August 30, 1996

The City of San Diego, State of California, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released a joint document outlining environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the Multiple Species Conservation Program -- MSCP -- plan. When implemented, the MSCP will conserve San Diego's open space and natural heritage and at the same time allow compatible development to proceed.

"This planning process works because it is a plan for San Diego County by those who love it, live here, and care about its future," said Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. "By giving local citizens the power to develop conservation plans, with technical and financial assistance from the State and Federal governments, we have a much better shot at long-term success."

The MSCP has been developed cooperatively by local jurisdictions, Federal and State governments, developers and environmental groups with the goal of preserving native vegetation and meeting the habitat needs of multiple species, rather than focusing preservation efforts on one species at a time. Other participants in the MSCP are the cities of Chula Vista, Coronado, Del Mar, San Diego, and Santee, the County of San Diego, and the Otay Water District.

"The San Diego plan is among the most significant that has ever been done in the United States and is at the heart of California's Natural Community Conservation Program," Undersecretary Michael Mantell of the California Resources Agency said. "We look forward to working with the local governments, key stakeholders, and our federal counterparts in finalizing this plan later in the fall."

"This habitat preservation plan protects San Diego's extremely precious environment, while still allowing our economic recovery to progress," said San Diego Mayor Susan Golding. "It enables property owners to develop their land more quickly and with less expense while setting aside the region's most sensitive lands."

San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts called the MSCP "extremely important to San Diego County residents as it will provide a comprehensive habitat plan that ensures the preservation of endangered species and ultimately provides a more healthy and beautiful environment for our children."

The MSCP will carve out a 171,917-acre preserve, a patchwork of conservation areas, to protect 62 percent of all coastal sage scrub, the home of the Federally threatened gnatcatcher, and other important habitats benefitting at least 85 species of animals and plants. About 67 percent of the lands to be included in this preserve will be contributed by public partners, including the Federal government and the State of California. The rest will be acquired by means of a local funding authority and habitat contributions by developers in exchange for the go-ahead to build outside these conservation areas.

"Landowners are very pleased to see a plan come out which promises both the regulatory streamlining and planning certainty that business needed to make this monumental effort worth the trouble," said Jim Whalen of the Alliance for Habitat Conservation, a major landowner group. "Now we look forward to the implementation of the MSCP, which will represent a true partnership between government, the community, and the private sector. For too long, builders have been forced to shoulder an unfair share of the burden of protecting San Diego's unique natural environment, and we appreciate the MSCP plan's explicit recognition of the role of public funding in making this ambitious program work."

"With the release of these documents, the public will now be able to comprehensively assess the elements of this program and measure its value. This has been a long, intense, and very complex process. All parties should be commended for their hard work and commitment," said Michael Beck of the Endangered Habitats League.

The MSCP is one of three major plans covering 1.3 million acres that are being developed under the State's Natural Community Conservation Program in San Diego County. The primary objective of this program, established by the State of California in 1991, is to conserve natural communities before species within those communities decline to the point where they require protection under the Federal or State endangered species acts while accommodating compatible land use. A memorandum of understanding between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game was signed early in the program's development, committing the agencies to cooperating in its implementation. Cooperation was heightened when, in listing the gnatcatcher, the Department of the Interior utilized the Federal Endangered Species Act's rarely used Section 4(d). This effectively delegated to the State of California the responsibility for protecting the songbird and allowing the NCCP program's habitat-wide planning to proceed. Federal approval of the MSCP is required under the provisions of the special 4(d) rule.

According to Secretary Babbitt, "The days of the Federal government directing every detail of endangered species planning from Washington, D.C. are over. I predict that plans like the MSCP will go down in history books as some of the most significant conservation triumphs of this generation. And the real beneficiaries are our children and grandchildren, and residents of San Diego in the 21st Century and beyond."

The MSCP, which has been substantially revised since its initial public release in March 1995, and a recirculated draft environmental impact report/environmental impact statement are available for review in public libraries in the greater San Diego area. For copies of the MSCP and subarea plans, contact the City of San Diego Clean Water Program, 600 B Street, Suite 500, San Diego, California 92101, 619/533-4200. The draft environmental documents can be obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California 92008, 619/431-9440.

Comments on these drafts will be accepted until October 15, 1996 and should be mailed to the following address: Mr. Gail Kobetich, Field Office Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2730 Loker Avenue West, Carlsbad, California 92008.