Planning to Prevent Species Endangerment

Abstract

For a long time, Americans have been protecting threatened habitats on a hit-or-miss basis. In recent years, the protection of threatened habitats has become a clearly defined environmental goal,¹ and existing government programs are being reexamined to determine the extent to which they are consistent with that goal. California has adopted a new program known as Natural Community Conservation Planning-the first planning statute to focus specifically on natural habitats.