An HCP is the planning document that defines how GBRA will protect federally endangered and threatened species, while providing water and wastewater services to the region. Learn more about the requirements of an HCP from US Fish & Wildlife Service.

An ITP is the permit that US Fish and Wildlife services issues to entities that have developed an approved HCP. The permit allows for “take” of an endangered or threatened species incidental to, and not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity. ITPs are described in Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act.

According to the Endangered Species Act, Take means “To harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, collect an endangered or threatened species, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.”

GBRA is proposing a GRHCP permit term of 50 years. A 50-year permit term would address GBRA’s long-term operations, which are projected to continue 50 years and beyond. A 50-year permit term is also preferred as it would provide more certainty, compared to a 30-year permit term, that the conservation strategies, monitoring, and adaptive management programs will contribute adequately to species recovery. Examples of plans with 30- and 50-year permits are below.

For more information about other HCPs, please refer to the following websites:

• List of Large HCPs (>100,000 acres) nationally: https://www.nhcpcoalition.org/habitat-conservation-plan-projects/hcp-list/
• FWS database of all HCPs, sort by FWS Regions: https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/report/conservation-plans-type-region

The term “covered species” includes those species for which GBRA would request authorization for incidental take and develop a conservation strategy with avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures. Chapter 7 of the joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) “Habitat Conservation Planning and Incidental Take Permit (ITP) Processing Handbook ” gives federal guidance to choosing covered species.

50 CFR 13.22. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-13.

50 CFR 17.22. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-50/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-17/subpart-C/section-17.22.

Devitt, T. J., A. M. Wright, D. C. Cannatella, and D. M. Hillis. 2019. Species delimitation in endangered groundwater salamanders: Implications for aquifer management and biodiversity conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(7):2624-2633.

Griffith, G., S. Bryce, J. Omernik, and A. Rogers. 2007. Ecoregions of Texas. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Austin, TX. 125p.

National HCP Coalition (NHCPC). 2021. Large-scale HCP database. https://www.nhcpcoalition
.org/habitat-conservation-plan-projects/hcp-list/.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). 2021. Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Texas by County. Available at https://tpwd.texas.gov/gis/rtest/.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2021. Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) website. Available at https://ecos.fws.gov/ipac/.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 2016. Habitat Conservation Planning and Incidental Take Permit Processing Handbook. 361 pp + apps. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/what-we-do/hcp_handbook-chapters.html.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 2021. National Hydrography Dataset. Available at https://www.usgs.gov/
core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography.