CASE STUDY of the ESA Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) process Essay

CASE STUDY of the ESA Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) process - Essay Example The duration of HCPs can range from one year up to one hundred years. The United States Fish and Wildlife Services have the discretion to negotiate with landowners when there are no other stakeholders used. Found on the north of San Francisco Peninsula stands the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan. In this essay, this HCP will be analyzed in details from all dimensions. A development project in the San Bruno Mountains necessitated the development of the San Bruno Mountains HCP. There arose a conflict on the development of the mountainous region by the Visitacion Associates with the San Mateo County authorities. To discourage the development of the area, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) came in and recommended that the habitat would be conserved for butterfly conservation. The complexity arose from the interconnectedness of the Visitation Associates with the Republican government of Ronald Reagan. Despite their support from the Federal government, the local environmentalists were firm in supporting USFWS propositions. As a result of the confrontations, there was developed an agreement between the developer and the San Mateo County authorities to have the HCP established. The HCP provides a habitat for the mission blue butterfly (Plebejus icarioides missionensis) and the San Bruno elfin butterfly (Callophyrs mossi bayensis). These two have be en found to be endangered. In addition, the HCP provides for the protection of the Callippe silverspot butterfly (Spayeria callippe callippe). Despite the heightened disagreements at the start of the negotiations in the 1980s, the HCP was successfully established (Thomas Reid Associates, 1993). The establishment of the San Bruno HCP was surrounded by several controversies especially based on the involvement of many parties. The San Mateo County supervisor Bacciocco spearheaded the negotiation process by bringing the