The Sierra Club Napa Group is a non-profit organization that works for the protection of wildlife habitats, agricultural lands and watersheds, while promoting affordable housing and transportation solutions that lower the emission of greenhouse gases.
The Napa Group strongly supports conserving lands for endangered or threatened wildlife in Napa County. We recommend that Napa County adopt a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and/or Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP). These plans would map out a bioregion to determine where species are located and then work to protect that habitat as part of the General Plan.
HCPs and NCCPs are comprehensive tools that conserve, restore, and protect land by purchasing properties, placing conservation easements on private lands, and streamlining the permit process for development. Unlike the current Environmental Impact Review (EIR) process, HCPs and NCCPs take a proactive approach, mapping the entire Napa bioregion and establishing a baseline for habitat species that have been identified as protected by law and/or regulations before development proposals are evaluated.
This process has been shown to save time, eliminate opportunities for litigation and streamline the permit process. The advantage to the developer is that projects are accelerated because the biological mapping and conservation plans are already completed.
Yolo, San Diego, Santa Clara and Contra Costa are just a few of the California counties with functioning HCP/NCCPs. There are currently about 30 counties/cities with HCPs plans. These plans take 3-5 years to organize and gain community consensus. They are voluntary and need the cooperation of developers. Developers do not have to take part in the process, but having an HCP in place is an incentive for developers to save time in securing necessary permits and approvals for their projects.
In East Contra Costa, the HCP/NCCP has conserved more than 14,000 acres and brought in $90 million from federal/state grants and developer permit fees. Initial funding for these plans is applied through the U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.
When completed, the HCP/NCCP in Napa County would:
- Identify suitable conservation properties.
- Survey and monitor preserves.
- Determine coverage under permits.
- Maintain a database of species that have been counted and are protected.
- Track habitat loss and acquisition.
The Sierra Club Napa Group strongly urges the Board of Supervisors to take the initial steps toward this goal by mapping baseline data on conservation-ready private lands, assessing habitat needs, and identifying threatened and endangered species requiring protection. These foundational efforts will set the stage for adopting an HCP/NCCP, ensuring long-term conservation of Napa County's rich biodiversity while facilitating sustainable development.