Southern Edwards Plateau Habitat Conservation Plan
The City of San Antonio is home to several military installations including Fort Sam Houston and its training facility at Camp Bullis. In August 2008, in an effort to support the military’s mission City Council approved several initiatives based on the Joint Land Use Study that was created to address, support, and protect Camp Bullis.
The Camp Bullis final Joint Land Use Study was accepted by City Council in June 2009 to preserve and protect the quality and quantity of the training conducted at the military installation. One of the recommendations that came from the study was the creation of a Regional Habitat Conservation Plan. The objective was to conserve natural communities while accommodating compatible uses around military bases. To begin the process of creating a Habitat Plan, an Interlocal Agreement was entered into on November 2009 between the City of San Antonio and Bexar County.
In December 2009, preparation of the Southern Edwards Plateau - Habitat Conservation Plan (SEP-HCP) was led by Bexar County and began with the creation of a Citizens Advisory Committee and a Biological Advisory Team, both appointed by Bexar County Commissioners Court and comprised of land owners, developers, government agencies, conservationists and biologists to ensure that the plan met the needs of the local community and regulatory requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act and Chapter 83 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Code. Subcommittees were also created representing stakeholder groups, landowners, business/real estate interests and government/utility providers. The first draft of the SEP-HCP was released in 2011 and again in 2015 to seek input from the advisory committees, agencies and the general public.
In December 2015, U.S. Fish and Wildlife services approved the final Southern Edwards Plateau - Habitat Conservation Plan and on January 18, 2016, a Joint 30-year Incidental Take Permit was issued to the City of San Antonio and Bexar County. The permit authorizes a limited amount of "incidental take" of federally listed endangered species within the City of San Antonio and Bexar County.