ESA FAQ (25 entries)

• What is the Endangered Species Act (ESA)?
  In 1973, Congress passed the ESA to protect endangered species from being killed and to halt the destruction of their habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), a division of ...
• How does the Endangered Species Act (ESA) protect endangered species?
  Most basically, if a species is put on the federal endangered species list, it becomes illegal to kill it or destroy its habitat, whether or not the species is on public ...
• What is an Incidental Take Permit (ITP)?
  "Take" is the ESA's term for harming or harassing a species or destroying its habitat. By narrow provisions in the ESA (Section 10a), Congress authorized ITPs to be granted to ...
• What is a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)?
  An HCP is the other side of an ITP coin. Although they're called Habitat Conservation Plans, they actually allow destruction of endangered species habitat along with proposing mitigation measures to supposedly ...
• What is mitigation?
  Mitigation means lessening the negative effects of something – usually something that cannot be entirely prevented. Thus, a pollution mitigation plan would be a plan to reduce the effects of pollution. ...
• Why does SBMW object to HCPs?
  Habitat loss is the primary reason why endangered species are on the brink of extinction. Taking more habitat further threatens them. Most scientists agree that re-creating their habitat elsewhere is difficult ...
• What is an endangered species?
  An endangered species is "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range” (Endangered Species Act, 1973).
• When did the first HCP go into effect?
  In 1982, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was altered to allow ITPs for development and other commercial activities. In 1983, the first HCP was written for developing on endangered species habitat ...
• Who is in charge of an HCP?
  The USFWS is the ultimate authority. The San Mateo County Parks Department is the "plan operator" for the San Bruno Mountain HCP. The HCP Trustees, who are the City Managers of ...
• Even if the San Bruno Mountain HCP is badly done, why do you consider all HCPs to be negative?
  Although HCPs began to appear slowly at first, they have become more and more popular. The Clinton Administration, represented by Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, dramatically expanded the HCP program, ...
• Where does the money come from to operate the San Bruno Mountain HCP?
  Each home or commercial building built under the HCP agreement pays a yearly assessment for habitat restoration. In the original plan, the amount of money needed to conserve the habitat was ...
• What is habitat restoration?
  The HCP defines "restored habitat" as “areas where both invasive species control and replanting of native species is conducted.” This definition is blindingly simplistic: once damaged, highly evolved ecosystems cannot ...
• What is an EIR?
  Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required if the governing agency determines that a proposed building project may impact the environment. EIRs include ...
• What is a Negative Declaration?
  A negative declaration (“Neg Dec”) is a statement that says, “Based on an initial study, no significant environmental harm will be done by a particular building project.” If the governing ...
• What is an Environmental Assessment?
  An Environmental Assessment (EA) is a study of the environmental impacts of a project under the Federal Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). An EA is akin to an EIR, only applying federal ...
• Why is the Northeast Ridge development project on San Bruno Mountain controversial?
  The northeast ridge contains some of the best habitat for two of the endangered species on the mountain, the Mission blue and the Callippe silverspot. The present proposal destroys some ...
• When was the original Northeast Ridge EIR approved?
  The original Northeast Ridge EIR was approved in 1982. Building did not take place at that time, and an Addendum (addition that involved changes) to the EIR was approved in ...
• Isn’t coastal scrub advance the biggest threat to the butterfly habitat?
  Loss of habitat is the biggest cause of the butterflies decline and the primary reason they are endangered. Permanent loss of habitat, we argue, is worse than habitat degraded by ...
• How much habitat loss on San Bruno Mountain is due to scrub advancing, and how much is due to building since the HCP went in to effect?
  Since the HCP came into effect 27 years ago, 330 acres of habitat have been permanently destroyed (new houses and roads), and 230 acres temporarily and perhaps permanently disturbed – that’s ...
• Can’t the disturbed areas be restored?
  We take issue with the HCP definition of restored habitat since it doesn’t speak to successful restoration, or describe the amount of biodiversity of a restored site compared to the native ...
• If it takes $400,000 a year to restore the habitat on San Bruno Mountain, what other alternative is there besides trading habitat for restoration money?
  Trading habitat for money permanently destroys that habitat. When habitat is taken over by invasive weeds, at least there is a possibility of recovering some habitat functions. We ...
• The Bay Area needs housing, yet SBMW is blocking housing from being built. Does San Bruno Mountain Watch care more about butterflies than people?
  The Bay Area has no shortage of oversized, unaffordable housing – precisely the type that is proposed for San Bruno Mountain. We care especially for our children and grandchildren ...
• What is the status of the Northeast Ridge Development project now that the Neg Dec was approved and now that SBMW filed a lawsuit to stop it?
  The City of Brisbane gave final approval of the project, though SBMW and many citizens spoke out against it. Now the only thing in the way of this development going ...
• What does SBMW hope to gain by going to court?
  Parties to a lawsuit are required to consider a settlement agreement – some sort of compromise both parties can live with. If no settlement is forthcoming, the suit goes to ...
• What will SBMW do if it loses the Neg Dec case?
  We feel strongly that the USFWS did not properly examine this case. It is possible that we will challenge the case in federal court, but no decision has been made ...