The Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: 10 Years Later

Abstract

Urban development in Southern California over the past few decades has largely concentrated on the coastal areas. In contrast, Riverside County, California's fourth largest county, which sits inland from the coast and is about the size of New Jersey, has until recently retained much of its rural and agricultural acreage with a significant percentage of its land undeveloped. With so much open space, western Riverside County was among the inland areas of Southern California left with a majority of the remaining intact habitat areas for species, sometimes making it “ground zero” for a battle between saving habitat for endangered species and building new homes and infrastructure in a fast‐growing area. That tug‐of‐;war eventually led to the formation of one of the nation's largest Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) covering nearly 150 plants and animals protected by endangered species laws or potentially in danger of becoming listed as endangered or threatened.