The U.S. Endangered Species Act authorizes the creation of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), which allow the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) to reduce conflicts between listed species and private development through a framework that benefits threatened and endangered wildlife. HCPs, which are developed through a public process and legally binding, encourage "creative partnerships" among conservationists, landowners, government agencies and other interested parties.

To learn more about HCPs, please click HERE.

Currently, the Eastern Collier Multiple Species HCP, which would be permitted under Collier County’s award-winning Rural Lands Stewardship Act, is under consideration by the FWS. The HCP is an unprecedented landscape-level planning proposal, which, if implemented, would be one of the largest conservation efforts of its kind east of the Mississippi River.

Documents pertaining to this HCP are posted below. New documents will be posted as soon as received.

April, 2015 (First Draft): A draft of the Eastern Collier Multiple Species HCP has been submitted to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and is under agency review. A copy of the draft HCP is available here (13.68MB). This draft will be subject to analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and will be made available for public comment by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The draft HCP is subject to revision based on review by the Service, the results of the NEPA analysis, and public comments.

August 5, 2010: Letter from Audubon, Defenders of Widlife
and Florida Federation to Secretary Kennth Slazar
U.S. Department of the Interior
dated August 5, 2010

July 30, 2010: Fish And Wilflife Receipt of IPT Application

June 3, 2010: Eastern Collier Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan Summary

February 17, 2009: Town of Big Cypress to Participate in New Habitat Conservation Plan

Letter from Cynthia Dohner, Regional Director Fish and Wildlife Service
to Manley Fuller dated December 1, 2009

Letter from Audubon, Defenders of Wildlife, and Florida Wildlife Federation to Secretary Kenneth Salazar, U.S. Department of the Interior, dated November 6, 2009

Letter from Mark Schult, Environmental Analyst,
Florida Department of Transportation
to Tom Jones dated September 1, 2009

Letter from Audubon, Defenders of Wildlife, and Florida Wildlife Federation to Secretary Kenneth Salazar, U.S. Department of the Interior, dated May 7, 2009

Letter from the Everglades Coalition to Secretary Kenneth Salazar, U.S. Department of the Interior, dated May 6, 2009

Letter from Tom Jones to Paul Souza, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, dated May 20, 2009