About The JPA
About The Yolo County Habitat Joint Powers Agency
The Yolo County NCCP/HCP Joint Powers Agency ("JPA") was formed in August 2002 for the purposes of acquiring Swainson's hawk habitat conservation easements and to serve as the lead agency for the preparation of a county-wide Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP), now known as the Yolo Natural Heritage Program. The JPA governing Board is composed of representatives from member Agencies, which include two members of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, one member each from the City Councils of Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento and Winters, and one ex-officio member from UC Davis.
The JPA manages two programs:
- Swainson's Hawk Interim Mitigation Fee Program. Established in 1993, the program utilizes mitigation fees to acquire conservation easements protecting Swainson's hawk habitat. Currently, the JPA is pursuing several specific opportunities with local farmers and other property owners. The JPA's first transaction in July 2006 leveraged a 118-acre acquisition to complete a 643-acre conservation easement on agricultural land just north of the City of Davis. A second transaction completed in 2007 allowed the JPA to expand an existing 600-acre habitat easement by 200 acres. Pending transactions totaling 690 acres are expected to close before the summer. Changes to the Swainson's Hawk Interim Mitigation Fee program in 2006 (that require developers with projects over 40 acres in size to mitigate directly) have resulted in the protection of an additional 1,027 acres of Swainson's hawk foraging habitat.
- Yolo Natural Heritage Program. The Yolo Natural Heritage Program is a county-wide Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) for the 653,629 acre planning area that provides habitat for many special status and at risk species found within five dominant habitats/natural communities. The Yolo Natural Heritage Program will describe the measures that will be undertaken to conserve important biological resources, obtain permits for urban growth and public infrastructure projects, and continue Yolo County's rich agricultural heritage.
Advisors to the Joint Powers Agency
Technical Advisory Committee - makes site-specific recommendations to the JPA Board on interim management plans for Swainson's hawk.
Independent Science Advisors - advise the JPA regarding science
Reference Documents
Agreement Regarding Mitigation for Impacts to Swainson's Hawk Foraging Habitat in Yolo County