The ranch, which was acquired by the City of Austin in a transaction brokered by the nonprofit Nature Conservancy, is nesting territory for the golden-cheeked warbler, an endangered songbird and the only avian species that breeds exclusively in Texas. The plan has been eight years in the making. It will be called the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. Her reference was to CCCP, the Russian initials for the former Soviet Union. The plan is supported by mainstream environmental and business groups, but it also has plenty of critics.
Some environmentalists contend that too little land is being acquired too late.
Some landowners, especially those whose tracts would be acquired for preservation, regard the plan as an intrusion on private property rights. In return, they will not be subject to federal enforcement action for destroying species habitat. The city and county will use the fees to buy preserve lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service has approved about 130 habitat conservation plans under the species act. Besides being the first major urban plan, the Balcones plan is noteworthy for the diversity of species involved, said Michael Bean, chairman of the wildlife program at the Environmental Defense Fund, a conservation group.