BCCP Renewal

Under the Federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), “take” is broadly defined to include actions such as harassing, harming, pursuing, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting protected species. An incidental take is when these effects occur to a federally listed species but are not the purpose of the activity.

On September 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) removed the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), adopting an interpretation of “take” consistent with Justice Scalia’s dissenting opinion (minority) in Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon. The original USFWS definition of “harm,” established in 1975 and revised in 1981, defined the term as “an act which actually kills or injures wildlife. Such an act may include significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding or sheltering.” According to a USFWS memo dated September 14, 2026, regarding the rule change, the revised interpretation focuses on impacts directly and intentionally inflicted on a listed species.

The new interpretation is a dramatic and substantial narrowing of the scope of ESA, contradicting over 50 years of ESA implementation and extensive case law. Several environmental groups, tribes, and state attorney generals have already filed suit to challenge the new interpretation of “harm.”

This change has created uncertainty regarding regulatory compliance with the ESA. As Travis County and the City of Austin, in consultation with ICF, navigate the BCCP renewal process, the goal is to develop a robust plan that establishes a predictable, cost-effective framework for long-term ESA compliance – facilitating development while also ensuring effective conservation of covered species.

The BCCP is a regional habitat conservation plan that provides a framework for the City of Austin and Travis County to conserve federally listed species while providing ESA incidental take authorization for eligible development, infrastructure, and other covered activities. Since 1996, the BCCP has provided a predictable regional process for ESA compliance while supporting coordinated conservation through the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, which includes regional attractions such as Hamilton Pool Preserve, Barton Creek Greenbelt, and Mount Bonnell. More than 1,500 landowners and developers and over 400 infrastructure projects have received expedited ESA authorization through the BCCP, facilitating more than 12,000 acres of development. The BCCP has also supported permanent conservation and management of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and reduced the need for eligible projects to pursue individual federal Inc incidental take permits, a process that is more time-intensive, less predictable, and more expensive.

The City of Austin and Travis County are the joint permit holders (referred to as permittees) for the BCCP. Management of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (“BCP”) also involves multiple public and private partners, including public agencies, conservation organizations, and private preserve managers.

No. Under the 1996 USFWS incidental take permit and associated BCCP, mitigation requirements for the Preserve included minimum acreage thresholds, configuration standards and habitat connectivity, individual macrosite acreage targets, and protections for designated karst features. Although the minimum total acreage requirement for the Preserve has been met, efforts to fulfill the remaining mitigation requirements are ongoing.

The BCCP’s original permit was issued by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1996 for a 30-year term. That term ended in May 2026, and Travis County and the City of Austin are now seeking renewal of the federal permit and updating the BCCP to reflect current regulatory requirements, conservation needs, best available science, and implementation practices. The existing BCCP and permit will remain in effect throughout the renewal process.

The BCCP renewal will help shape how Travis County protects wildlife and natural resources while accommodating continued growth and development. The process provides an opportunity to consider the needs of communities, landowners, businesses, developers, and plant and wildlife species and to establish a long-term framework for conservation and development. The renewed BCCP will provide a regional pathway for ESA compliance for covered activities and help guide future conservation priorities in Travis County.

Yes, the BCCP remains in full effect as it undergoes the renewal process. Permitting through the BCCP ensures regulatory compliance with the Endangered Species Act for covered species.

Yes, the Preserve will continue to be conserved and managed in perpetuity. The BCP was established as mitigation for impacts (i.e., development) authorized under the original BCCP, and renewal does not change these conservation commitments.

Species protections are about more than conserving individual plants and animals—they help protect the natural areas and ecosystems, landscapes, and quality of life that make Travis County unique. This includes protecting our drinking water and mitigating the devastating effects of extreme climate events, like flooding and drought!

Protecting habitat not only supports listed and at-risk species but also conserves the larger ecosystems that support a wide variety of plants and animals. Healthy natural systems help protect water quality and water availability, improve air quality, store carbon, provide shade, reduce the urban heat island effect, and contribute to the scenic character of Travis County. Natural environments also provide important benefits that enhance the health, well-being, and overall quality of life of our communities.

The goal of species protection is to find practical ways to accommodate community needs while conserving the natural resources that make Travis County a special place to live, work, and visit. The BCCP is one mechanism for balancing these goals—protecting important habitat while providing a framework that can facilitate responsible development.

The species to be covered by the renewed BCCP have not yet been determined. During the renewal process, Travis County and City of Austin will evaluate existing covered species and other federally listed, proposed, or at-risk species in Travis County. The evaluation will be informed by biological analyses, input from the BAT and CAC, and coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Yes, analysis for the BCCP renewal will include a climate change analysis and development of an adaptation strategy. The results will help inform the effects analysis, biological goals and objectives, and changed circumstances for the renewed BCCP.

If the BCCP is not renewed, the existing BCP areas will remain protected and managed in perpetuity. However, without a renewed permit, future projects that require incidental take authorization under the ESA would need to pursue authorization through another applicable federal permitting process (under Section 7 or 10 of the ESA). Individual incidental take permitting would lack coordinated conservation efforts and may be less effective for overall species protection than having a county-wide habitat conservation plan.

Renewal of the BCCP is intended to maintain a coordinated, streamlined, and cost-effective regional approach to ESA compliance and species conservation in support of continued growth and development within Travis County.