This report presents consensus recommendations from a group of independent scientists1 to the Renewable Energy Action Team (REAT)2 for the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). DRECP is intended to be a Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) under California’s NCCP Act of 2003 and will be the primary vehicle for obtaining authorizations to “take” or harm some ...

The Peninsular Ranges extend 1,500 km (900 mi) from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, forming a granitic spine near the western edge of the North American continent. They comprise an intact and rugged wilderness area connecting two countries and some of the richest montane and desert ecosystems in the world that support wideranging ...

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) commissioned the California Essential Habitat Connectivity Project because a functional network of connected wildlands is essential to the continued support of California’s diverse natural communities in the face of human development and climate change. This Report is also intended to make transportation and land-use planning ...

The Escondido Creek watershed comprises a relatively small, but immensely significant part of Southern California.  Within its approximately 54,000 acres, stretching from the foothills to the coast, lie the last remnants of an imperiled coastal scrub habitat that connects the northern and southern parts of a globally important ecological region.  Though seemingly unspectacular to some, this coastal scrub habitat ...

Over the past few decades, population growth has mushroomed in Orange County, as in the rest of Southern California, with the development of new communities and the infrastructure to support them.  This growth has come at the expense of natural habitats and species in an area recognized as part of a global hotspot of biodiversity.  The loss of habitat to ...