SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the Notice of Availability for the draft Western Placer County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) prepared by Placer County, City of Lincoln, Placer County Water Agency, South Placer Regional Transportation Authority and Placer Conservation Authority. The published draft HCP/NCCP and environmental documents cover future permitting of urban, suburban and rural development, transportation and infrastructure projects in western Placer County, California, during a 50-year permit term. This HCP is one of the first to use a new coordination process that achieves an unprecedented level of integration and streamlining of federal (Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act), state (California Endangered Species Act and Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements) and county-level permitting needs.
The draft HCP proposes strategies to avoid, minimize and offset potential direct, indirect and cumulative effects of development, infrastructure and regional public programs on 14 species—some of which are federally listed as threatened or endangered. The proposed activities will be located within an approximately 260,000-acre plan area in western Placer County and a portion of Sutter County.
The draft Western Placer County HCP/NCCP is a component of the Placer County Conservation Program (PCCP). The PCCP is an example of successful collaboration among federal, state and local government agencies to balance development and conservation needs during the next 50 years. Once completed, the HCP will provide the county with greater control over issuing permits for urban and transportation development while protecting natural features that make the county unique, including open space, thriving agriculture and numerous plant and animal species.
HCPs are voluntary agreements that ensure the effects of non-federal activities on threatened and endangered species are adequately minimized or mitigated, per Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act. The Service regularly engages conservation partners, the public, landowners, government agencies and other stakeholders in its ongoing effort to identify innovative strategies for conserving and recovering at-risk species. HCPs provide a roadmap for species recovery that is essential to protecting ecosystems and natural resources.
This announcement opens a 60-day public inspection period on the draft HCP and NCCP that will close August 20, 2019. The Federal Register Notice, draft HCP, draft NCCP and joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report are available at www.fws.gov/sacramento.
For more information about the species proposed for coverage by the HCP visit www.fws.gov/sacramento.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information about our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov/Sacramento. Connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.
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