The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 and California

The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 and California

The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 was established by the California Legislature, is directed by the Department of Fish and Game, and is being implemented by the state, and public and private partnerships to protect habitat in California1. As opposed to the single species interpretation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), this act aims at protecting many species using a regional approach to habitat preservation. Douglas Wheeler has written a nice synopsis of the NCCP within the context of the history of conservation of habitat. The NCCP is a program that is meant to have voluntary multi-stakeholder cooperation in planning, management and funding. In Southern California the target habitat is Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS), home to the federally "threatened" California Gnatcatcher.

Conservation is needed, particularly in Orange County, because of the large-scale development of homes, businesses, and roads. The listing of the California Gnatcatcher as a "threatened" species and the dwindling numbers of other CSS dependent species are a testament to the need for whole-habitat preservation. For instance, CSS habitat includes other birds and organisms in need of protection, including the Coastal Cactus Wren and the Orange-throated Whiptail Lizard. The single species approach moves very slowly and often species go extinct before any listing is allowed. In the meantime, other species require protection and are placed as a last priority. The ESA, many conservationists argue, was always meant to be an act aimed at supporting multi-species preservation. With the leisurely pace at which legislation moves and with the single-species ...

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...s Wheeler Link:

http://www.ceres.ca.gov/CRA/PressReleases/nccp_wheeler_fall9 5.html

Coastal Sage Scrub Links:

http://envirolink.org/FSCR/Watershed103/ws3014.html

http://www.calpoly.edu/~dchippin/zonecoast.html

Artemesia californica graphic:

http://rain.org/~mkummel/flora/artcal.html

Other Coastal Plants Link:

http://ceres.ca.gov/ceres/calweb/coastal/plants/scrub.html

California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) Link:

http://www.fws.gov/~r9endspp/i/b6w.html

California Gnatcatcher and other CSS species Link:

http://www.epa.gov/EPA-SPECIES/1995/June/Day-21/pr-304.html

San Diego County NCCP Link:

http://resources.ca.gov/CRA/NCCP/nccp_san_diego.html

Interim Management Link:

http://www.ceres.ca.gov/CRA/NCCP/nccp_coastal_sage_scrub.htm l

Biological Corridors Link:

http://www.safnet.org/policy/psst/psst24.html