Welcome to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program
Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Balancing Resource Use and Conservation

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Steering Committee

      Regulatory Documents

Implementation of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCR MSCP) is guided by the Program Documents. These documents provide the legal framework for implementation activities. The Program Documents include the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), the Biological Assessment, the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR), the Record of Decision, the Funding and Management Agreement (FMA), the Implementing Agreement (IA), the Biological Opinion, and the Section 10 Permit.

The LCR MSCP is unique because it provides Endangered Species Act coverage for both federal actions and non-federal activities. Chapter 2 of the Biological Assessment describes the Federal Covered Actions. Chapter 2 of the HCP describes non-federal covered activities by state. Chapter 5 of the HCP outlines the conservation plan including general and species-specific conservation measures. The EIS/EIR analyzes the impacts of implementing the conservation plan and issuance of the Section 10 permit. The EIS/EIR also provides regulatory compliance under the California Environmental Quality Act for the California parties.

The Implementation Agreement allows for changes to the Program Documents of a minor or technical nature if approved by the LCR MSCP Steering Committee and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Major changes to the Program Documents are done through an amendment to the documents and result in an amended Section 10 Permit and amended Biological Opinion. To date there have been 12 minor modifications to the HCP and one minor modification to the FMA and the IA. On March 5, 2018, the Permit and the Biological Opinion were amended to add the northern Mexican gartersnake as a covered species under the program.

You can find these materials at these links. All documents require Adobe Reader, which you can download here.

Other related documents:

Updated November 10, 2020