This proposal requests $5,155,500 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year 2024 cooperative endangered speciesconservation fund (section 6 of the endangered species act) nontraditional habitat…

This federal Project Grant award of $10,311,000 from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service's Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615) will support the acquisition and permanent protection of 291 acres of essential habitat in San Diego County, California. The grant will be matched by $5,155,500 in non-federal funds. The State of California Department of Fish & Wildlife, through its Wildlife Conservation Board, will own and manage the acquired properties in perpetuity to conserve listed and sensitive species, including the federally threatened coastal California gnatcatcher and Encinitas baccharis, and the federally endangered least Bell's vireo and southwestern willow flycatcher. The land acquisition will complement existing Habitat Conservation Plans in the region, securing core habitat areas and wildlife corridors. The project will be completed by October 30, 2027.

This proposal requests $5,155,500 in federal grant funds from the fiscal year 2024 cooperative endangered speciesconservation fund (section 6 of the endangered species act) nontraditional habitat conservation plan landacquisition grants program. The federal grant will be matched by non-federal funds totaling $5,155,500 (50.00PERCENT of the total project cost). Acquisition of the three properties (white-atterbury, elfin acres, andkesting) will result in permanent protection of conservation lands totaling 291 - acres that will complement thecity of carlsbads habitat management plan (carlsbad HMP) within the SAN diego county multiple habitatconservation plan (mhcp) and the newly permitted SAN diego gas electric (SDG e) habitat conservation planamendment (HCP) in SAN diego county, california. The purpose of the land acquisition proposal is to acquire, permanently protect, and manage highly developable but essential habitat that complements the carlsbad HMP andsdg e HCP as well as augments adjacent conserved lands. Priority parcels for conservation are those that meet thegoals and objectives for the covered species (listed and unlisted) and associated natural communities. Theproperties provide habitat for four listed species covered in both the carlsbad HMP and SDG e HCP: the federallythreatened coastal california gnatcatcher (polioptila californica californica) and encinitas baccharis (baccharisvanessae), and the federally endangered least bells vireo (vireo bellii pusillus) and southwestern willowflycatcher (empidonax traillii extimus). Three additional species occur in the area and potentially on theproposed acquisition properties that are covered under the SDG e HCP (but not the carlsbad HMP) include: thefederally threatened hermes copper butterfly (lycaena hermes) the at-risk and proposed federally threatenedsouthwestern pond turtle (actinemys pallida) and the at-risk and proposed federally threatened western spadefoottoad (spea hammondii) whose listing status is currently under review. The escondido creek conservancy will ownand manage the properties in perpetuity for the conservation of listed and sensitive species. Conservation andmanagement of the properties would complement the carlsbad HMP by further securing a coastal californiagnatcatcher core area as well as wildlife movement corridors to adjacent conserved lands that were conserved, inpart, by SDG e as mitigation for their HCP.