Habitat Conservation Plans Working Together for Endangered Species

              Habitat Conservation Plans
Working Together for
Endangered Species
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“ Open spaces protect our natural
resources, limit urban sprawl,
and truly enhance our quality of
life. At the same time, we can take
satisfaction in knowing that future
generations will have opportunities
to visit pristine preserve areas to
enjoy and learn about precious
wildlife. I am proud to be a part of
the Multiple-Species Conservation
Program.”
—San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob
“ The Multiple-Species Conservation
Program is a landmark program.
Partnerships among public and
private stakeholders with diverse
interests make it a national
award-winning initiative.”
—San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price
On the cover: Aerial view of San Miguel Mountain and surrounding communities
in San Diego County, California, showing urban development and open space.
A key feature of the San Diego Multiple-Species Conservation Program is a
system of natural “preserves.” USFWS photo
A Message from the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . . . . . . . . . . 1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Benefi ts of Habitat Conservation Plans for Wildlife,
Landowners, and Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Habitat Conservation Plans around the Country
San Diego Multiple-Species Conservation Program:
a 50-Year Plan for Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cyanotech: Algae Aquaculture and Endangered Hawaiian Stilts . . . . . . . . . . 6
Magic Carpet Woods Association: Woods, a Beach,
Piping Plovers, and Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Culebra Northshore Habitat Conservation Plan:
Homes and Sea Turtles in Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Lenox Village Habitat Conservation Plan: Green Space,
People, and Nashville Crayfi sh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Snowshoe Mountain Resort: a Vacation Place for People,
a Home for Northern Flying Squirrels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Plum Creek Timber Company: a Landscape-Level
Habitat Conservation Plan for Native Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Green Diamond Resource Company’s Habitat Conservation Plan:
Fish and Forests on the Olympic Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
For More Information about Habitat Conservation Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Locations of Habitat Conservation Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Table of Contents
Habitat Conservation Plans i
Swan Valley, Montana: Plum Creek Timber Company property (see p. 14)
© Mike McMurray, MEI Productions
ii
Who would have thought that three
endangered species—including two
butterfl ies—could launch a new
way of looking at development and
conservation?
That’s what happened more than 20
years ago in California. Together,
one county, three cities, and private
landowners and developers made
sure that builders could plan for
3,000 homes and that mission
blue butterfl ies, San Bruno elfi n
butterfl ies, and San Francisco garter
snakes wouldn’t go extinct. While
providing for construction in less
sensitive areas, the plan set aside
important habitat on San Bruno
Mountain, including large portions
that were privately owned.
Congress liked the partnership.
It became a model for the nation.
In 1982, Congress amended the
Endangered Species Act to allow
incidental take permits to be given
to private landowners who establish
“conservation plans.” These permits
give landowners certainty that they
will not be liable if their otherwise
lawful activities incidentally harm
endangered or threatened species.
Congress termed conservation plans
“creative partnerships.”
Under the new amendment, the
San Bruno Mountain conservation
plan, with a life of 30 years, received
the fi rst incidental take permit.
Confi dent that their long-term
projects were in keeping with
the Act, people had incentives
to participate in plans that could
involve millions of dollars.
Today, individual homeowners,
counties, states, and corporations
have developed what have come to
be known as Habitat Conservation
Plans or “HCPs.” Some are as
small as a fraction of an acre, while
others are larger than a million
acres. Landowners are preparing
HCPs in connection with building
golf courses, harvesting timber,
managing ranches, operating
nurseries, producing gas and oil, and
constructing businesses and utilities.
And the open spaces created through
the conservation planning process
provide recreational opportunities
including hunting, fi shing, birding,
and hiking. For example, in
Georgia, a private landowner is
restoring longleaf pine forests on his
property under a statewide Habitat
Conservation Plan for endangered
red-cockaded woodpeckers. In the
process, the habitat is improving for
quail, a game species that his family
enjoys hunting.
That’s an important part of HCPs:
stakeholders create them. People
closest to the issues are making
decisions for their communities well
into the future. Now that green
space has taken on a new emphasis,
partners are setting aside natural
areas as amenities—not just for
wildlife, but for people. Working
together, companies, business and
recreational interest groups, tribes,
and local, state, and federal agencies
are crafting stewardship solutions
that look decades ahead.
More than 400 HCPs are in effect
from coast to coast. One executive
observed that his company had
grown after its HCP had been
approved. Providing for the needs
of people can be both economically
profi table and environmentally
responsible.
We hope that the following examples
will encourage you to explore how
Habitat Conservation Plans can
work for you.
Steve Williams, Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A Message from the Director of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Todd Harless, USFWS
Habitat Conservation Plans 1
Habitat Conservation Plans under
the Endangered Species Act provide
a framework for people to complete
projects while conserving at-risk
species of plants and animals.
Congress envisioned Habitat
Conservation Plans as integrating
development and land-use activities
with conservation in a climate of
cooperation.
The Endangered Species Act
protects endangered and threatened
species of wildlife and plants.
Without a permit, it is unlawful to
“take” listed wildlife species. That
means that people may not harm the
species or kill them, or attempt to
do so.
The need for HCPs arises from the
fact that listed species live wherever
they fi nd suitable habitat, without
regard to who owns it. Before HCPs
became a reality, people who were
interested in developing private land
that was home to endangered or
threatened species risked breaking
the law.
Congress recognized this dilemma
and amended the Endangered
Species Act to allow the Fish and
Wildlife Service to issue incidental
take permits to landowners who
develop Habitat Conservation Plans.
HCPs provide a framework for
creative partnerships with the goal
of reducing confl icts between listed
species and economic development.
Benefi ts of Habitat Conservation
Plans for Wildlife, Landowners,
and Communities
Habitat Conservation Plans can
help communities plan economic
development while ensuring the
future of endangered and threatened
species. Through large-scale HCPs,
stakeholders chart landscape-level
strategies and conserve biological
diversity.
By protecting habitat and preventing
the decline of sensitive species,
HCPs can help preclude the need
for listings under the Endangered
Species Act. Early conservation
measures help maintain healthy
ecosystems–valuable green-space
that states and counties are
increasingly seeking to protect—
while they provide for new residents
and businesses. For HCPs that cross
jurisdictional boundaries, a regional
approach streamlines the permit
process–and saves time and money.
Finally, HCPs protect people from
legal liability. In Arizona, ranchers
developed an HCP to provide
certainty that they could continue
their cattle ranching activities,
confi dent that they were consistent
with the Endangered Species Act.
As part of the HCP, they constructed
water structures for native fi sh and
released endangered Yaqui chub and
other at-risk species into ponds on
their property.
Overview
“The beauty of the HCP is that it not only protects these incredibly unique
fi sh but it ensures that the Austins can manage their land and water the
way they need to. I think the HCP is working exactly as planned.”—Kirk
Young, Chief, Native Fish Program, Arizona Game and Fish Department.
© Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Austin
The endangered Yaqui chub thrives
on the Austins’ El Coronado ranch.
© John Rinne
2 Habitat Conservation Plans
The HCP facilitated a partnership
with the Forest Service and the
Arizona Department of Fish and
Game. The ranchers had been
stewards through the years–and
still are. As a state biologist
said, “The key element here is
that private landowners had a
conservation opportunity and the
[incidental take] permit provided
the insurance that they needed to
continue their management activities
for listed fi sh.”
The Challenges
By creating HCPs, Congress
recognized that economic
development can occur alongside
endangered species conservation.
The challenge is to make the process
work—to ensure that development
activities do not appreciably reduce
the likelihood of the survival and
recovery of at-risk species. HCPs
provide solutions that may prevent
legal battles by changing litigation to
collaboration.
HCPs bring together people who
might not otherwise know one
another but come to understand
each other’s viewpoints. “It��s been
a pretty good lesson for all of
us,” one participant said. Among
stakeholders nationwide are timber
companies, plant conservation
societies, mining interests, off-road
vehicle enthusiasts, home
builders, hunting and angling
groups, ranchers, fi sheries
biologists, water quality specialists,
county commissioners, a health-supplements
company, university
professors, and private citizens.
Overview
This lush green area in arid Arizona is Turkey Creek, restored thanks to diversion dams and watershed management.
© Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Austin
Jim Brooks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service biologist, celebrates the release
of Yaqui catfi sh on the Austins’ El
Coronado ranch in southeast Arizona.
Stephanie Coleman, USFWS
Habitat Conservation Plans 3
Home to 2.9 million residents, with
a million more expected by 2020,
San Diego County, California, is
also home to diverse species of
plants and animals. The combination
of a fast-growing area and great
biological diversity could have meant
an unresolvable confl ict between
development and conservation.
Instead, the combination resulted
in planning for the long-term well-being
of people, the economy, and
the natural resources of southern
California. Saving open space and
connected ecosystems, stakeholders
created the Multiple-Species
Conservation Program, designed
to promote economic growth and
preserve biodiversity.
“Before the program, you basically
got fragmented open space that
wasn’t worth much from an
ecological standpoint—and issuing
permits took too long. Now, habitat-wide,
the program has demonstrated
success, setting aside land that is
the most ecologically important
and building much-needed
new homes in less sensitive
areas,” said Craig
Benedetto, Executive
Director of the
Alliance for
Habitat
Conservation, an
organization of county
landowners. A key feature is a
172,000-acre interconnected
preserve system that
crosses many jurisdictional
boundaries.
“The program brings area
governments that have
land-use authority into
the conservation-planning
business,” said
Dan Silver, Director of Policy and
Programs of the Endangered
Habitats League, a conservation
group. “Coastal southern California
has a depleted landscape, so the
ability to put together a reserve
system came along in the nick of
time. By providing coverage for
multiple species, the ecosystem
approach avoids the listing-of-the-month.
Not only that, but the open
space being preserved has become a
major community amenity with the
benefi t of making the region more
economically competitive.”
A California Fish and Game
Department biologist noted that the
planning process puts biology on the
level of issues such as general land-uses
and traffi c patterns, integrating
them for the long term. This is a big
benefi t in establishing predictability.
At the same time, stakeholders
make planning decisions using
the program as a framework.
HCPs can be catalysts for creative
management through stakeholder-developed
solutions.
San Diego Multiple-Species Conservation
Program: a 50-Year Plan for Growth
Environmental education at Steltzer County Park.
© San Diego County Multiple-Species Conservation Program
“Ironically,
listing the coastal
California
gnatcatcher as
threatened provided an
incentive to accelerate
regional planning,” said
Bill Tippets, California
Department of Fish and
Game.
© B. Moose Peterson
4 Habitat Conservation Plans
“Overall coordination between
stakeholders is higher than it’s ever
been,” said Keith Greer, Program
Manager for the Multiple-Species
Conservation Program for the City
of San Diego. “Endangered species
have become an integral component
of plans. Now, people pick up the
phone to talk about issues.”
Designed to conserve coastal sage
scrub, chaparral, oak woodlands,
riparian corridors, freshwater
marshes and grasslands, along
with two dozen other vegetative
communities, the Habitat
Conservation Plan includes many
endangered and threatened species,
as well as some species that are not
listed in an effort to keep them from
declining to the point that they need
state or federal protection. The plan
area is 582,243 acres of habitat for
the coastal California gnatcatcher,
least Bell’s vireo, Otay mesa-mint,
arroyo toad, San Diego fairy shrimp,
Nevin’s barberry, and 80 unlisted
species.
“Although the planning areas
may not have the same obvious
qualities of national parks with their
charismatic animals and unique land
forms, people have come to recognize
lesser-known endangered and
sensitive species and their habitats
for their ecological resource values,”
said Bill Tippets, Environmental
Program Manager for the California
Department of Fish and Game.
The San Diego County Board of
Supervisors, the Sierra Club, the
Building Industry Association,
the San Diego Association of
Governments, and San Diego Gas
and Electric Company are some of
the plan stakeholders.
San Diego Multiple-Species Conservation
Program: a 50-Year Plan for Growth
Keith Greer and Chad Kane of the City of San Diego use a global positioning
system to document locations of the endangered willowy monardella during
fi eld surveys.
© Kelly Balo, City of San Diego.
In 2002, the National Association
of Counties honored San Diego
County’s Multiple Species
Conservation Program with an
achievement award in its County
Model Program.
Habitat Conservation Plans 5
What do endangered Hawaiian stilts
have in common with a company
that makes health supplements?
They both like shallow wetlands that
produce algae.
On the Big Island of Hawaii,
Cyanotech Corporation developed
a Habitat Conservation Plan for
the wading birds after the business
expanded its algae production ponds
from 10 to 90 acres and the stilts
moved in.
“When the Hawaiian stilts arrived,
we called the Fish and Wildlife
Service,” said Dr. Gerald Cysewski,
chief executive offi cer of the
company. “The Service suggested
that we contact Ducks Unlimited
and the Hawaii Division of Forestry
and Wildlife, something that we did.
Then we created a safe area for the
birds. Wildlife authorities worked
well with this private business, and
the stilts have done well!” he said.
“If you provide food and water, they
will show up,” commented Fish and
Wildlife Service biologist James
Kwon. “This experience has been
educational in terms of habitat
restoration elsewhere. Nesting and
foraging areas at the Cyanotech
facility have done wonders for
recovery. The site has produced
237 birds in fi ve years.”
Thanks to the Habitat Conservation
Plan, the fi rst in Hawaii, the birds
now have their own 1.7-acre wetland,
established and managed just for
them. Key features of the “safe
area” are its mud fl ats for nesting
and shallow foraging areas away
from the algae-production ponds,
where chicks could drown in the
fast-moving water of the raceways.
To keep the stilts away from the
Cyanotech: Algae Aquaculture and
Endangered Hawaiian Stilts
Tanks of microalgae are processed into nutritional supplements at
Cyanotech’s Kailua-Kona facility.
© Cyanotech Corporation
A Hawaiian stilt checks the eggs in its nest.
© John DeMello
6 Habitat Conservation Plans
raceways, Cyanotech employees
create human disturbance by driving
golf carts along the land-strips that
separate the ponds.
In January, Cyanotech’s biologists
fl ood the pond before the breeding
season. Then, to encourage
invertebrates, biologists draw down
the water and add algae—a sort of
natural nutrition supplement—to
increase the foraging areas for
stilt chicks whose diet is small
fi sh, brine fl y larvae, and water
insects. Along with monitoring the
number of chicks that hatch and
fl edge, biologists trap animals such
as the Indian mongoose, a species
introduced to control rats on sugar
plantations, and also feral cats
that could prey on the birds. These
management activities explain why
the stilts have fl ourished at their new
home.
In 2001, the Hawaiian Audubon
Society honored Cyanotech with its
Corporate Conservation Award after
the company’s initiatives resulted in
an increase of 194 stilts, more than
10 percent of the state’s population!
The Habitat Conservation Plan
is authorized for three years, to
provide a period short enough to
evaluate the effects of the improved
habitat and monitoring activities.
Given the number of fl edglings
produced the fi rst year, Cyanotech
has the option of not managing the
nesting area for the next two years.
Cyanotech: Algae Aquaculture and
Endangered Hawaiian Stilts
Biologists Scott Waddington, Cyanotech Corporation; Paul J. Conry, Division of Forestry and Wildlife; and James
Kwon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit Cyanotech’s microalgae production site.
Jeff Newman, USFWS
Habitat Conservation Plans 7
In Michigan, building homes with
access to a beach that is potential
habitat for endangered piping
plovers can be compatible with
the recovery of the species. The
key is preparing for contingencies,
something that Frank Petty of the
Magic Carpet Woods Association
is doing.
Mr. Petty wants to retain the natural
qualities of the property that his
family has owned for 30 years
along a half-mile of Lake Michigan
shoreline while providing for low-density
residential use. Plans for
the 91-acre site allow for 13 houses
overlooking Lake Michigan and
protect the adjacent open-dune
and beach habitat, along with any
piping plovers that may frequent the
area. Plovers now use the adjacent
Leelanau State Park beach for
nesting and may forage or even nest
on the Magic Carpet Woods beach in
the future.
“The fi rst house is nearing
completion, and the owner is
thrilled,” Mr. Petty said. “Our
original plan was to do something
good with a conservation easement
on the forested portion of the
property. That was important
to establish the tone of the area.
Working with the Fish and Wildlife
Service, the idea expanded to
include a conservation plan for the
beachfront area and the potential
plover habitat,” he added. “We’re
keeping the lake-front sites at
least 175-feet wide to preserve the
character of the place,” he said.
The HCP includes conservation
measures that are designed to
enhance and protect the piping
plover habitat adjacent to the
housing development. These
measures include monitoring the
habitat and keeping predators
Magic Carpet Woods Association: Woods,
a Beach, Piping Plovers, and Homes
Lake Michigan’s Leelanau State Park: quality piping plover habitat
immediately adjacent to the Magic Carpet Woods HCP property.
Peter Fasbender, USFWS
Frank Petty, Magic Carpet Woods Association, and Craig Czarnecki,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the steps of the fi rst home built under
the Habitat Conservation Plan.
Jack Dingledine, USFWS
8 Habitat Conservation Plans
away from any nests that plovers
may make. In addition, the HCP
provides measures intended to
protect the threatened Pitcher’s
thistle, including a boardwalk
through the open dunes system. The
Michigan Department of Natural
Resources and the Fish and Wildlife
Service have developed an education
program for both species to help
people recognize and protect them.
Magic Carpet Woods Association: Woods,
a Beach, Piping Plovers, and Homes
Like the Magic Carpet Woods
Habitat Conservation Plan,
the fi rst HCP in the Caribbean
establishes conservation areas
adjacent to beachfront homes.
In the Culebra HCP, the permit-holder
is managing the beach for
the continued use of endangered
hawksbill and leatherback sea
turtles by, among other provisions,
saving the nearby forest as a
buffer against erosion.
“Conservation is economically
important,” said Bill Mailloux,
architect and builder. “People
who come here are looking for
beautiful, natural areas. They
like the idea of seeing sea turtles
and having tropical forests as
their surroundings. When they
are planning a second home or
a retirement home, people want
the best possible guarantee that
the environment will remain
pristine forever.” Having a formal
conservation plan in place gives
potential buyers peace of mind in
knowing that the natural beauty
that attracted them to the area
will remain unspoiled.
An endangered piping plover.
© John H. Gavin
Culebra Northshore Habitat Conservation Plan: Homes and Sea Turtles in Puerto Rico
An endangered leatherback
sea turtle.
© Matthew Godfrey, Sea Turtle Program
Coordinator, North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission
An endangered hawksbill
sea turtle.
© Michelle Schärer, University of Puerto Rico
The fi rst home built at Culebra
Northshore.
© Bill Mailloux
Habitat Conservation Plans 9
In Nashville, when Regent
Development began to plan Lenox
Village—with houses, offi ces, and
stores—the company experienced a
couple of unexpected developments
of its own. A fi ve-acre farm pond on
the site turned out to be home to a
remnant population of endangered
Nashville crayfi sh, isolated decades
earlier when a dam was built on a
Mill Creek tributary. Not only that,
the dam was leaking. Terming the
dam a safety hazard, Tennessee
authorities told the landowner that it
had to be repaired or replaced.
That’s when Regent Development,
the Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency, the Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation,
and the Fish and Wildlife Service
started talking. The result is a
Habitat Conservation Plan for 101
acres including an intermittent
stream that the company calls “an
amenity for the community.”
“The Habitat Conservation Plan
gave us a means to make our concept
a reality,” said Rick Blackburn of
Regent Development. “We will
improve the stream that runs
through the site to benefi t the
environment and the community.
At the same time, we’ll keep
the Nashville crayfi sh as part of
Lenox Village.”
The HCP requires the company to
restore the stream to its meandering
status with pools and riffl es near
a forested hillside and establish a
stream side buffer as a common area
that the home owners�� association
Lenox Village Habitat Conservation Plan:
Green Space, People, and Nashville Crayfi sh
Developers Rick Blackburn and Dave McGowan at the entrance to Lenox
Village. With 15 acres of green space, the planned community received a
design award from the Middle-Tennessee Chapter of the American Institute
of Architects.
Doug Winford, USFWS
10 Habitat Conservation Plans
will protect in perpetuity, in keeping
with a conservation easement.
Trees native to Tennessee—such
as sycamores, willows, oaks, and
maples—will provide a buffer along
the restored stream. Signs along
the stream will let people know the
needs of the crayfi sh.
Biologists expect downstream
crayfi sh to recolonize the restored
habitat, along with crayfi sh relocated
from other projects.
This entrance to Lenox Village shows some of the green space incorporated
into the development.
© Rick Blackburn, Lenox Village
Lenox Village Habitat Conservation Plan:
Green Space, People, and Nashville Crayfi sh
The endangered Nashville
crayfi sh is also protected as a
state endangered species. The
Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency, Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation,
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service are monitoring the species.
Tim Merritt, USFWS
Habitat Conservation Plans 11
“This project is a very important
one for us,” says Bruce Pittet, Vice
President and General Manager of
West Virginia’s Snowshoe Mountain
Resort. “The Camp Wilderness
Habitat Conservation Plan is the
beginning of a partnership with the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” This
is the fi rst Habitat Conservation
Plan in West Virginia.
Mr. Pittet is referring to a plan
that Snowshoe Resort developed
to save endangered northern fl ying
squirrels while building 55 homes
near the summit of Cheat Mountain
in Pocahontas County. Known
especially for its skiing, Snowshoe is
a four-season resort in the Allegheny
Mountains. Created 30 years
ago, Snowshoe Mountain Resort
is adjacent to the 900,000-acre
Monongahela National Forest.
In 2000, the West Virginia
Department of Highways
discovered northern fl ying
squirrels, an endangered species,
and Cheat Mountain salamanders,
a threatened species, while doing
surveys for a 3-mile extension
of an access road. On learning
of the listed species, Snowshoe’s
engineering and planning staff
members contacted the West
Virginia Field Offi ce of the Fish
and Wildlife Service. They decided
to reroute the new road to provide
initial protection for the squirrels
and salamanders. Then, looking
ahead, they developed the Habitat
Conservation Plan.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort: a Vacation Place for
People, a Home for Northern Flying Squirrels
Snowshoe condos at the top of the mountain and ski trails in the foreground.
© Snowshoe Mountain Resort
12 Habitat Conservation Plans
The 24-year incidental take permit
enables Snowshoe Mountain
Resort to build Camp Wilderness,
a community of townhouses and
condominiums, on 39 forested acres
while it protects 85 acres of habitat
in perpetuity for the fl ying squirrels
through a conservation easement.
“We are working closely with
Service staff members because we
want to continue to be good stewards
on our 11,000 acres,” says Jason
Brown, Snowshoe’s Director of
Engineering and Planning. “We’re in
a growth period and staying current
with endangered species issues is
important to our resort community.
After all, the company motto is
‘Forever Wild.’”
“Snowshoe Mountain has done an
excellent job in responding to the
needs of this endangered species,”
says Shane Jones of the Fish and
Wildlife Service. “Because West
Virginia northern fl ying squirrels
are so mobile, as long as you take
appropriate measures and provide
suitable habitat, the animals will do
very well on their own.”
Snowshoe Mountain Resort: a Vacation Place for
People, a Home for Northern Flying Squirrels
Snowshoe Mountain Resort’s Jason Brown and the Fish and Wildlife
Service’s Shane Jones discuss placement of one of the nest boxes.
© Snowshoe Mountain Resort
Northern fl ying squirrels den in the
trees by day and are active at night.
Larry Master, USFWS
Habitat Conservation Plans 13
In a landscape-level Habitat
Conservation Plan for native fi sh in
the Northwest, Plum Creek Timber
Company is managing forests
and water for species such as bull
trout, steelhead, and redband trout.
While ensuring sustained timber
production and business certainty,
the HCP protects salmon-family
species on 1.4 million acres in
Montana and 40,000 acres in Idaho.
“The second-largest owner of land
with bull trout after the federal
government, Plum Creek Timber
Company came to the Fish and
Wildlife Service, saying that it
wanted to be known as the company
that could operate on land with
endangered species,” said Service
biologist Ted Koch in Boise, Idaho.
“Developing our Habitat
Conservation Plan was ground-based,
and it took two years, but the
Fish and Wildlife Service encouraged
us. We had 130 public hearings so
that people could comment,” said
Bob Jirsa, Plum Creek’s Director of
Corporate Affairs.
Now, after two years, results are
good. Plum Creek has consultants
monitoring stream temperatures,
channel migration, and sediment
loads. “The native fi sh HCP
concentrates on retaining trees
along streams to maintain cool
water and fi sh habitat that wood
creates when it naturally falls
into streams,” said Bob Ries,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–Fisheries biologist.
“Other conservation initiatives
are eliminating unnecessary
Plum Creek Timber Company: a Landscape-Level
Habitat Conservation Plan for Native Fish
Plum Creek biologist Ron Steiner, hydrologist Brian Sugden, and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Robert Lee review road drainage
improvements in the West Twin Creek watershed.
© Laurie Lane
A winter view of Plum Creek land near Missoula, Montana.
© Laurie Lane
14 Habitat Conservation Plans
roads, reducing erosion from their
surfaces, and directing runoff away
from stream channels to minimize
sedimentation. Plum Creek is
continuing a range of practices for
road management, maintenance,
and construction to ensure good
habitat conditions.” Fish and Wildlife
Service biologists monitor the HCP
on this extensive privately-owned
landscape and assist Plum Creek in
conducting adaptive management
activities.
The company responded to customers’
interest in environmentally friendly
products while fi nancial literature
has cited it as a good investment
opportunity. In the past few years,
Plum Creek Timber Company: a Landscape-Level
Habitat Conservation Plan for Native Fish
© Jason Dunham, Boise Forestry Sciences Laboratory,
U.S. Forest Service
In one of the fi rst Habitat
Conservation Plans primarily
for native fi sh in the Pacifi c
Northwest, the Green Diamond
Resource Company (formerly part
of Simpson Resource Company)
is managing forests and streams
for salmon, bull trout, and sea-run
cutthroat trout—species that live
in the ocean but return to fresh
water to spawn. Green Diamond’s
Habitat Conservation Plan
includes other
wildlife, too,
while providing
for timber
harvest across
a 260,000-acre
landscape on
the Olympic
Peninsula of
Washington
State.
Green Diamond Resource Company’s Habitat Conservation Plan: Fish and Forests on the Olympic Peninsula
Using this technique for steep-terrain logging keeps harvested trees from
creating sediment in streams that are home to bull trout.
Craig A. Hansen, USFWS
Green Diamond’s HCP protects
marbled murrelets, bull trout,
and bald eagles—along with a
range of unlisted species.
Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife
A school of bull trout making a spawning run.
Habitat Conservation Plans 15
Plum Creek Timber Company: a Landscape-Level
Habitat Conservation Plan for Native Fish
Kit Fischer, a Plum Creek fi sheries science technician, records data from Trail Creek to make fi sh population
estimates for the company’s adaptive management study.
R. Arne Wick, USFWS
Plum Creek has gone from the
Nation’s twelfth-largest timber-producer
to the second-largest. “Don’t
let anyone say that a company can’t
be profi table and environmentally
responsible,” Mr. Jirsa said.
Dr. Lorin Hicks, Plum Creek’s
Director of Environmental Affairs,
noted that clean water issues have
a direct effect on the health and
livelihood of many people, so this
HCP provides benefi ts beyond
protecting endangered species.
The quality of habitat, rather than
the number of fi sh, is a measure of
success.
Under the HCP, Plum Creek is
conserving streams and rivers by
preserving cold water, clean water,
complex habitat, and connected
habitat. Key management activities
are maintaining forest density and
tree size, providing shade, ensuring
bank stability, and creating woody
debris for fi sh as well as amphibians
and terrestrial species. Fallen logs
that cross part of a stream may slow
the fl ow and create a smooth, deep
upstream pool as habitat. The bull
trout needs clear, cold streams that
range in temperature from 40 to
60 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of
its strict habitat requirements, the
species is a good indicator of water
quality and forest-ecosystem health.
16 Habitat Conservation Plans
What are Habitat
Conservation Plans?
Habitat Conservation Plans are
planning documents required
as part of an application for an
incidental take permit. Congress
intended HCPs to reduce confl icts
between listed species and economic
development, provide a framework
that encourages cooperation and
creative partnerships between the
public and private sectors, and
integrate land-use activities with
conservation goals.
HCPs can apply to both listed and
nonlisted species, including those
that are candidates or have been
proposed for listing. Conserving
species before they are in danger of
extinction or are likely to become so
can also provide early benefi ts and
prevent the need for listing.
Who needs a Habitat
Conservation Plan?
People who believe that their
otherwise lawful activities may
result in the incidental take of a
listed wildlife species need a permit.
The Fish and Wildlife Service or the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–Fisheries will help
determine whether a proposed
project is likely to result in take
and whether an HCP is an option
to consider. The two agencies will
provide technical assistance to help
design projects to avoid take. The
permit may be issued to states,
counties, cities, tribes, corporations,
and private citizens.
Federal agencies are not eligible
to apply for a permit; they have a
responsibility to use their authorities
to conserve listed species and to
consult with the Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries under section 7 of the Act
to ensure that their activities do not
jeopardize the continued existence of
these species.
What’s in a Habitat
Conservation Plan?
A Habitat Conservation Plan
includes an assessment of impacts
likely to result from the proposed
take of one or more federally listed
or unlisted species; measures that
the applicant for the incidental take
permit will undertake to monitor,
mitigate, and minimize the impact
on wildlife; funding sources to
implement the plan; procedures to
deal with changed and unforeseen
circumstances; and alternative
actions that the permit applicant
analyzed and the reasons that the
applicant didn’t adopt them.
Why are Habitat Conservation
Plans important?
Before Congress amended the law
in 1982, landowners risked violating
the Endangered Species Act if
their otherwise lawful management
activities killed or harmed listed
species. This potential liability
caused some people to be concerned
that discovering an endangered
or threatened species on their
property would restrict their use or
enjoyment of their land or water.
By allowing the Fish and Wildlife
Service to issue incidental take
permits to landowners who develop
Habitat Conservation Plans,
Congress provided certainty that
people can proceed with their
activities, confi dent that they are
consistent with the Endangered
Species Act. This assurance is
important, particularly to people
who depend on their property for
income.
Where do I fi nd Habitat Conservation
Plans described in the Endangered
Species Act?
Section 10 of the Endangered
Species Act, “Exceptions,” describes
permits in section 10(a)(1). You may
hear the expression “section 10”
permits. Incidental take permits are
described in section 10(a)(1)(B).
What does “take” mean?
The Endangered Species Act makes
it unlawful for individuals to “take”
listed animals except by permit.
It defi nes “take” as harass, harm,
pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect or attempt
to engage in these activities. Harm
includes habitat modifi cation that
kills or injures a species by impairing
essential behavior such as breeding,
feeding, or sheltering.
The Endangered Species Act does
not prohibit the take of listed plant
species on non-federal lands, unless
the take is in violation of state law.
What is an “Incidental Take” Permit?
The Endangered Species Act
authorizes permits to be issued
to “take” listed wildlife species
incidental to otherwise lawful
activities, provided that permit
holders have Habitat Conservation
Plans that meet criteria to “minimize
and mitigate” impacts that may
result. That could mean, for example,
that people who want to harvest
timber in an area that is habitat for
bull trout, a threatened species, can
do so, provided that they fulfi ll the
provisions of the negotiated HCPs.
In this case, the HCPs would usually
protect stream side areas from
siltation, keep the water clear and
cold, and ensure that habitat is
complex and connected. Basically,
the timber harvest proceeds, and the
aquatic habitat for the bull trout is
protected.
The Secretaries of Commerce and
Interior issue permits through the
Directors of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries and the Fish and
Wildlife Service. In general, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–Fisheries is
responsible for listed marine
mammals, anadromous fi sh, and
other living marine resources.
Questions and Answers
Habitat Conservation Plans 17
The Fish and Wildlife Service is
responsible for terrestrial and fresh
water species.
Private citizens and area
jurisdictions—states, counties, and
cities—and tribal governments may
obtain incidental take permits in
connection with their land, water,
and ocean activities. These incidental
take permits will not appreciably
reduce the likelihood of the survival
and recovery of the species in
the wild.
Does a Habitat Conservation Plan
have a legal commitment?
The incidental take permit
makes the elements of a Habitat
Conservation Plan legally binding.
While this permit includes an
expiration date, the mitigation
identifi ed in the HCP can be in
perpetuity. If a violation is deemed
technical or inadvertent, the
landowner will receive a notice of
noncompliance that recommends
alternative actions to regain
compliance with the terms of the
permit.
What kinds of actions are
considered mitigation?
Mitigation may take the form
of preserving habitat through
an acquisition or a conservation
easement, enhancing or restoring
degraded or former habitat, creating
new habitat, establishing buffer
areas around existing habitat,
modifying land-use practices,
and restricting access to habitat.
Mitigation measures reduce the
adverse effects of proposed activities
on species included in an HCP.
What is the “No Surprises” rule?
The “No Surprises” regulations
give permit holders regulatory
certainty—that is, certainty that
they will not have to commit
additional funding or implement
further measures to manage
land and water if unforeseen
circumstances arise after they create
their HCPs. The “No Surprises”
rule is one of the benefi ts of Habitat
Conservation Plans. It assures
people that the Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries will not require further
mitigation from permit-holders
who are adequately implementing
approved HCPs.
The government honors its
commitment as long as permit-holders
honor theirs.
If the conservation program is
operating as the HCP intended, then
the two agencies will not require
any conservation and mitigation
measures in addition to those
already provided in the HCP, even
if extraordinary circumstances
develop.
What will the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries and the Fish and Wildlife
Service do in the event of unforeseen
circumstances that may jeopardize
the species?
While the two agencies believe
that it will be exceedingly rare for
unforeseen circumstances to result
in a jeopardy situation, they will
use their authorities and resources
to resolve the situation. Along
with working with other federal
agencies, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries and the Fish and
Wildlife Service will work with the
permittee within the framework of
the HCP’s conservation program
to redirect conservation and
mitigation measures to remove the
jeopardizing effects.
In the unlikely event that
these efforts do not remove the
jeopardizing effects, the Services
will attempt to remove the
jeopardizing effects by augmenting
the HCP’s conservation program.
With the consent of the permittee,
the Services will pursue options
that include, but are not limited to,
extending or modifying the existing
permit, capturing and relocating the
species, compensating the landowner
to forego the activity, purchasing
an easement or fee-simple interest
in the property, or arranging for a
third-party acquisition of an interest
in the property. In the highly
unlikely event that augmenting the
HCP’s conservation program does
not remove the jeopardizing effects,
the Services will, as a last resort,
suspend or revoke the incidental
take permit.
What is adaptive management?
In contrast to unforeseen
circumstances, certain events, such
as hurricanes or wildfi re, can be
expected as changed circumstances.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries work with landowners in
developing HCPs to incorporate
adaptive management strategies
to address changed circumstances.
These provisions are also useful
for species whose biology is not
fully understood when the plan is
developed. They allow previously-agreed-
upon management changes
within the plan area when new
information about a species indicates
that they are needed to reach
biological goals.
Questions and Answers
18 Habitat Conservation Plans
What is the Five-Point Policy?
The Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration—
Fisheries have fi nalized an
addendum to the Handbook for
Habitat Conservation Planning
and Incidental Take Permitting
Process. This addendum, also known
as the fi ve-point policy, provides
additional guidance on HCPs
regarding: (1) establishment of
biological goals and objectives for
HCPs, (2) adaptive management,
(3) monitoring, (4) determination of
permit duration, and (5) the use of
public participation.
What is an example of a
Habitat Conservation Plan?
In Tennessee, developers who
wanted to build a community of
homes, businesses, schools, and
shops near a tributary to Mill Creek
created a Habitat Conservation
Plan for the endangered Nashville
crayfi sh. After obtaining a
permit that allowed them to
“take” the species incidental to
their construction activities, the
developers restored the stream
that runs through the property
and planted stream side trees and
shrubs to make sure that the water
quality for the crayfi sh remains
good. The new community promotes
its “green space” amenity—a
benefi t for people and wildlife.
Designed to offset any harmful
effects that the activities might
have on listed species, HCPs enable
development to proceed and provide
for conservation. Permits assure
landowners that their activities
will not violate the Endangered
Species Act.
How many HCPs are being
developed, and how many
acres do they include?
As of February 7, 2005, the Fish
and Wildlife Service had issued
incidental take permits for 479
Habitat Conservation Plans that
covered almost 39 million
acres and 590 endangered and
threatened species.
How do I know if I have a listed
species on my land?
The nearest Fish and Wildlife
Service fi eld offi ce, your state
fi sh and wildlife agency, or the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–Fisheries can help
you answer this question.
A telephone number for the HCP
coordinator for your state or region
is in this booklet. For other agencies,
check the listings in your local
telephone directory under state
and U.S. government.
What is the process for getting an
HCP and incidental take permit?
The landowner decides whether
a Habitat Conservation Plan is
something to consider. The Fish
and Wildlife Service and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration–Fisheries provide
guidance and technical assistance in
helping people develop HCPs and
obtain permits.
The HCP coordinator for your
region can tell you more. See the list
on the last page of this booklet.
How long will it take to
process an application?
If a project is in the “low-effect”
category—one that has minor or
negligible effects on listed, proposed,
or candidate species and their
habitats or on other environmental
values or resources—the target
time for processing permits is up to
three months. Others, depending on
their complexity, level of analysis,
and sometimes the degree of public
controversy, have a proposed
processing time of 4 to 12 months.
Large-scale plans or ones that are
particularly complicated may take
longer to develop and process.
Who approves the Habitat
Conservation Plan?
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Regional Director for the region that
includes your state approves these
plans.
For the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries, the Director of the Offi ce
of Protected Species in Washington,
D.C. is responsible for approving
these plans.
Does the public get a chance to
comment on plans?
Yes. The Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration—
Fisheries require a minimum
30-day public comment period on
applications for incidental take
permits for “low-effect” HCPs and a
60- to 90-day public comment period
for all other HCPs, depending on
size and complexity.
Does someone monitor plans for
compliance?
Yes. The Fish and Wildlife
Service and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration–
Fisheries or a party that the
applicant and the agencies designate
can monitor projects to ensure
compliance with the terms of the
incidental take permit or the HCP.
For example, a “party”can be a state
wildlife agency, an area government
agency, or a non-profi t organization.
Questions and Answers
Habitat Conservation Plans 19
For more information, including the
planning process and applications,
contact the Habitat Conservation
Plan coordinator at the Fish and
Wildlife Service offi ce that includes
your state:
Pacifi c Region
(Region One)
1-503-231-6118
http://pacifi c.fws.gov/
Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington,
American Samoa, Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands,
Guam, Pacifi c Trust Territories
California/Nevada Operations
1-916-414-6464
http://pacifi c.fws.gov/
California, Nevada
Southwest Region
(Region Two)
1-505-248-6654
http://southwest.fws.gov/
Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Texas
Great Lakes, Big Rivers Region
(Region Three)
1-612-713-5343
http://midwest.fws.gov/
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio,
Wisconsin
Southeast Region
(Region Four)
1-404-679-7313
http://southeast.fws.gov/
Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Florida, Tennessee, Puerto Rico,
U.S. Virgin Islands
Northeast Region
(Region Five)
1-413-253-8627
http://northeast.fws.gov/
Connecticut, Delaware, District
of Columbia, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
Mountain-Prairie Region
(Region Six)
1-303-236-4258
http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/
Colorado, Kansas, Montana,
Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Alaska
(Region Seven)
1-907-786-3868
http://alaska.fws.gov/
Alaska
Headquarters
1-703-358-2106
Arlington, Virginia and
Washington, D.C.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s
Endangered Species home page is:
http://endangered.fws.gov
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration –
Fisheries’ home page is:
http://www.noaa.gov/fi sheries.html
For More Information about
Habitat Conservation Plans
20 Habitat Conservation Plans
Locations of Habitat Conservation Plans
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Habitat Conservation Plans 21
22 Habitat Conservation Plans