HCPs are negotiated agreements between government wildlife agencies and private landowners that allow for a certain amount of negative impact on listed species during the course of a project in exchange for conservation measures such as donation or restoration of replacement habitat, or payment of per-acre development fees. The NCCP takes the HCP concept and expands it in every dimension to encompass the needs of biodiversity hotspots like southern California. Once these essential areas have been defined, land use planners, government regulators, private landowners and conservationists collaborate in delineating a network of biologically viable habitat reserves. Time will tell if the NCCP processes now underway in many areas of California can succeed. While there is much cautious optimism, criticism abounds as well.
Developers complain about the high costs associated with mitigation.
Others try to keep an open mind, but fear that the process got underway without the establishment of clear standards for participation by the public and the scientific community. Conservation Science and the NCCP Atwood is doing his best to address these concerns. Besides doing field research on gnatcatchers and the equally threatened Coastal Cactus Wren, he sits on technical advisory panels for ongoing planning processes in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties. Manomet Director Linda Leddy considers Atwood's activities an important application of the organization's scientific expertise. It's important for the public and other stakeholders not only to be able to apply scientific findings, but to be able to ask scientists for answers before policy decisions are made.