Using the best available science, implementing adaptive management strategies, and securing long-term funding, landscape-scale, regional Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) support local economic development and protect natural resources.
Landscape-scale Regional Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) represent a cooperative approach to simultaneously facilitate permitting for infrastructure and economic development and ensure conservation of habitat for endangered species and other natural resources. HCPs provide certain and efficient permitting for a wide range of economic and development activities, including transportation infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, housing and business development, water supply infrastructure/development, wind energy development, and timber harvesting. Many Regional HCPs are implemented by local governments and benefit local communities through providing open space and protecting natural resources that enhance the quality of life for residents.
Large-scale HCPs create permitting efficiencies and predictability for project proponents—including in many fast-growing metropolitan areas—and without interfering with local control of land use agencies. Some HCPs are even state-wide or multi-state in scale and support efficient permitting of large infrastructure projects. HCPs also outline clear and transparent methods for avoiding impacts on the most important places, minimizing ecological impacts, and, when impacts cannot be avoided or minimized, providing offsets that are directed to areas that can achieve the greatest conservation outcomes. This approach helps avoid conflicts, supports predictability for development interests, and advances better conservation outcomes than the traditional piecemeal, project-by-project approach. Examples include the 14-state NiSource pipeline HCP and two wind energy HCPs under preparation for the Great Plains and the Midwest.
Regional HCPs also ensure effective conservation of threatened and endangered species and their habitats with science-based, landscape-level, programmatic strategies. Implementation of these conservation strategies maximizes the conservation and recreational outcomes to regions and local communities. These conservation outcomes support species recovery and can allow de- or down-listing of species. In addition, large scale HCPs help with the Administration’s goals for conserving the nation’s land and coastal waters and aid climate adaptation, resilience, and carbon sequestration.
The National Habitat Conservation Plan Coalition, founded in 2015, includes members and supporters from a variety of HCP practitioners, including managers of large-scale HCPs across the nation, state agencies, and stakeholders involved in HCP planning, implementation, and policy. Its mission is to further the use, effectiveness of, and support for large-scale HCPs as local solutions to facilitate economic development and the conservation of threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
A habitat conservation plan (HCP) is a planning document that is recognized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act and is a recommendation in the application to obtain an incidental take permit (ITP). The HCP identifies certain conservation measures developed and agreed on by local stakeholders to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
An Incidental Take Permit is a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), authorizing permittees the incidental “take” of a covered species during the implementation of habitat conservation activities. “Take” as defined by the ESA, means “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct”.
Covered activities are actions authorized by the Incidental Take Permit and are implemented by the Permittee(s) in accordance to a Habitat Conservation Plan. Activities are generally outlined as conservation measures and are used to achieve the biological goals and objectives of the HCP.
Species listed in an Incidental Take Permit are individuals considered federally threatened or endangered pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. Under the HCP, minimization and mitigation measures are designed to ensure that incidental take resulting from covered activities will be moderated to the maximum extent practicable and will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of the covered species.
The implementation of a Habitat Conservation Plan is supported by scientific research and analysis. Programs such as environmental modeling and applied research evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the conservation measures implemented in the HCP and provides scientific guidance in adaptive management processes.
Refugia is a population of Covered Species, housed in at a series of facilities, for reintroduction into their native habitat. The establishment of a Refugia Program is used to preserve the Covered Species for subsequent re‑establishment in the event of hazardous ecological conditions, such as extreme drought or chemicals spills, and cause the population of the Covered Species to decrease significantly. In addition to species husbandry, the Refugia Program also provides the opportunity to research and observe the Covered Species in a captive environment.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA) as “voluntary conservation agreements between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and one or more public or private parties. The Service works with its partners to identify threats to candidate species, plan the measures needed to address the threats and conserve these species, identify willing landowners, develop agreements, and design and implement conservation measures and monitor their effectiveness.” Additionally, Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs) “expand on the success of traditional CCAs by providing non‑federal landowners with additional incentives for engaging in voluntary proactive conservation through assurances that limit future conservation obligations.”
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a law that requires environmental assessments and/or environmental impact statements of proposed actions prior to decision making. Using the NEPA process, agencies evaluate the environment and related social and economic effects of their proposed actions. Under NEPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is required to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as part of the evaluation of a proposed Habitat Conservation Plan.
An endangered species is an organism that is considered to be at risk of extinction. A species can be listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the NOAA Fisheries through the candidate assessment program or by a petition request for the FWS or NOAA to list a species. A species may be listed if it is threatened or endangered due to: 1) present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range; 2) over‑utilization of the species for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; 3) disease or predation; 4) inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and 5) other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was established to protect those species listed as endangered or threatened and their designated critical habitat.
An Incidental Take Permit grants landowners, developers, and municipalities authorization to proceed with an activity that would otherwise result in illegal take of a federally listed species. By utilizing a Habitat Conservation Plan, public and private agencies can facilitate development in environmentally sensitive areas and keep the health and protection of the environment a top priority.
Under the Endangered Species Act, there are no Federal prohibitions for the take of listed plant species on non‑federal lands, unless taking of those plants is in violation of State law. In contrast, prohibitions on the take of listed animal species is applicable to both non‑Federal and Federal lands. Prior to the issuance of an ITP, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service reviews the HCP to ensure that conservation methods do not jeopardize any threatened or endangered species, including plants.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “No Surprises assurances are provided by the government through the section 10(a)(1)(B) process to non‑Federal landowners. Essentially, private landowners are assured that if “unforeseen circumstances” arise, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services will not require the commitment of additional land, water or financial compensation or additional restrictions on the use of land, water, or other natural resources beyond the level otherwise agreed to in the HCP without the consent of the permittee. The government will honor these assurances as long as a permittee is implementing the terms and conditions of the HCP, permit, and other associated documents in good faith.”
The National HCP Coalition proposes five things the federal government can do to support HCPs
Encourage and support the development and implementation of multi-species, landscape-scale HCPs that serve to facilitate public infrastructure and private development and conserve endangered species and the ecosystems on which they depend. The program needs to be expanded and adequately funded.
Direct the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to prioritize work that relates to the development and approval of landscape-scale HCPs. Field offices need staff and funding to expedite plan completion and review, permit issuance, and any assistance needed with plan implementation.
Under the Great America Outdoors Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund provides continuous appropriation for land acquisition grants under ESA Section 6, the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF). This funding helps support local land acquisition and easements essential to the conservation strategies of many landscape-scale HCPs. We request that the administration prioritize funding for endangered species habitat conservation in the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request by providing at least $100 million for the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) land acquisition accounts within the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) through the Committee’s allocation of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). This funding would help to provide for ongoing species conservation efforts, particularly the conservation efforts associated with Habitat Conservation Plans.
Work with the National HCP Coalition to identify and advance proven strategies for effective and efficient HCP development and implementation, including monitoring and reporting outcomes along with flexibility for updating plans.
Direct the FWS, NMFS, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and other federal permitting agencies to provide concurrent reviews and increase alignment of the ESA, Clean Water Act, and other federal environmental laws for the purposes of advancing permitting efficiencies, achieving consistent mitigation requirements, and reducing permittee and agency staff time to prepare, review, and administer permitting and mitigation programs. Expand cooperative working groups to allow for a synergistic approach across permitting agencies to reduce redundancy and decrease review times, while providing a cost saving benefit.
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