Frequently Asked Questions “FAQs” and how you can help.

(Read the Georgia Conservancy's comment letter to the US Fish and Wildlife Service)

(Download all the components of the Etowah Aquatic HCP)

Comments on the HCP may be mailed to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Regional Office at
1875 Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345, or e-mailed to david_dell@fws.gov.

Background: The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced a 60-day public comment period from June 30 to August 31, 2009 for the Etowah Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan (“Etowah HCP”) and draft Environmental Aquatic HCP. The USFWS will also be conducting public meetings within the Etowah basin to provide additional opportunities for comments. The public meeting schedule has not yet been announced. The Etowah HCP is about local people coming together to plan for future health and development of their watershed. For a quick and simple overview of the geography, law, and ecology behind the Etowah Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan, follow this link for a presentation by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist Eric Prowell.

Where is the Etowah watershed?

• The Etowah Basin lies on the north edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The suburban counties that comprise the lower portion of the system have been among the fastest growing counties in the nation over the last decade. In 1998, one of them (Forsyth County) was ranked as the fastest-growing county nationwide. Over the course of the 1990s the Atlanta metropolitan area added more people than any other region in the U.S. except Los Angeles.

What is the Etowah HCP?

• Beginning in 2002, the counties and cities of the Etowah River Basin embarked on a multi-jurisdictional effort to create a HCP to protect three federally-listed threatened and endangered fish species (the Cherokee, Amber and Etowah Darters), while accommodating the continued growth and development of the area, located just north of Atlanta.

What is the goal of the Etowah HCP?

• The goal was to ensure that the HCP policies were sufficiently protective of the fish species while placing no unnecessary burdens on landowners, developers or local governments. The scientific research on which the HCP is based has been published in a series of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Why implement an HCP?

• HCPs are a provision of the Endangered Species Act, the federal law that prohibits the harming of species in danger of extinction. While most HCPs are designed to protect one species in a small area, the Etowah Aquatic HCP is different because it covers three species and multiple local jurisdictions, making it a model for other HCPs being developed across the country.

• Recognizing that existing strategies for protecting the fish were both ineffective and inordinately burdensome, the local governments pursued a habitat conservation plan to ensure that development activities continue in a manner that avoids, minimizes, and mitigates harm to fishes. The Etowah HCP ensures stakeholders will avoid individual permitting, and associated frustrations, for every development project because the local governments hold incidental take permits.

What does the HCP do?

• The Steering Committee has approved six main policies for the Etowah Aquatic HCP. These policies are considered essential to protecting the imperiled fish of the Etowah:

• Stormwater management

• Erosion and sedimentation control

• Stream buffer ordinance

• Road crossings of streams

• Utility crossings of streams

• Water supply planning protocol

Why is controlling stormwater so important?

• Most rain that falls onto roads, parking lots, roofs and other impervious surfaces runs off and is channeled quickly to streams in storm sewers. This stormwater runoff carries debris, chemicals, metals, and other pollutants to streams, and the high flows during storms can scour stream banks and lead to sedimentation. Many scientists believe that

• The stormwater regulations ensure that water during stormwater events infiltrates into the ground and does not runoff into our waterways. Widely used in suburban areas throughout the U.S., the HCP controls volume of stormwater by simple best management practices.

• The Etowah HCP does not come close to matching other regions in the US where much more stringent stormwater regulations have been developed according to local community priorities.

How was the HCP developed?

• The Etowah Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is a prime example of a bottom-up approach and a model of an extensive stakeholder process. The authors of the Etowah HCP represent a broad coalition of folks who care about their community and their natural heritage, they include: local residents, developers, homebuilders, water authorities, local governments and represent over 13 cities, 7 counties, 21 local, state, regional, and federal agencies, 7 non-profit organizations, 24 stakeholder organizations, 2 universities, and 179 individuals.

• This was an open and transparent process where the stakeholders were guided by a steering committee and the members of this committee were appointed by elected officials of the counties and cities in the Etowah River Basin.

What makes the Etowah so special?

• If you’re wondering about what makes this place so special, consider that the Etowah Basin is one of the most diverse river systems in the United States. Currently 76 native species occur here (historically 91 native fish species occurred) – compare this to 33 in the Columbia River Valley and 25 in the Colorado River Watershed. There are also some species that are endemic or occur nowhere else in the world.

How will the Etowah HCP benefit the community?

• The Etowah HCP has the potential to benefit residents, the development industry and the fish species. The development industry will benefit from faster approval of federal permits and streamlined consultation with the FWS, which currently meets with developers on a one-on-one basis to ensure that projects meet the kinds of requirements included in the Etowah HCP. Developers in participating jurisdictions will also be protected from prosecution for the “incidental take” (accidental killing) of protected fish species.

• Residents will benefit because the policies of the Etowah HCP protect water quality as well as fish, helping to maintain the high quality of life in the region. And the fish will benefit because the Etowah HCP can provide more consistent application of good development practices than is currently provided by the system of individual consultations between developers and the FWS. Finally, the HCP will provide local control, ensuring that decisions about the future of the Etowah continue to be made primarily at the local level.

What is the current status of the Etowah HCP?

• Thirteen jurisdictions have prepared applications to participate in the Etowah HCP: Bartow County, Cherokee County, Paulding County, and Pickens County, as well as the cities of Acworth, Ball Ground, Canton, Dallas, Dawsonville, Holly Springs, Roswell, Waleska and Woodstock. Once the HCP is approved, these jurisdictions have the opportunity to sign onto it by adopting the HCP policies, although participation is optional. Other jurisdictions in the Etowah can also join in the future if they choose.

How can I help?

• The complete draft Etowah Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan can be found at http://www.etowahhcp.org. The draft HCP and the Environmental Assessment are available for public inspection by appointment during normal business hours at the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regional office, 1875 Century Boulevard, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30345 (attn: David Dell 404-679-7313) Comments can be addressed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the above address or via internet to david_dell@fws.gove (include name and return address and “Etowah River HCP” in the message).

Download all the components of the Etowah Aquatic HCP here

4-page Fact Sheet: Overview of Etowah Aquatic HCP Policies (PDF)

2-page Fact Sheet: Etowah Aquatic HCP Update, May 2009 (PDF)

4-page Fact Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions, March 2009 (PDF)

1-page Fact Sheet: What Does the HCP Cost? July 2009 (PDF)