Plan will streamline development plans

[L Roebuck]

Plan will streamline development plans, help preserve endangered species
County plan lets landowners obtain permits for projects that could affect endangered species, sets aside land for recovery.
By David C. Doolittle, AMERICAN-STATESMAN

" For developments that will affect cave species, a developer will pay a fee based on how close the development comes to a cave's underground footprint, Boyd said. For development that comes within 345 feet of the footprint, the fee will be $10,000 per affected acre, Boyd said. Developments within 50 feet of a cave's footprint will cost $400,000 per acre because the cave will effectively be destroyed, he said. "

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[tncave]

That's a pretty cool idea. Sounds similar to a mitigation bank. I wonder who monitors how close the developers come to a "cave footprint"?

We're doing an HCP in the upper cumberlands, but unfortunately we don't have any listed subterranean inverts on our side. We are including Indiana bats and Rafinesque's into the plan though.

Thanks for sharing that Lynn, very cool.

Cory

[L Roebuck]

Ummm...and I wonder what criteria has been set up to determine a cave's underground footprint?