Font: Larger | Smaller  

HCP Facts

Case Studies

Lower Colorado River Multiple-Species Conservation Program (MSCP)

The Colorado River is an integral part of the American economy. Its flowing water created the marvelous Grand Canyon, and also supplies over 30 million people with the water they depend on. Dammed and diverted, water from the river is used to irrigate more than 37 million acres of farmland and sustains multiple industries and municipalities.

In 1994, Arizona, California and Nevada joined together and created a Multi-Species Conservation Plan (a large-scale HCP) to coordinate responses to the designation of critical habitat for three endangered fish in the lower Colorado River. Working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and other federal agencies, the three states signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of the Interior to conserve habitat and work toward the recovery of included species and reduce the likelihood of additional species listings. Accommodating current water diversions and power production was a goal along with optimizing opportunities for future water and power development.

The Lower Colorado River MSCP was designed to function as an HCP for each of the non-federal entities using river water. To many, this is one of the most challenging conservation plans ever undertaken.

Back to top

Clark County Nevada HCP

Despite its location in the Nevada desert, Clark County continues to experience tremendous population growth and subsequent development in the outskirts of Las Vegas. To address development pressures on the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii-threatened), this 30-year HCP was approved in 1994 and covers approximately 525,000 acres of land. One-time development fees totaling $550 per acre will fund mitigation efforts. Each year, $1.3 million will be used to finance the acquisition of conservation easements, conduct tortoise inventories, build tortoise barriers along roads, and transport tortoises from land that is developed. The funds are also being used to inventory and create a multiple-species conservation strategy and to obtain grazing privileges for up to 85,000 acres of Desert Wildlife Management Areas on nonfederal land.

Back to top

San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP)

Endangered species such as the fairy shrimp and bald eagle are protected under the San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), a comprehensive habitat conservation planning program for southwestern San Diego County, Calif. It protects habitat for over 1,000 native and nonnative plant species and more than 380 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

The MSCP planning area is divided into sub-areas, each developed consistently with the overall planning guidelines. Approximately 54%, over 315,000 acres, of the MSCP study area supports several distinct vegetation communities or habitat types, as well as the San Diego fairy shrimp, bald eagle, least Bell’s vireo and California gnatcatcher.

Back to top

Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) HCP

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages a cooperative conservation plan that includes over 1.6 million acres of state-owned forested land in which the spotted owl, a highly publicized endangered species, claims its home. DNR is protecting nesting habitat for these spotted owls, while also conducting research to better understand the complex needs of marbled murrelets, small seabirds that also make their home in the Northwest area. DNR’s hope is that this research will be able to provide for a better conservation plan during the 70 years of the HCP. DNR is also setting aside larger buffers along the streams of the Cascade Mountains for several species of endangered salmon.

Back to top

Plum Creek Timber Company HCP

Over 169,000 acres of land in the central Cascades Range of Washington is part of an HCP developed by the Plum Creek Timber Company. The plan features two phases of 50 years each that requires Plum Creek to protect habitat for the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, grizzly bear and the gray wolf. The HCP contains a checkerboard configuration of alternating sections of private and public ownership.

Back to top

Georgia Statewide HCP

Georgia’s statewide plan evolved from a regional conservation plan proposed in 1993 to deal with isolated populations of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker on private land.

According to the HCP, landowners that have woodpeckers isolated from other woodpecker populations must notify the Fish and Wildlife Service when they plan to take habitat and afford the opportunity for FWS to transplant those woodpeckers.

Landowners have the option of delaying projects until the FWS can find a suitable habitat for the woodpeckers, or pay for purchase of the land elsewhere. Landowners with woodpeckers that are not isolated are required to provide a “safe harbor” for them.

Back to top

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) HCP

PG&E designed an HCP to minimize the potential impacts on red-legged frog habitat while constructing a pipeline in San Ramon, Calif. This HCP was developed quickly, taking only 65 days to complete. During construction, they provided education and awareness training for those involved with the project, limited use of access roads and hired a Fish and Wildlife Service-approved biologist responsible for monitoring the construction area for compliance and reporting and relocating any red-legged frogs. Following the construction of the pipeline, impacted areas within the HCP were restored to their natural state and PG&E provided a compensatory $100,000 bond to acquire and maintain ten acres of red-legged frog breeding habitat.

Back to top

The Eastern Contra Costa County HCP/Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) was developed in order to accommodate the region's growing economic development while simultaneously increasing the habitat protection of the region's threatened or endangered species. With the population expected to increase by 125,000 people in the County by the year 2025, infrastructure improvements and expansions are needed to accommodate the anticipated growth. The HCP will allow for the necessary improvements or development of local water infrastructure, flood control projects, transportation improvements, and the creation of more recreational parks. Simultaneously, increased protection for the region's threatened or endangered species such as the Western Burrowing Owl and San Joaquin Kit Fox will be enabled through the identification and preservation of these species’ habitats.

Specific projects identified for improvement within the Eastern Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP include the extension and widening of northbound Byron Highway, the extension of Armstrong Road, and most significantly, the proposed development of eBART, a 23-mile extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into Contra Costa County. While these projects will significantly benefit local residents, any special status species the projects may impact would also receive increased protection and habitat designations by the Eastern Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP.

Back to top

To address the problematic overcrowding of California prisons, the Department of Corrections submitted an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to the State in 1988 to build a new prison in the City of Delano. Subsequent studies on the proposed 287-acre site found the presence of the endangered Tipton kangaroo rat, blunt-nosed leopard lizard and the San Joaquin Kit fox. Based on these findings, the Department of Corrections worked with the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to establish a Habitat Conservation Plan in order to preserve the protected species as well as alleviate the problems of California’s overcrowded prison system.

In the end, a new prison was built and more than 635 acres were established by the California Department of Fish and Game to create ecological reserve which is maintained by a $154,000 endowment offered by the California Department of Corrections. In all, more than 2.2 acres were preserved for every acre of the site.

Back to top

The Western Riverside County Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) covers approximately 1.3 million acres of land throughout the western portion of Riverside County, California. Its boundaries encompass thousands of miles of essential roads, highways, and pipelines that provide local residents with necessary infrastructure services. However, anticipated population and economic expansion will require improvements to these services to accommodate the projected growth.

Recognizing this need, more than twenty public utilities, municipalities, and private companies, including the Riverside Department of Transportation, the cities of Western Riverside County, and Southern California Edison, have submitted information regarding plans to develop many of these necessary infrastructure improvements and related devlopment. The proposed plans, which lie within the boundaries of the MSHCP, will carefully implement habitat conservation measures to increase the protection of local endangered species such as Stephen’s Kangaroo rat, the California coastal gnatcatcher, and seventeen other special status species. Simultaneously, residents of Riverside County will benefit from improved transportation, water services, watershed protection, electrical services and more.

Back to top

Resting on the banks of the Kern River, the Kern Water Bank is the largest water banking system in the world. Since 1995, it has successfully banked millions of acre-feet of water by recharging local groundwater supplies. This innovative system of water banking assists in providing Californians, from north to south, with their water needs.

In 1998, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service approved the Kern Water Bank Habitat Conservation Plan which maximizes the water bank's groundwater recharge ability while establishing increased protection for the region's endangered or threatened species.  The 20,000-acre HCP carefully identifies habitat protection for special status species such as the San Joaquin Kit Fox, the California condor, the bald eagle, and seventeen other federally listed species.

Back to top

Located at the Southern California Logistics Airport near Victorville, the High Desert Power Plant is an important power facility that helps meet California’s critical energy needs.

The High Desert fossil-fueled plant was approved in 2000 following, among other things, the creation of a habitat conservation plan which protects the desert tortoise, Mojave ground squirrel and burrowing owl.  The HCP addresses the construction and ongoing operational impacts from the power plant, electric and natural gas lines and access roads.  The plant will generate enough electricity to serve 500,000 people and is designed to use one-third less fuel and significantly reduce air emissions compared to other power plants operating in the Los Angeles Basin.

Back to top

San Diego Gas & Electric HCP

In 1995, with population booming and increased demand for services, San Diego Gas & Electric worked with wildlife officials to create a habitat conservation plan that would allow them to build new infrastructure and maintain existing facilities.  With transmission lines and other key operational equipment located near the habitat of endangered species, it was important for SDG&E personnel to establish a plan that would protect the environment while allowing SDG&E to maintain the operational capacity to produce and distribute electricity to more than 3.3 million customers.

The successful HCP now protects 124 acres of land and 30 species including the California red-legged frog, California coastal gnatcatcher, Stephen’s Kangaroo rat, brown pelican and arroyo toad.

Back to top

Natomas Basin HCP

As a result of overcrowding and skyrocketing home prices in San Francisco, experts predict that the Sacramento region will absorb tens of thousands of Bay Area residents over the coming years.  Planning for this population increase, officials in Sacramento teamed up with conservation experts and federal wildlife officials in 2003 to create the Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).

Managed in perpetuity by the Natomas Basin Conservancy, the HCP allows for necessary urban development and the conservation of habitat for nearly two-dozen protected species on the 53,537-acre Natomas Basin.

Under the HCP, developers will be allowed to construct much-needed housing and commercial facilities on 15,517 acres.  In return, each developer must comply with avoidance and mitigation measures and pay a fee adequate to cover the costs of acquiring, restoring and managing one-half acre of habitat for every acre of land developed.

Federally-listed species covered by the Natomas Basin HCP include the threatened giant garter snake, the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, the vernal pool fairy shrimp, Colusa grass and slender Orcutt grass, and the endangered vernal pool tadpole shrimp and Sacramento Orcutt grass.

Back to top

The Etowah Regional Habitat Conservation Plan

With assistance from the Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS), the University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University, and the Georgia Conservancy are partnering to develop a region-wide Habitat Conservation Plan in the Etowah River Basin.  Together, these groups are working with approximately 20 municipalities and more than 30 local, state, and national organizations to provide protection for the region's diverse fish population, including the federally endangered Etowah darter and the federally threatened Cherokee darter. The HCP will also improve the Basin’s overall water quality and preserve the habitats of the region's many species through the implementation of mitigation efforts such as riparian buffers and storm water management practices.

Back to top

Delaware West Recovery Sub-unit HCP

A large-scale, comprehensive Habitat Conservation Plan covering 570,000 acres in the Delaware West Recovery Sub-unit will provide a long-term recovery plan for the federally threatened bog turtle. Proposed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources, this HCP will identify critical habitat for the recovery of the bog turtle and many other wetland species.

Back to top

The Greater Priest Lake Multi Species HCP

The Greater Priest Lake Multi Species HCP will provide critical protection for a variety of threatened and endangered species throughout northern Idaho. The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) will work with other local and national organizations develop the HCP in order to minimize any impacts of IDL and other development activities in the northern part of the state. By partnering to create Greater Priest Lake Multi Species HCP, the IDL and USFWS will enhance the conservation efforts for the grizzly bear, bull trout, lynx, and the critically endangered woodland caribou.

Back to top

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan

The Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan (SDCP) covers nearly 6 million acres in Pima County, Arizona, including the Tucson metropolitan area. The conservation plan includes approximately 850,000 residents, the second largest Native American Nation, and the two major eco-regions of Sky Islands and the Sonoran Desert. The Nature Conservancy and its partner agencies joined with Pima County to establish the SDCP in an effort to preserve the region’s natural resources as well as to maintain the cultural identity of one of the fastest growing area’s in the country.

Back to top

Sky Ranch HCP

Back to top

Horseshoe and Bartlett Dam HCP

Back to top

Roosevelt Dam HCP

The Salt River Project has committed to implementing the Roosevelt Dam HCP to mitigate any impacts on endangered or threatened species within the Roosevelt Dam area. Due to low water levels in Roosevelt Lake, newly created habitats have resulted in the migration of the southwestern willow flycatcher and other species such as the bald eagle and the yellow-billed cuckoo. The SRP joined the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to develop the Roosevelt Dam HCP to minimize any impacts its operations may have of the increased populations of these species. Under the HCP, SRP will protect at least 1,500 acres of habitat in perpetuity on water systems throughout the region. The HCP will also implement a plan to rescue threatened bald eagle eggs and nestlings, monitor species and their habitats at Roosevelt Lake, as well as other mitigation efforts.

Back to top

Washington County HCP – The Washington County Utah Desert Tortoise Reserve

Back to top