Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP)
HCP MOVIE Info : Click Here
Prairie and savannahs once occupied over 1,700,000 acres in the western interior valleys of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Today, less than one percent of these remain making them one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. This habitat is not only rare, but highly fragmented making it difficult for many species that depend on it to maintain viable populations. Former grassland habitats are now cities, subdivisions, agricultural fields, forests and managed grazing lands. However, through District efforts over the past several years a number of intact native prairie habitat have been located and conserved by conscientious private landowners.
The District will be searching for these habitats and landowners who will be willing to protect and manage them thanks to a grant awarded recently to the District from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The District will be embarking upon a multi-year project to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for lands within Yamhill County which will focus on recovery efforts for species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) inhabiting upland prairies.
Two of the main species we will be trying to locate within these prairie habitats are the Fender’s blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioldes fenderi) which is listed as endangered under the ESA and the Kincaid’s lupine (Lupinus sulphureus ssp. kincaidii) which is a threatened species and is the butterfly’s caterpillar stage host plant. We will also be looking for opportunities to conserve a variety of nectar plants that the butterfly uses. The hope and intention is to locate several semi-large populations of these and then link them together through small patches or stepping stone habitats. This will allow biological exchange among sites and will allow for expansion of the stepping stones into larger habitats if the landowner so chooses. This effort will follow the newly published USFWS Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and Southwestern Washington which was signed in May 2010.
Another equally important goal of the HCP besides support of species recovery is to provide regulatory assurances to private landowners who own this type of habitat. The completed HCP will allow landowners within the county to comply with the ESA while engaging in land management activities. Specifically, landowners planning on undertaking a project that may adversely affect an ESA listed species will have the opportunity to obtain incidental take permit coverage through this HCP process. Restoration funding will also be easier to obtain for those landowners who wish to enhance their prairie habitats.
Yamhill SWCD has the unique opportunity of serving as a model for other SWCD’s and organizations by establishing an efficient way to incorporate species conservation into private lands management. However, we will need the cooperation of local landowners, stakeholders and public agencies to make this effort a reality. There are many ways that local citizens can become involved in this process;
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Locating prairie habitats – is a key priority and will not happen without private landowner’s help in identifying these. If you think you have grassland habitat, even if it’s less than an acre, sign up for a survey so we can assess it for native species.
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Stakeholder Committee - is composed of local representatives from regulatory agencies and public interest groups, as well as private landowners and other interested individuals or groups. They will provide the HCP Project Manager with comments and advice on preparation of the HCP.
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Technical Advisory Committee - will serve as an advisory group to the HCP Project Manager on such issues as species biology, species habitat requirements, and habitat restoration.
The District is very excited to open a new chapter in conservation within the county. This all voluntary project will truly be a county wide effort, so please contact Amie Loop-Frison, HCP Project Manager at (503) 472-1474 x113 or email at amie.loop-frison@or.nacdnet.net if you can contribute some time or knowledge or would simply like more information.
Additional links and documents
Habitat Conservation Brochure
HCP Brochure.pdf
Prairie Species Survey Sign Up: CLICK HERE
Photos and additional information on Kincaid’s lupine and Fender’s blue butterfly
HCP Species ID.pdf
Questions and answers to common questions about the HCP
HCP Q & A.pdf
Recovery Plan for the Prairie Species of Western Oregon and SW Washington: Click Here
Willamette Valley Native Prairie Habitat Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Fender’s Blue Butterfly : Click Here
Example Habitat Conservation Plans:
Benton County Prairie Species Habitat Conservation
Oregon State Parks Snowy Plover Habitat Conservation Plan