The California Continuing Resource Investment Strategy Project (CCRISP) is a cooperative, comprehensive planning effort to develop a set of policy and strategy recommendations on protecting California’s diverse biological and natural resources, through conserving, restoring, and enhancing stewardship of our natural and working landscapes. These recommendations will ultimately be given to state government.

CCRISP proposes the following improvements: consensus on diverse state-wide conservation values, the decision process of identifying priority conservation and stewardship projects, natural resource decision making information and tools, and collaborative partnerships among public and private organizations. Promotion of existing or new long-term stewardship incentive programs is another CCRISP proposal. The project will provide a statewide perspective for local planning and decision making, improve the consistency of agency conservation recommendations, and allow for greater cost-sharing among all stakeholders. These goals will be accomplished by focusing current and new efforts on viable, well-connected projects to assure that important, at-risk habitats and other resources types are not lost, and by providing guidance on the most effective stewardship incentives.

Mary Nichols, Secretary for Resources, recommended a six-year approach for CCRISP, with two-year interval products, to adequately define, plan, expand, and update data and strategies for the state. Currently, the project is in the early stages of partner and stakeholder scoping, which will continue through spring 2000. The size and complexity of California’s natural resources necessitates a long-term approach, and the six-year plan illustrates the Resources Agency commitment to project quality and continuity.

In addition, the Secretary’s recommendation includes a funding partnership with a team of dedicated state, federal, and private staff to accomplish the effort, including support staff and in-kind services. Some participating state deparments include Parks and Recreation, Conservation, Forestry and Fire Protection, and Food and Agriculture.

Regular updates on the progress of CCRISP will appear in future issues of California Biodiversity News. For further information, contact Jenny Marr, Project Coordinator, at (916) 651-6161 (phone), (916) 653-3673 (fax), or jmarr@dfg.gov (e-mail).