North County Multiple Species Conservation Plan 

Conservation Strategy

Virtual Public Workshops

Thursday November 16, 2023
6:00 p.m.
Zoom

Introduction

The County of San Diego (County) holds public workshops during the development of key components of the North County Multiple Species Conservation Plan (North County Plan). The workshops are held to incorporate public feedback and adjust the plan as needed.

On November 16, 2023, the County held a virtual public workshop to discuss the Conservation Strategy. The Conservation Strategy identifies the desired biological outcomes and how they will be achieved. The Conservation Strategy strives to ensure the long-term conservation of the North County MSCP Preserve System. Due to the large amount of information included in the Conservation Strategy, the goal of the workshop was to provide an overview of the approach taken and structure of the Conservation Strategy. The County will be making the draft text available for public review in January 2024.

The event was promoted using e-newsletter announcements, social media posts, and emails directly to stakeholders. County staff also attended stakeholder meetings. Twelve participants joined the event. They represented environmental, agricultural, recreation, and community organizations as well as students and private property owners.

If you were unable to attend the workshop, the summary below provides an overview of the meeting objectives and format, how input was solicited, and what we learned from the meeting participants. The presentation slides (English and Spanish) and video recordings (English and Spanish) for the meeting are also available. Find information on all of our past public workshops the North County Plan Public Outreach webpage.

Objectives

The meeting was organized to accomplish the following objectives: 

  • Create a comfortable environment where participants can provide input and share their concerns.  
  • Explain how the Conservation Strategy addresses conservation of ecological processes, environmental gradients, regional biological diversity, and regional wildlife linkages.
  • Outline the key components of the Conservation Strategy and how they will be structured within the North County Plan.
  • Get input on the Conservation Strategy to help develop a balanced and successful plan.
  • Provide details on how the public can provide input on the preliminary draft text of several technical components of the Conservation Strategy, to be released in January 2024.  

Format

At the virtual meeting, community members participated in a staff and consultant-led presentation. The presentation included interactive questions. Participants were invited to share their opinions by answering these interactive questions. They could also provide input and ask staff questions using the Zoom Q&A feature at any time. At the end of the workshop, any remaining questions were answered live. Members of the public also had an opportunity to have an open discussion with staff.

Interpretation was available for attendees whose primary language is Spanish. Registrants could have also requested interpretation in the other seven threshold languages. The meeting materials were offered in both English and Spanish on the project website. A link to these materials was provided to attendees at the workshop in the chat.

Input Summary

The input received is summarized below. The ordering does not reflect importance or frequency.

  • Interest from a participant about how and when the County holds North County Plan public workshops.
  • A request from a participant to explain the science advisor process, indicator species selection, and monitoring requirements for indicator species.
  • A suggestion from a participant for the County to monetize ecosystem services provided by the lands within the MSCP to provide funding for additional ecological enhancement work.
  • Through their responses to interactive questions, participants indicated that they think the North County Plan can help streamline the development process.

Interactive Question Responses

Staff asked five questions during the Conservation Strategy workshop. Twelve workshop participants responded using the interactive questions.

To begin the workshop, staff wanted to know why the participants attended. To find out, staff asked, “What brought you here today? Please explain your interest in the Multiple Species Conservation Plan.”

What brought you here today? Please explain your interest in the Multiple Species Conservation Plan.
       Total responses       8       
                                                                                                                         Unique participants          8          
Responses:       
“Want to support wildlife and their habitats; also want to support access to public trails in the planning process" 
“It is important for the environment” 
“I am a farmer in North County and I want to know how this will affect my business” 
Representing Agriculture” 
“Passionate about the extinction crisis” 
“North County resident who just cares about conservation in our community” 
“Awareness” 
“For a school assignment” 

After a brief overview of the North County Plan, staff asked about the level of expertise of the participants to better understand the audience.

What is your level of expertise in relation to habitat conservation planning and/or land management?
  Total responses  9
Unique participants  9
Options & Responses:  Count:  
Novice (little to no experience) 1
Beginner (some basic knowledge) 4
Competent/Proficient (good working/background knowledge) 4
Expert 0

Staff then presented an overview of the Conservation Strategy which included the key components and how they would be structured in the North County Plan. Before proceeding, staff asked which of the four landscape-level goals was most important to them.

Of the four landscape-level goals, which is most important to you?
Total responses   8
                                                    Unique participants   8
Options & Responses: Count:  
Regional conservation 1
Connectivity 1
Ecological processes 2
Climate change resilience 4
Other 0

Following the responses, staff and the consultants presented additional details on how each landscape-level goal is structured within the plan. Next, an overview of Project Policies and Guidelines, Conservation Standards, and Avoidance and Minimization Measures were explained. Then staff asked if participants thought the North County Plan would help streamline the development process.  

The intent of the North County Plan is to streamline the development process by establishing clear guidance rather than negotiating on a project-by-project basis. Do you think the project guiding policies will help achieve this result?
             Total responses  10
    Unique participants  10
Options & Responses: Count:  
Yes 10
No 0

Participants who answered “no” (or did not respond) were asked a follow-up question so they could provide additional input. 

If you answered no, what are your concerns?
  Total responses         1   
Unique participants      1
Responses:
“Not enough information provided to say yes”

What's Next?

The County will thoughtfully consider the feedback we received about the Conservation Strategy and incorporate it into future drafts of the Plan. The County will be making the preliminary draft text of several technical components of the Conservation Strategy available for public review in January 2024. Staff will offer to meet with any stakeholders or organizations interested in discussing their feedback on these technical components. In addition to public review, the County will also be meeting with science advisors through the Spring to get feedback on species-specific conservation strategies and other key conservation principles.

Details within the Conservation Strategy related to preserve assembly, management, and monitoring will be discussed in conjunction with plan implementation following the science advisors process, anticipated for Spring or early Summer 2024.