Fifty-nine percent of the endangered species recovery plans issued by the U.S. government between 2005 and 2008 mention climate change as one of the major threats facing the species, according to a study published in Conservation Biology.

The study, which examined 1,209 species recovery plans published between 1975 and 2008, was authored by Tony Povilitis, president of Life Net Nature, and Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD).

The mention of climate change in these species recovery plans is a fairly recent occurrence. Of the 87 recovery plans issued between 2001 and 2004, only 16 mentioned climate change as an extinction threat. That rose to 73 out of 123 plans issued from 2005 to 2008.