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Natural Community
Conservation Planning

The Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) program of the Department of Fish and Game is an unprecedented effort by the State of California, and numerous private and public partners, that takes a broad-based ecosystem approach to planning for the protection and perpetuation of biological diversity. An NCCP identifies and provides for the regional or areawide protection of plants, animals, and their habitats, while allowing compatible and appropriate economic activity. 

The NCCP program is a cooperative effort to protect habitats and species. The program, which began in 1991 under the State's Natural Community Conservation Planning Act, is broader in its orientation and objectives than the California and Federal Endangered Species Acts. These laws are designed to identify and protect individual species that have already declined in number significantly. The primary objective of the NCCP program is to conserve natural communities at the ecosystem scale while accommodating compatible land use. The program seeks to anticipate and prevent the controversies and gridlock caused by species' listings by focusing on the long-term stability of wildlife and plant communities and including key interests in the process. 

The focus of the initial effort was the coastal sage scrub habitat of Southern California, home to the California gnatcatcher and approximately 100 other potentially threatened or endangered species. This much-fragmented habitat is scattered over more than 6,000 square miles and encompasses large parts of three counties - Orange, San Diego, and Riverside - and smaller portions of two others - Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Fifty-nine (59) local government jurisdictions, scores of landowners from across these counties, federal wildlife authorities, and the environmental community are actively participating in the program. 

The southern California coastal sage scrub NCCP region is organized into 11 planning "subregions". For planning purposes, some of the subregions are organized into "subareas" that correspond to the geographic boundaries of participating jurisdictions or landowners. In each subregion and subarea, a local lead agency coordinates the collaborative planning process. Working with landowners, environmental organizations, and other interested parties, the local agency oversees the numerous activities that compose the development of a conservation plan. The Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provide the necessary support, direction, and guidance to NCCP participants. 

The NCCP approach to conservation is available statewide and planning efforts have begun in Contra Costa  and Placer Counties, as well as with the Mendocino Redwood Company. Plans are being considered in other northern California areas including Santa Clara, Solano, Yolo, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. 

This file last modified on: Monday, November 15, 2004 Document URL: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/nccp/index.html