# Summary of S. 5604: Improving Species Recovery Act
This bill makes several changes to the Endangered Species Act to streamline and improve how the federal government protects endangered and threatened species. The legislation requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish clear standards for how much threats must be reduced through conservation efforts before a species can avoid being listed as endangered or threatened, aiming to encourage voluntary conservation actions by private landowners and states. The bill also mandates that when a species is listed, the government must document the species' baseline condition, identify key research gaps, and establish specific conservation milestones to measure progress toward recovery.
Additionally, the bill requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue new guidance within three years on how voluntary conservation efforts will be considered when deciding whether to remove a species from the endangered list, and it requires Congress to receive status reports at least every three years on all listed species. The legislation also directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to expand use of its digital consultation tool, called IPaC, to speed up the process of reviewing federal projects that might affect endangered species, and requires a study within one year on how other Endangered Species Act processes could be automated or expedited using technology or artificial intelligence.