implementation Monitoring’, or ‘Effectiveness Evaluation’ for project/program impacts.

Activities to enhance knowledge and skills of specific individuals or groups in formal education, informal professional education or a structured training program. This includes technical assistance and tool development but does not include outreach to general public (see Education and Awareness).