Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund: Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Planning Assistance

As many species listed as endangered or threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) spend at least part of their life cycle on non-Federal lands, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recognizes success in conserving and recovering these species depends largely on working cooperatively with States and Territories (hereafter, “States”). Section 6 of the ESA authorizes the Service to provide Federal financial assistance to eligible State agencies to support the development and implementation of conservation programs for the benefit of resident listed species. This financial assistance, provided in the form of competitive grants, is made available through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CESCF) Grant Programs. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) applies specifically to CESCF Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Planning Assistance Grants. This NOFO fully describes application eligibility, evaluation, and selection. It should be read in its entirety as much of the information has changed from previous years. Given the significant investment of time and money associated with projects funded through this program, we also recommend you coordinate with the appropriate Service point of contact (Section G) before starting work on a project or application. Prior to 1982, non-Federal landowners undertaking otherwise lawful activities that were likely to take listed species risked violating section 9 of the ESA, which prohibits the "taking" of a listed species. In the 1982 amendments to the ESA, Congress established a voluntary mechanism under section 10(a)(1)(B) that authorizes the Service to issue to non-Federal entities a permit for the "incidental take" of endangered and threatened wildlife species. An HCP must accompany the application for an incidental take permit to demonstrate how the applicant intends to meet minimization and mitigation commitments to meet the permit issuance criteria under section 10(a)(2)(B) of the ESA. The commitments made by the applicant in the HCP become part of the permit. In some States, HCPs have become a broad-based, landscape-level planning tool. In addition to conserving listed species, HCPs often include conservation measures for candidate or at-risk species, as well as other rare species in the plan area. By including these species in the HCP, developers and landowners can also help prevent their decline or need for future listing under the ESA. Should a non-listed species that is covered under the HCP become listed during the permit term, the HCP can provide a seamless process to authorize the take to the newly listed species and eliminate the need to amend the permit. Thus, landowners have an incentive to conserve both listed and unlisted species that may become listed in the future. HCP development, especially when covering large areas, can require a significant investment of time and money. Providing Federal financial assistance, in the form of competitive grants, is an added incentive for entering into the HCP process beyond the regulatory assurances these plans provide. Established in fiscal year 2001, the HCP Planning Assistance Grant program provides funding to States to support the development of new HCPs as well as the renewal or amendment of existing HCPs. The development of HCPs that include only candidate or at-risk species (i.e., no listed species covered by the HCP), such that the HCP would be in place if the species is listed, is also supported through this program. Funding may be used to support HCP development and planning activities such as document preparation, public outreach, baseline species surveys, habitat assessments, and inventories. The preparation of environmental compliance review documents, such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), is also an eligible use of grant funds.