NCCP is an innovative ecosystem approach to conservation that protects plants and animals and also allows for compatible economic development. It is defined in the guidelines by characteristics that distinguish it from other conservation planning efforts.
Governor Pete Wilson says that “With NCCP, we can ensure that our future economic interests will be met without endangering our natural habitat.”
Interior Secretary Brucxe Babbitt said of the NCCP plan approved in San Diego last year, “This is a model that ought to be examined and replicated all over this country because what it says is that it is possible to create a process that brings people together in a search for a balance.”
The new guidelines, signed by Director Jacqueline Schafer Jan. 22, apply to all NCCPs that the Department approved except plans within the 6,000 square-mile coastal sage scrub planning region of Southern California, which operates under previously adopted guidelines that remain in effect.
Two major NCCP plans covering 1.3 million acres are underway in San Diego County, and other plans are being prepared or implemented in Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties.
“These NCCP Process Guidelines provide the framework for developing what have become models for conservation of species and biological diversity for other areas throughout the state,” said Ron Rempel, chief of the California Department of Fish and Game’s Environmental Services Division.
NCCP Characteristics
The guidelines specify five characteristics that constitute NCCP: Scope—the plan is regional or area-wide and based on a scientific and procedural framework that can address cumulative impacts and integrate them with multi-jurisdictional or subregional planning efforts.
Ecosystem Conservation—the plan promotes biodiversity by conserving habitat on an ecosystem level.
Science—the plan provides a conservation strategy based on recognized principles of conservation biology and the best available scientific information.
Coordination—the plan promotes cooperation and coordination among landowners, public agencies, private interests, and the public. It includes a mechanism for private interests to participate in the planning process.
Economic Activity—the plan allows compatible economic activity including development and utilization of resources.
What the Guidelines Do
As the guidelines indicate, the Department of Fish and Game can enter planning agreements with participants to prepare and implement NCCPs. The agreements identify species and natural communities and establish a process for collecting and reviewing data, and public participation and comment.
Guidelines specify that plans be tailored to meet resource needs of a particular region or subregion and lay out the strategy for achieving objectives of natural communities conservation and compatible land use and economic activity.
NCCP planning must consider scientific research, protecting agricultural lands, and integrating with waterways and wetlands regulations.