UTILITY PARTICIPATION IN A MULTISPECIES PLAN

Single-species listings under provisions of the federal Endangered Spe cies Act (ESA) have caused, or have been accused of causing, significa nt regional economic impact. in an attempt to avoid such adverse effec ts on regional economic development, the state of California passed th e Natural Communities Conservation Planning Act (NCCP) in 1991. It is a voluntary, consensus-based approach to balancing protection of sensi tive biota and biodiversity with regional economic development. The pi lot NCCP program for the conservation of several threatened, endangere d, and category I species, plus an additional 35 coastal sage scrub-re lated species in southern California was completed and submitted to th e public for review and comment in December 1995. This program propose s the voluntary establishment of a 86,600-ha multispecies reserve syst em. Once completed, participating landowners will receive ESA Section 10(a) ''incidental take'' permits for present and identified future pr ojects. Utility rights-of-way are incorporated into the program as imp ortant connective linkages between reserve units and other adjacent im portant habitat areas. All data and information regarding the proposed results of the NCCP are subject to change pending agency response to public comments on the draft Habitat Conservation Plan and joint EIR/E IS.