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 development created a growing list of threatened and endangered species in Southern California, presenting challenges to federal, state, and local agencies responsible for natural resource protection, as well as to developers and land use planners trying to maintain a healthy economy. To respond to this dilemma, in 1991 the California legislature passed the Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) Act to encourage a collaborative process for regional planning. As a result of the NCCP, natural open space reserves have been set aside in the coastal and central portions of Orange County which, when combined with National Forest lands, total approximately 163,000 acres of conserved habitat—majestic peaks, chaparral and oak-studded canyons, rolling scrub- and grassland covered hills, and the remnants of formerly extensive coastal lagoons and estuaries—lands that not only contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, but to the quality of life enjoyed by all Southern Californians. The legacy of this regional planning process continues, with the goal of protecting a green network of natural lands for wildlife habitat and open space recreation across jurisdictional boundaries in Southern California.
Conservation Assessment of Orange County
