RCIS Frequently Asked Questions

Development & Format

Development

• Is funding available for development of an RCIS?

  The Wildlife Conservation Board was authorized by Proposition 68 to fund a variety of projects, including the development of RCISs. Additional funds are available through the general grant applications for RCIS development as well. Guidelines for Proposition 68 and general grant applications are available for project sponsors looking for funding.

  Senate Bill 1, signed in 2017, authorized Sustainable Transportation Planning grants for local and regional transportation agencies for climate change adaptation planning. Administered by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), these grants are available for the development of RCISs. Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants guidelines and templates are available from Caltrans.

  Senate Bill 1 also established the Advance Mitigation Program at Caltrans, and established an Advance Mitigation Revolving Fund, capitalized by $120 million over four years to plan, administer, and fund mitigation actions in advance of SHOPP and STIP Projects. Those funds may be used to develop or participate in RCIS development. Program information is available from Caltrans.

• How should the RCIS boundary be determined?

  There are no established requirements for determining RCIS boundaries. The initial RCISs were developed using county jurisdictions as the boundaries of the plans (e.g., Monterey County, Yolo County, East Bay), while more recent RCISs have used ecologically based boundaries (Kaweah Groundwater Basin). There are multiple acceptable approaches. The intended use of the strategy should guide what boundary is selected. Sponsors should note that RCIS boundaries cannot overlap, so consideration should be made for the location of future RCISs.

• How long does it take to prepare an RCIS?

  The RCIS process was designed to be relatively fast and inexpensive compared to other kinds of regional conservation planning. Preparing an RCIS typically takes 12 to 18 months to reach a draft that is accepted by CDFW as complete. It is important to engage stakeholders, including CDFW, and prepare for ADA remediation early in the process to streamline the approval process. The final approval process once a draft is complete can vary but is expected to take 5 to 7 months.

• How is an RCIS compatible with existing regulations requirements?

  The RCIS conservation strategy is required to be compatible with all applicable laws. As the RCIS is a voluntary conservation vision for the region, the strategy can use existing regulations as a pathway to resource sustainability. For example, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires the development of groundwater sustainability plans to facilitate groundwater overdraft mitigation groundwater overdraft.

  Implementation of RCIS actions can be used to support grant applications to facilitate the preparation and implementation of these plans, as well as identify priority actions and locations that plans can focus on.

Format

• What should be included as a conservation element?

  Conservation elements include focal species, habitats, and ecological processes, which have a specific conservation strategy. Non-focal conservation elements are associated with a focal conservation element whose strategy has actions that can be implemented to benefit the non-focal conservation element. Focal conservation element actions can be implemented to create mitigation credit agreements for that conservation element, as well as for any associated non-focal species. Selection of focal and non-focal conservation elements MUST follow the following guidance:

  • Preliminary list using best available science and refined using criteria to create a final list
  • A range of species with conservation needs
  • Other conservation elements needing conservation and whose inclusion would help achieve a comprehensive, cohesive, connected regional conservation outcome
  • Natural communities that may be important in the RCIS area, including major landcover types and those considered unique, sensitive, vulnerable, or declining
  • Habitat connectivity
  • Any ecosystem processes that are important to the RCIS area
  • Consider conservation benefits of preserving working lands; working lands may be included as a conservation element

  Selection of focal and non-focal conservation elements SHOULD follow the following guidance:

  • Federal- and state-listed species
  • Wide-ranging species
  • Climate vulnerable species
  • Representative species from major taxonomic groups
  • Important habitat types not easily characterized by natural communities
  • Waters of the U.S., state, and other applicable aquatic resources

  The RCIS sponsor’s (and partners’ and advisors’) intended use of the strategy should guide how the conservation elements and subsequent conservation strategy is developed.

• What are some example RCIS conservation strategy goals, objectives, and actions?

  The RCIS conservation goals, objectives, and actions must benefit one or more focal species or conservation elements. Objectives are measurable that contribute to achieving the conservation goals.

  Example regional goal and objectives:

  • Goal: Sustain a functioning landscape that supports a mosaic of native species and habitats, intact ecological services and processes, resilience to climate change stressors, and healthy ecosystem functions in the RCIS area.
    • Objective 1.1: Protect land that provides existing habitat and ecosystem values; transitional habitat and ecosystem processes; and land that may provide habitat and ecosystem function in the future because of landscape changes.
    • Objective 1.2: Restore and enhance land to improve ecological function and habitat value.
    • Objective 1.3: Improve understanding of the distribution, abundance, and condition of species and communities in the landscape.

  Actions support achieving the associated objective. Types of actions include implementation, planning, and visionary.

  Example regional habitat-specific (tidal communities) enhancement and restoration actions (From North Bay Baylands RCIS):

  • Enhancement action (Implementation) – Manage perennial pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium) populations and other Refuge-prioritized invasive species (e.g., invasive Spartina sp.) using the San Pablo Bay NWR pepperweed control plan as a template for implementation.
  • Restoration action (Planning) – When planning for tidal marsh restoration, include a variety of depths and focus on connecting/restoring large blocks of suitable habitat. Focus on the broad areas of tidal marsh along the shore of San Pablo Bay, the widest marshes in the Napa-Sonoma Marsh, and the baylands of Petaluma River, Sonoma Creek, and Novato Creek.
  • Restoration action (Visionary) – Work with adjacent landowners to conserve valleys, plains, and areas with small intermittent and/or seasonal creeks with low-intensity agriculture adjacent to tidal areas for future marsh and transition zone migration.

Implementation

• Who can use an RCIS once it is prepared?

  Any entity can use an RCIS to guide conservation investments, such as protection, restoration, or enhancement actions. Users of an RCIS could include local open space districts, state conservancies, or other public and private entities that fund or implement conservation actions. Other users may include transportation and other infrastructure agencies, which could use an RCIS to guide the siting of and/or mitigation for infrastructure projects. Funders, such as the state Wildlife Conservation Board, CDFW, the state Coastal Conservancy, or philanthropic funders may also use an approved RCIS to guide their investments through grants or other mechanisms.

• How does the RCIS enable mitigation?

  The RCIS itself does not describe mitigation actions. It is simply an assessment identifying regional conservation values and actions. If the RCIS is approved by CDFW, then a person or a public or private entity will have the option of developing a Mitigation Credit Agreement with CDFW to receive mitigation credit for actions that they are undertaking within the RCIS boundary consistent with the strategies identified in the RCIS. An MCA must be submitted for CDFW, and other resource agencies as appropriate, for review and approval. CDFW’s website includes a template, and additional information can be found in Section 5 of the RCIS Program Guidelines.

• What will the RCIS say about how/where mitigation can be sited or approved?

  The RCIS will not provide guidance on how/where mitigation can be sited or approved. The RCIS will include only conservation values and strategies. Details regarding how/where mitigation can be sited or approved are determined on an agency-by-agency basis during the permitting process. Each agency is governed by their own policy that guides how and what mitigation they approve. Any future MCAs must be negotiated with CDFW (and other agencies as appropriate) and meet their requirements for siting and service area.

Permitting and CEQA Implications

• How is an RCIS different from an NCCP or HCCP?

  An RCIS is a non-regulatory guidance document intended to create a regional vision for species and habitat protection, enhancement, and restoration, climate resilience, and habitat connectivity. An RCIS does not authorize or prohibit projects or establish project mitigation requirements. Instead, RCISs are intended to provide timely, voluntary guidance that will allow strategic investments of conservation funding and inform regional advance mitigation planning and infrastructure planning. Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs), issued by CDFW, and regional Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs), issued by federal agencies, are regulatory conservation plans that support the issuance of state and federal permits that authorize the take of threatened, endangered, and state fully protected species within specified areas under certain conditions. NCCPs and HCPs:

  • Cover a wide range of development projects;
  • Prescribe avoidance, minimization and mitigation standards and measures for project impacts to sensitive species and habitats;
  • Establish conservation and mitigation programs funded by development fees; and
  • Are in effect and implemented over the course of thirty years or more.

  RCISs do not directly support the issuance of permits. The permit efficiencies are found in assisting project proponents to avoid and minimize impacts to listed species and natural communities, and in streamlining the mitigation process to reduce delays to projects . Because an RCIS is non-regulatory and does not support permit issuance, the development timeline for an approved RCIS is much shorter, typically taking about two years compared to 10 years for NCCPs or HCPs.

• Can an RCIS be prepared where an HCP or NCCP already exists?

  Yes. An RCIS can be prepared in an area that overlaps with a draft or approved regional HCP or NCCP. The RCIS must be consistent with the HCP/NCCP or provide an explanation for why it is inconsistent. To ensure this compatibility, an RCIS sponsor must engage with an HCP/NCCP authorizing entity through the development process and the RCIS should be designed to supplement the conservation and mitigation already provided by the HCP/NCCP. Requirements are detailed in the RCIS guidelines Section 4.3.4.5.

• How would an RCIS affect CEQA? Would it streamline environmental review or permitting?

  An RCIS would not affect the CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) process in any way, nor would it alter any requirements or standards for environmental review or permitting.

  However, approved RCISs could provide information relevant for CEQA review and for permitting. For example, an RCIS provides background information on species and habitats that could be used in CEQA and permitting documents.

  Project proponents can also review beneficial conservation and habitat enhancement actions in the RCIS and proposed them as part of a CEQA document’s mitigation measures. Mitigation measures that are aligned with regional strategies and priorities may be more acceptable to regulatory agencies. CEQA lead agencies and permitting agencies would still review the project’s description, environmental analysis, and significance determinations in the same way for projects both within and outside of RCIS areas.

• Is CEQA compliance required to prepare or adopt an RCIS or MCA?

  Compliance with CEQA is not required for the preparation or adoption of an RCIS or an MCA. RCISs are voluntary guidance documents. Neither RCISs or MCAs require or authorize projects or activities or cause a physical change in the environment.

  A public agency proposing an RCIS or MCA should consult its legal counsel to determine whether a specific RCIS or MCA proposed would trigger the need for CEQA compliance. Implementation of projects associated with an MCA are likely subject to state and federal environmental review.