A state law passed in 2016, AB 2087, established a conservation planning tool called a Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) to promote the conservation of species, habitats, and other natural resources.
The Monterey County Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (or Strategy) is designed to assess the vulnerability of species and habitat to climate change related stressors and pressures (temperature shift, precipitation change, drought, and wildfire, among others); and develop conservation actions to improve species and habitat resiliency from the identified stressors. Conservation actions identified in the Strategy may be then be turned into mitigation credits that can streamline project delivery and result in superior species conservation. Some examples of potential conservation strategies that could be identified through the Regional Conservation Investment Strategy include:
- Wildlife crossings under or over State highways and highly-travelled regional corridors, such as the Scenic State Route 68 between Monterey and Salinas, that preserve and improve habitat connectivity while reducing animal-vehicle conflict points;
- Wetlands protection and restoration that protects from the effects of flooding and storm water impacts, such as potentially restoring Santa Cruz Long-Toed Salamander pond habitat for the State Route 156 in north Monterey County; and
- Land acquisition for species and habitat restoration and conservation (including preservation of agricultural lands) that creates a more drought-tolerant landscape and healthy species habitat as well as protects nearby infrastructure from climate-related events such as wildfires and landslides.
With the passage of Senate Bill 1 and Measure X, Monterey County’s self-help transportation sales tax measure, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County has habitat mitigation needs for numerous regional transportation improvements in corridors that are highly constrained by environmental factors, with some projects lying within the coastal zone. These habitat protection needs present an opportunity to develop the Monterey County Regional Conservation Investment Strategy to identify conservation strategies with co-benefits to transportation infrastructure climate resiliency and public safety, and then implement those strategies as advance mitigation for the transportation improvements.
The Strategy will seek to accomplish the following specific objectives:
- Identify locations for habitat and agricultural mitigation for transportation projects, to create more meaningful land preservation and improve the resource agency approval process
- Identify adaptation strategies to remedy identified climate-related vulnerabilities;
- Advance the planning of specific climate adaptation projects; and
- Provide benefits to disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
To assist with the development of the Monterey County Regional Conservation Investment Strategy, the Transportation Agency contracted with AECOM consultants. TAMC convened a steering committee composed of Caltrans, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Nature Conservancy. A broader stakeholder committee was also established that included local conservation organizations, such as the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and the Big Sur Land Trust, and other public agencies, such as the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Agency has held regular steering committee and stakeholder meetings to solicit feedback during the development of the Strategy.
The components of the draft Strategy include: 1) establishing the Regional Setting and identifying the boundaries of the Regional Conservation Investment Strategy, which in this case if all of Monterey County; 2) developing a list of Focal Species that will be considered as part of the strategy; 3) determining the Pressures and Stressors that are impacting the focal species (such as airborne pollutants, sensitivity to flooding or temperature changes, and loss of habitat or connectivity); and 4) crafting Conservation Strategies that help to support continued persistence of species through the protection, enhancement, restoration, and creation of habitat.
The comment period on the administrative draft Conservation Strategy component recently closed, and the Agency received over 180 comments from a variety of government agencies and conservation organizations. The Agency’s consulting team will respond to these comments and develop a draft of the Monterey County Regional Conservation Investment Strategy, which will be available for public review in July 2020.
The release of the draft Strategy will coincide with an online public meeting to receive further comments and feedback. Holding a public meeting on the proposed RCIS is a requirement of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife guidelines, which also requires sending notification of the meeting to all of the cities and counties within the RCIS boundary, as well as all of the cities and counties adjacent to the boundary.
Once all public comment has been incorporated into the draft Strategy, a final draft will be brought back to the Board for consideration at the August 2020 meeting. If approved by the Board, the final draft will then be submitted to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for final approval. Once finalized, the Strategy can be used to develop Mitigation Credit Agreements to facilitate advance mitigation planning in advance of transportation project impacts, resulting in conservation actions that have greater benefit and expedited project delivery.