The Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: A Decade of Delays

This article describes the history of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP), in the Riverside County region of Southern California. When this collaborative biodiversity conservation planning process began, in 1994, local participants and supporters had numerous factors working in their favor. Yet, as of April 2007, nearly 13 years had passed without an approved plan. This is a common problem. Many multiple species habitat conservation plans now take more than a decade to complete, and the long duration of these processes often results in negative consequences. The CVMSHCP process became bogged down—despite strong scientific input and many political advantages—due to problematic relationships between the Plan’s local supporters, its municipal signatory parties, and officials from the state and federal wildlife agencies, particularly the regional office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This case study demonstrates the crucial importance of institutional structures and relationships, process management, and timeliness in habitat conservation planning. We conclude by offering several related recommendations for future HCP processes.