Thurston County Prairie Habitat Conservation Plan. Working Lands February, 2016

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1 Thurston County Prairie Habitat Conservation Plan Working Lands February, 2016

2 Why an HCP for Thurston County? Recent listings of 4 species Provides predictability and local control Limits liability for County and private land owners More common sense conservation

3 Covered Lands: HCP Habitat Areas

4 HCP Covered Habitats & Species Prairie (soils) Mazama Pocket Gopher* Prairie (vegetation) Taylor s Checkerspot Butterfly* Puget Blue Butterfly Hoary Elfin Oregon Branded Skipper Mardon Skipper Valley Silverspot Butterfly Oak woodland Western Gray Squirrel Slender-billed White-breasted Nuthatch Prairie (open) Streaked Horned Lark* Oregon Vesper Sparrow Wetland/Riparian Oregon Spotted Frog*

5 What we heard from the focus group Add some activities and check development projections Certainty for developers and landowners is important! Working lands are important! We need a shared strategy for financing the HCP

6 HCP by the numbers Covers 30 years of development in unincorporated Thurston County for 5 habitat features for 12 species ~18,000 of development on largely low quality habitat ~7,500 of conservation ~ 4,000 of that are in hand or will be secured by partners ~ 3,500 of new conservation lands need to be secured Cost is ~$5.1 million per year Funded with countywide measures, Conservation Futures, and mitigation fees Development gets an easy button, landowners get assurances, and conservation gets significant & strategic investment

7 Projected development impacts

8 30-yr Projected Residential Construction Residential Capacity Estimates based on population projections and Thurston Regional Planning Council Buildable Lands Analysis

9 ALL NUMBERS ARE DELIBERATIVE 30-year impacts by covered activity Covered Activity Projected Impacts: all habitat (very high quality equivalent) Projected Impacts: all habitat ( total ) Residential Development 4,950 13,860 Added Accessory Structures Commercial and Industrial Development 796 1,366 Environmental Health (extended septic systems, etc) Public Service Facilities (Schools/Fire Stations) Landfill/Solid Waste Management Public Works Transportation Projects Public Works Transportation Maintenance (temp) 600 1,488 Water Resources Management Parks and Recreation TOTAL 6,866 18,058

10 County Building Permit Applicants Prairie Areas Timelines with and without a County HCP 6 mo 12 mo 18 mo 24 mo 36 mo Complete project site survey in correct season Complete HCP Permit Application, Pay Mitigation Fee, Receive HCP Permit (4-6 weeks) Complete Individual HCP & NEPA, Get Individual Incidental Take Permit Pay for Mitigation* Required by USFWS *Mitigation Bank may not be available.

11 Conservation Program

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13 Timing Avoid impacts 1,000 2,000 3,000 3,000 New conservation lands 940 1, ,130 Existing conservation lands 1,084 1,000 1,000 1,000 Working lands ALL NUMBERS ARE DELIBERATIVE

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15 Working lands 500 Questions we have What kinds of incentives make sense? Land rental? Technical assistance? Cost share? Regulatory certainty? Recognition? Something else? If land rental, would 15-year agreements work? What are consistent uses for habitat stewardship? What types of assurances are most important? How could we link a strategy to other efforts? VSP? Ag-land protection? Who would be ideal to implement a strategy?

16 Working lands 500 Strategy elements 15-year voluntary stewardship agreements By 2025, County maintains 500 enrolled in program, but individual landowners may shift Neighboring landowner assurances Site selection criteria Same as new lands Performance criteria All conservation lands will be enhanced to high quality prairie and maintained at the level in perpetuity