ABSTRACT: Landscape-level conservation planning is key to the long-term protection of the ecosystem services that support species habitat, however, funding to implement conservations projects is limited. Habitat protection and restoration projects to offset or mitigate impacts to threatened and endangered species from public or private construction, operations, and maintenance projects are relatively common but typically occur in a “piece-meal” fashion outside a larger planning context. As a result, these projects are less likely to result in meaningful conservation or contribute to species’ recovery goals. Habitat Conservation Plans or HCPs offer a potential compromise. While HCPs are prepared as part of an application for an incidental take permit under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, they also provide an opportunity to receive federal funding for landscape-level planning. HCPs include typical conservation planning components such as biological goals and objectives, monitoring and adaptive management programs, and long-term planning horizons. Also, HCPs provide an excellent framework for multi-stakeholder decision-making. HCPs are best suited for public or private entities that have relatively frequent endangered species permitting needs across a large geographic area; require regulatory certainty to meet construction, operations, or maintenance program schedules; and/or seek to maximize the conservation value from environmental impact funds. In this session we will discuss the required components of an HCP and how they relate to landscape-level planning. We will also discuss how HCPs can be used to benefit both listed and non-listed species; protect and restore ecosystem processes such as flooding or connectivity; and serve as a central planning document for stakeholders with varying goals and objectives. Lastly, we will touch upon the diversity of scenarios for which an HCP may be suitable and how to most effectively take advantage of available federal funding.
