Species Coverage in Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plans: Where's the Science?

• Published in: Bioscience Vol. 56; no. 7; pp. 613 - 619
• Main Authors: RAHN, MATTHEW E, DOREMUS, HOLLY, DIFFENDORFER, JAMES
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Circulation, AIBS, 1313 Dolley Madison Blvd., Suite 402, McLean, VA 22101. USA American Institute of Biological Sciences 01-07-2006; University of California Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Company business planning; Conservation; Conservation biology; Conservation of natural resources; conservation planning; conservation programs; covered species; DEPARTMENTS; Endangered & extinct species; Endangered species; Endemic species; Environmental conservation; Environmental protection; Forum; Habitat (Ecology); Habitat conservation; habitat conservation plans; Habitat preferences; Habitats; Handbooks; multispecies; Natural resource conservation; Planning; Protection and preservation; Selection Criteria; Species; Threatened species; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; endangered species; multispecies; covered species; habitat conservation plans; conservation planning
• ISSN: 0006-3568; 1525-3244
• DOI: 10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[613:SCIMHC]2.0.CO;2

Habitat conservation plans (HCPs) permit the incidental take of threatened or endangered species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the NOAA Fisheries Service endorse multispecies HCPs, claiming that they offer advantages for both conservation and development. However, the conservation benefits of multispecies plans to individual covered species may be overestimated. We reviewed the species selected for coverage in 22 multispecies HCPs from USFWS Region 1. We found that conservation measures were often not clearly defined, and that the presence of the species in the planning area was not even confirmed for 41 percent of covered species. While we do not question the conservation value of multispecies plans, our study suggests that changes are needed to achieve full conservation potential.