Featured
Projects
Click on the linked headings below to find out
more about our featured projects.
 One
of TRA's areas of special expertise is habitat conservation
plans (HCPs) for endangered species. Habitat conservation
plans are authorized under the federal Endangered Species
Act (Section 10(a)) for take of listed endangered or threatened
species on private lands. We prepared the first two HCPs
for endangered species, the San
Bruno Mountain HCP (1982). and the Coachella Valley
Fringe-toed Lizard HCP (1985).
Both of these plans supported applications
for Section 10(a) permits which were subsequently approved
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Based on the San
Bruno Mountain experience, the Endangered Species Act (ESA)
was amended in 1982 to include a provision for an incidental
take permit supported by an HCP. For our second HCP, the
Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard HCP, TRA received an
Outstanding Planning Award from the Inland Empire Chapter
of the American Planning Association.
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Placer County Conservation
Since 1998, TRA has been providing assistance to the County
of Placer on two important projects that will guide the
future of the County: 1) the Placer
Legacy Open Space and Agricultural Conservation Program
and the Placer
County Conservation Plan, a joint Habitat Conservation
Plan/Natural Communities Conservation Plan. For the Open
Space Program we assisted the County with a GIS analysis
and mapping of resources. For the PCCP, TRA has participated
in focused interagency meetings meant to direct the scope
and direction of the PCCP. We designed a series of GIS models
forecasting habitat loss by vegetation community type and
mitigation scenarios for analysis under the Plan as well
as a GIS database of the resources present in the plan area.
In 2004, we prepared a Conservation
Strategy Overview and in February we published a full
Agency review draft of the PCCP.
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 Headwaters
Forest
From 1996-1999,
TRA provided assistance to the State of California Resources
Agency for the Headwaters
Forest project. We prepared a conservation strategy
for the marbled murrelet, Coho salmon and other species
of concern; provided technical review of the HCP, and reconciliation
of the HCP and Sustained Yield Plan (SYP). We also provided
administrative review of the EIS/EIR (prepared by others).
A key component of the EIS/EIR was the preparation of the
Mitigation and Monitoring Plan, which specified exactly
what measures are to be taken to reduce all listed impacts
to less than significant levels.
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In 2001, TRA
produced a Land Use and Economics Study, jointly funded
by the Grassland
Water District, the Packard Foundation and the Great
Valley Center. It may be the first of its kind to provide
a comprehensive picture of the economic values of wetlands
in the County, and their impact on the local economy. These
non-urban land uses produce a net economic benefit to the
local economy, whereas urban development, particularly sprawl
type residential development, produces a net economic loss
to local government. The study will benefit stakeholders
by streamlining project review and improving the certainty
of land use decisions. The work products include a final
report, a public information booklet, and a workshop for
the public and government stakeholders.
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The Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District is a public agency that acquires
and manages open space resources in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara
and San Mateo counties. The District proposes to extend
its boundaries to include the majority of the San Mateo
County coastside, approximately 140,000 acres, in order
to acquire and manage land and easements for the preservation
of open space and agriculture, and the protection of sensitive
resources. The proposed annexation to the District is subject
to approval by the San Mateo County Local Agency Formation
Commission (LAFCo).
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San
Mateo Coastal Annexation Environmental Impact Report