Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP): The Origins of an Ambitious Experiment to Protect Ecosystems
By Daniel Pollak (CRB-01-002, March 2001)


The first report in a series. The Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act of 1991 was supposed to foster a new approach to conservation, one focused on preserving intact ecosystems across an entire region. The NCCP program was intended to provide development interests with a more predictable, streamlined regulatory process, while providing species with a more effective, ecosystem-based conservation strategy. This report reviews the legislative history of the NCCP program and its formative years of implementation, and notes several questions about the program's nature and purpose that remain unresolved. See also the second part of the series (CRB-01-009, June 2001).




From California Research Bureau - NCCP part 2
By Daniel Pollak (CRB-01-009, June 2001)


The second report in a series. The Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) program was initiated ten years ago in Southern California as a pilot program to reconcile conflicts between endangered species and development. It has been frequently cited as a state and national model for conserving habitat on a regional scale. This report examines the results of the NCCP process, focusing on the two major regional plans that have been approved so far, in San Diego and Orange Counties. The report evaluates the NCCP planning process according to three criteria: feasibility, scientific basis, and acceptance of key stakeholders. The report finds that while the NCCP program has achieved some promising results, serious challenges remain before the process can be judged a success in the two cases studied here.




The Environment: Promoting Community Based Stewardship
By Angela Antonelli


Every American-whether conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat-wants to safeguard and improve the quality of the environment. The debate today is focused not on whether we need to protect the environment, but on how we can best achieve this goal. As America enters the 21st century, it is time to move beyond caustic rhetoric about who is most concerned with improving the environment and to start making hard policy decisions that will ensure the quality of the environment for future generations.



The Pygmy Owl Decision
The US District Court recently issued an order invalidating the critical habitat designation for the pygmy owl. Although not a California species, this decision has many impacts in California. Of particular interest is the admission by the Service that its own economic analysis was invalid. The Service requested that the court grant a "voluntary remand," but leave the overall critical habitat designation in place while the Service "fixed" the analysis. The court rejected this request and invalidated both the economic analysis and the designation as a whole. More analysis will follow in the coming weeks.




New Mexico Cattle Growers Association v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service
248 F.3d 1277 (10th Cir. May 11, 2001)


At issue in New Mexico Cattle Growers was the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's ("Service") "baseline approach" or "incremental approach" to conducting economic analyses for critical habitat designations mandated by the Endangered Species Act ("ESA").




Sierra Club v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service("Sierra Club")

(5th Cir. 00-30117, March 15, 2001)
At issue in Sierra Club was the proper standard for designation of critical habitat for the Gulf sturgeon.